SR 39 and SR 55 running together through Richwood provide residents with an excellent road.

With the abundance of lumber surrounding Richwood, the Cherry River Boom and Lumber Company came to the area and settled the city one year after the start of the 20th century. Towards the end of the 19th century, the railroad was established in this city and soon afterward a paper mill, handle factory, hub factory, tannery, one of the world’s largest saw mills and what was then the world’s largest clothes pin factory followed. As the 20th century progressed, the new economic boom of coal replaced the lumber industry producing a greater economic stimulus to Richwood. The city is the Southern gateway to the Monongahela National Forest including the Cranberry Backcountry and Cranberry Wilderness Area where big and small game hunting are an attraction. With Four rivers, the Cranberry, Williams, Gauley and Cherry originating here, Richwood is where the best trout waters in the state can be found.