Doddridge County’s oil and gas industry was a boon to West Union. By 1906, the Ideal Glass Factory opened to take advantage of the abundant gas. It was followed by the Doddridge County Window Glass Company. The two plants employed about 300 people. In later years a garment factory opened, but closed in the 1970s. A long-remembered flood devastated West Union in June 1950, destroying homes and businesses and killing more than 20 people throughout the county. (One casualty was the 107-year-old covered bridge.)