Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Ritchie County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2000, the population was 10,343. Its county seat is Harrisville. It was created in 1843 by the Virginia General Assembly and named for Richmond newspaper publisher Thomas Ritchie. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 454 square miles (1,175 km²), of which, 454 square miles (1,175 km²) of it is land and 0 square miles (0 km²) of it (0.02%) is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 10,343 people, 4,184 households, and 2,999 families residing in the county. The population density was 23 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 5,513 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.68% White, 0.14% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. 0.47% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.