Harrison County has been governed by five State Constitutions, three under Virginia and two under West Virginia. The first was adopted in 1776, the second in 1830, the third in 1851, under Virginia, the fourth in 1863 and the fifth in 1872 under West Virginia.

The period between the flight of Governor Dunmore in June 1775 and the adoption of the first constitution June 29, 1776, is known in history as the "Interregnum."

During this time the convention which met July 17, 1775, at Richmond, conducted the government of the colony, through its President.

This convention passed ordinances organizing troops for the public defense and appointed a general committee of safety to carry on the government, and also authorized the selection of County Committees of safely by the inhabitants thereof, who executed the decrees and orders of the general committee.

The constitutional convention which met at Williamsburg May 6, 1776, on June 12, 1776, adopted a bill of rights and on June 29, 1776 adopted a constitution, the first one in America, and on the same day elected Patrick Henry, Provisional Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.   And from this time dates the first year of the Commonwealth.

This constitution having been adopted without being submitted to the people for approval was in force for fifty four years, but as the people outgrew its provisions a change was demanded in hopes that many of its restrictions in regard to the qualifications of voters and basis of representation might be remedied under its provisions.

All State and County officers were appointed and the only privilege the voters had was to vote for members of the legislature, overseers of the Poor and town trustees, and voters were required to be free holders.

The Assembly on February 10, 1829 passed a bill submitting to the voters a proposition to call a convention to adopt a new Constitution. This was carried, but by far the largest vote favoring it coming from West of the Blue Ridge.

The Convention assembled in Richmond October 5, 1829, and contained a remarkable body of men, among them being James Madison and James Monroe ex-presidents of the United States, John Randolph and others distinguished as lawyers, statesmen and orators. Edwin S. Duncan was the representative from Harrison County.

Philip Doddridge, the great orator from Brooke County, was the leader in the debates in behalf of the Western portion of the State, ably seconded by Archibald Campbell and Lewis Summers.

The convention completed its work in January 1830, and submitted the Constitution it had adopted to the voters at an election to be held in April following.

On March 1st. Philip Doddridge published a letter reviewing the Acts of the Convention, of which the following are extracts:

"The system proposed in the scheme for distributing power falls too heavily on the West to be submitted to, but it falls most heavily on the country beyond the Alleghenies, because at present the greater proportion of those unrepresented reside there, and because it is there that there has been and must be the most rapid increase in population."

"Every day's information serves but to increase my anxiety to see the new Constitution rejected. Every day informs me that our adversaries consider its adoption as the execution of a solemn compact, to secure their power, and our submission, as a political compact for the slavery of us and our children."

He says further that if the constitution is ratified that it will disfranchise 43940 free white men over the age of twenty one years.

He states that in the appointment of the Legislature thirty one members of the House are given to the Counties west of the mountains and one hundred and three to those east of them. That west of the Blue Ridge thirteen senators are given and nineteen east of it.

The Clarksburg Enquirer of February 1830 recites that a meeting of the citizens of Greenbrier was called to meet in Lewisburg, "For the purpose of discussing the propriety of a separation of the old Dominion in order to obtain equal rights.

At a public meeting held in Beverly, March 10, 1830 the following resolution was adopted:

Resolved, That we would sooner commit the new constitution to the flames and vote for a division of the State than its adoption.

It was claimed during the discussion of the merits of the constitution that out of a company of seventy four soldiers from Virginia in the war of 1812 only two had the right to vote. They had the privilege of fighting for their country but not the right to take part in its government.

But all the efforts of the West to secure a vote for every white man who had reached the age of twenty one, and to adopt a just apportionment of the members of the Legislature to be elected west of the mountains was in vain, the Constitution was ratified by a vote of 26,055 for and 15,563 against.

Every County east of the Blue Ridge except one (Warwick) gave a majority for the Constitution, while every County in what is now West "Virginia except two, Jefferson and Hampshire, voted largely in favor of rejection, casting 1,383 for ratification and 8,375 for rejection. Harrison County gave 9 votes for and 1,112 against the Constitution.

Brooke County, the home of Doddridge and Campbell gave a unani­mous vote for rejection.

Thus was sown the seeds of injustice and distrust which bore fruit in later years.

The new constitution was unpopular in the West and in a short time demands were made for a radical change in the organic law.   This finally resulted in the Legislature calling a constitutional convention, which met on the 14th of October 1850, and adopted a constitution which was ratified by the people on the fourth Thursday of October 1851.

The election for officers under this constitution was held on the second Monday of December 1851.

The first legislature under its provisions met on the second Monday in January 1852, and the Governor and other state officers qualified January 16, 1852.

The delegates to this convention from Harrison County, were Joseph Johnson and Gideon D. Camden.

This constitution was remarkable in the general advance embodied in it, and for its radical difference from former ones.

The property clause heretofore required of voters was swept away and universal suffrage granted. The Governor, Judicial and County officers for the first time were now to be elected by the people. "While the basis of representation was not entirely satisfactory to lie West yet they had gained so many privileges that it was acquiesced in as a change was provided for to take place in 1865.

The first Governor elected under this constitution was Joseph Johnson of Harrison County and the only one ever elected west of the Mountains.
The chain of remarkable events unequalled in history, leading up to the secession of Virginia, the formation of the new State of West Virginia, and the adoption of its first constitution will be treated elsewhere in this volume.

The second Wheeling Convention which met June 11, 1861, and reorganized the government of Virginia, met in August and passed an ordinance that an election should be held in the Western Counties of Virginia on the fourth Thursday in October, to take the sense of the voters, cm the question of dividing the State, and at the same time to elect delegates to a constitutional convention.

The vote on the formation of the new state having resulted favorably, the Convention met in Wheeling, November 26, 1861, and having completed its labors by adopting a constitution, adjourned February 18, 1862.

The constitution, was ratified by the vote of the people at an election held April 3, 1862.

The act of Congress admitting West Virginia into the Union, was conditioned upon the section of the constitution being amended, in regard to slavery was approved December 31, 1862.

The constitutional convention re-assembled February 12, 1863, and made the changes proposed by the Act of Congress. This amendment was approved by the people at an election held March 26, 1863.

President Lincoln issued his proclamation, which admitted the new State into the Union June 20, 1863.

The new constitution made radical innovations, among them the abolishment of slavery, freedom of speech and the press, free schools and voting by ballot

The first Legislature under this constitution met at Wheeling June 20, 1863.

The Legislature on the 23rd. February 1871 passed an act to take the sense of the voters of the State upon the call of a convention to enact a new constitution at an election to be held on the fourth Thursday in August 1871, which resulted in approving a convention.

The election for Delegates was held on the fourth Thursday 1871 and the convention met at Charleston on the third Tuesday in January, 1872.

The election on the adoption of the Constitution was held on the fourth Thursday in August 1872, and resulted in its being ratified and is the constitution under which we are now governed, 1909.

At the same time an election was held for State, Judicial, Legislative, County and District officials, who were to be seated in case the constitution was adopted, which resulted in a wholesale turning out of all officials without regard to the fact that they had not yet served out the terms for which they had been elected.

The Governor and other State Officers were to be ushered into office on March 4, 1873, and the County officers on the first of January, 1873.

The first legislature under this constitution met on the third Tuesday in November, 1872.