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{{Use mdy dates|date=July
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Helvetia
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| pushpin_mapsize =
| image_map =
| map_caption = Location within Randolph
| image_map1 =
| mapsize1 =
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<!-- Area -->
| unit_pref =
| area_footnotes =
| area_magnitude =
| area_total_sq_mi = 1.815
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| timezone_DST = EDT
| utc_offset_DST = -4
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_ft = 2280
| coordinates = {{coord|38|42|21|N|80|12|4|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
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}}
[[Image:Helvetia WV-Shield Sign.jpg|thumb|right|Shield representing Helvetia]]
'''Helvetia''' is a [[census-designated place]] (CDP) in [[Randolph County, West Virginia|Randolph County]], [[West Virginia]], United States. As of the [[United States Census, 2010|2010 census]], its population was 59.<ref name="GR8">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=
== History ==
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After the end of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], a group of Swiss and German-speaking immigrants calling themselves the ''Grütliverein'' ([[Grütli]] Society) formed in [[Brooklyn]], New York. The members agreed that they would all emigrate to another section of the country together when the time was right.
A member of the society named Isler surveyed large swaths of the eastern West Virginia mountains for a [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]-based firm and reported back to the society on the richness of the country. A six-man committee was assembled and left Brooklyn by rail on October 15, 1869. They arrived at [[Clarksburg, West Virginia|Clarksburg]] on October 20th and traveled by foot over the mountains.<ref>{{Citation |title=Helvetia: The History of a Swiss Village in the Mountains of West Virginia |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w99XgXAwqxw |language=en |access-date=
They reached a plot that was on offer for sale on October 20, and were disappointed by the extreme thickness of the wilderness in this lightly settled and rugged country. The land was very reasonably priced, though, and they had offers of other assistance from the land agents in Clarksburg if they would encourage further settlement in the area. After hearing the report of this exploration, the society members decided to go to West Virginia.
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New settlers came from various parts of the United States and Canada, and some immigrated directly from Switzerland.<ref>{{cite book | last = Partadiredja | first = Atje | title = Helvetia, West Virginia : a study of pioneer development and community survival in the Appalachia | publisher = University Microfilms International | location = [[Ann Arbor]] | year = 1978}}</ref> In addition to farmers and herdsmen, many craftsmen and professionals were among the settlers: stonemasons; carpenters; painters; wagon, shoe, watch, hat, and cheese makers; musicians; teachers; ministers; and doctors. By 1874 the community's population had grown to a heady 308,<ref>{{cite book | last = Sutton | first = David H | title = One's own hearth is like gold : a history of Helvetia, West Virginia | publisher = Peter Lang | location = [[New York City|New York]] | year = 1990 | isbn = 0-8204-1246-5 }}</ref> and by 1875 a band and mutual aid society called the Schweizer-Kranken-Unterstützung-Verein (or, the Swiss Health Support Association) had been organized.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fones-Wolf |first1=Ken |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/heb.08892 |title=Transnational West Virginia: ethnic communities and economic change, 1840-1940 |last2=Lewis |first2=Ronald L. |date=2003 |publisher=West Virginia University Press |hdl=2027/heb.08892 |isbn=978-0-937058-76-3 |language=en}}</ref>
During the late 1960s, Eleanor Mailloux and Delores Baggerly worked to attract tourists to the town by highlighting the town's Swiss heritage. They established the Hütte restaurant, collaborated on a community cookbook titled ''Oppis
The [[Helvetia Village Historic District]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1978.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
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