Pt. Pleasant, located in Mason County, has many historical features that attract heritage tourists. The Battle of Point Pleasant, fought between the Long Knives of Virginia and the Shawnee Indians in 1774, was believed to be the final battle of Lord Dunmore's War and the first battle of the America Revolution.  

Mason County was originially a part of Augusta County, Virginia. On January 2, 1804, the General Assembly of Virginia passed an act establishing what is now Mason County. It received its name from the Hon. George Mason, a friend of George Washington, who wrote the Constitution of Virginia and was a member of the convention that framed the Constitution of the United States.

In the year 1770, George Washington made a journey to the Ohio River to look after military grants awarded in the Ohio and Kanawha Valleys by Governor Dinwiddie’s proclamation of 1754. The rich soil, the fine timber, and the beautiful scenery greatly impressed the man who later was to do so much for his country. He spent seven days in this vicinity, his company going up the Kanawha as far as Buffalo, exploring and marking courses and distances with a pocket compass. This survey resulted in the granting of 51,302 acres of land, of which Washington himself received 10, 990 acres on the south side of the Kanawha. Several of these tracts of land are still owned in part, and are still occupied by, descendants of the original grantees.