Marlinton, West Virginia has always had spelling problems with its name. Andrew Price, the first mayor of the town, wrote the verses below to discourage this mistake.  Marlinton was named for Jacob Marlin, one of the first English settlers to the area in 1749.  Marlinton is the second county seat of Pocahontas County, West Virginia.  Colonel John McGraw planned the town and promoted the move of the Pocahontas County Court House from Huntersville to Marlinton in 1891.

 To celebrate its rich history, Marlinton holds Pioneer Days the second weekend of July each year. Every October, the towns hosts their annual Roadkill Cookoff which draws tens of thousands of locals and visitors.  Marlinton is located on the banks of the wild Greenbrier River.  The Greenbrier River Trail runs through the town.

Photo above: Andrew Price Memorial (taken in early 2003), contributed by volunteer Paul Greathouse.

There Ain’t No “G” in Marlinton

A smart and stylish man was he,
He had a college-bought degree,
He wished to buy some timber land,
And so he took his pen in hand,
But when it all was said and done,
He hurt his friend in Marlinton,
He did a capital crime you see,
Spelling Marlinton with a G.

There ain’t no G in Marlinton,
There ain’t no G in Marlinton,
There ain’t no G in Marlinton,
There ain’t no G in Marlinton.

Jacob Marlin, a hunter bold,
Settled here in days of old,
He camped in a hollow tree,
And spelled his name with nary G.
His partner, a hunter, also came,
Stephen B. Sewell, was his name,
The year was seventeen-fifty-one,
They founded the town of Marlinton.

While they dwelt in solitude,
Sewell got in an ugly mood;
He took his knife and on a tree,
Cut M A R L I N G.

Then Jacob Marlin, mighty quick,
Fell on him like a thousand brick,
For it always riled his family,
For folks to spell the name with G.

Old Jacob Marlin died in bed,
Sewell –– the Indians killed him dead.
It was an awful fate, but he
Was prone to use the extra G.
Let all take warning from his fate,
And when our town they designate,
They sure must mind their p’s and q’s,
This awful G we can’t excuse.

Andrew Price, first mayor of Marlinton (1871 – 1930).

– Hashtag Lewisburg City Paper. September 2020.