- Harrison County was created in 1784 from parts of Monongalia County. It was named in honor of Benjamin Harrison who had recently retired as Governor of Virginia.
- John Simpson, a trapper and fur trader, is believed to be the first European settler in present-day Harrison County. He explored the Clarksburg area during the early 1760s where he crossed and namied Simpson Creek in present-day Harrison County. The first settlers along Simpson Creek, located within present-day Bridgeport, included James Anderson, John Powers, Andrew Davisson, Joseph Davisson, and John Wilkinson.
- Thomas Nutter was another early Harrison County settler who arrived in the county with his brothers Matthew and Christopher around 1772. and constructed Nutter's Fort, one of the strongest forts south of Fort Pitt. Thomas Nutter died in early August 1808 and is buried in Nutter's graveyard, near where the fort stood. A marker at West Virginia Business College marks where the fort was located.
- The famous Confederate General, Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, was born in Clarksburg on January 21, 1824
- Harrison County was also the home of John William Davis (1873-1955), the 1924 Democratic nominee for President of the United States. He is the only West Virginian to run for the Presidency as a nominee
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