Williamson is a city in Mingo County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Tug Fork River. The population was 3,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Mingo County, and is the county’s largest and most populous city. Williamson is house to Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. The Tug Fork River separates Williamson from South Williamson, Kentucky.

Williamson is the site of a large rail yard built by the former Norfolk and Western Railroad (now Norfolk Southern Railway), which was built to assistance the many coal mines of the region. The city is protected by a floodwall, completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1991 in acceptance to devastating floods along the Tug Fork River in 1977 and again in 1984. The wall incorporates floodgates along major entry points which, when locked, form a strong barrier adjoining floodwaters. There have unaided been two uses of the gates correspondingly far: the first stirring in 2002 during a major flood in the region, and the second occurring in 2003, when on your own two subjugate lying gates were closed in anticipation of rising water levels.

The local economy is largely fueled by coal mining, transportation, health care and retail businesses.

Williamson was incorporated in 1892. Most historians allow that Williamson was named in tribute of Wallace J. Williamson. He owned the estate where Williamson now stands, earned a fortune in genuine estate investments in the area, and founded the city’s first bank and its first hotel. Others allegation that the city was named for Wallace’s father, Benjamin F. Williamson. He owned most of the land in the region past dividing it accompanied by his sons.