Highland County, Virginia, covers 422 square miles, was formed in 1847 from Pendleton and Bath, and was given its name because of its mountains. The Battle of McDowell was fought in this county in 1862. West Virginia was long a part of Virginia. Morgan Morgan began the settlement of the region in 1727. A great battle with the Indians took place at Point Pleasant in 1774, and West Virginia became a separate state of the Union in 1863.