In 1803, Meriwether Lewis visited this massive earthen mound, one of the largest earthworks from the Adena cultural tradition and the largest known conical mound in the Western hemisphere.
The town of Wheeling, West Virginia, was first founded in 1769 by Colonel Ebenezer Zane. After Fort Henry was established in 1774 by Captain Crawford from Fort Dunmore, West Virginia, the town continued to grow around the military installation. It wasn’t until 1795, however, that it was finally established as a formal town.
The city of Moundsville, West Virginia, began as a small cabin built in 1771 by two English settlers, Samuel and James Tomlinson. Eventually, the settlement that grew up around the site was incorporated into a town, then known as Elizabethtown, in 1830.
The Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1990 to protect, conserve, and restore habitat for wildlife native to the river’s floodplain. The refuge consists of twenty-two islands and four mainland tracts scattered along 362 miles of the upper Ohio River. Most of the refuge’s 3440 acres of land and underwater habitat are located in West Virginia; however, Pennsylvania and Kentucky each have two refuge islands.
Fireman’s Park is so named in honor of our volunteer fire department and the park is along the river next door to the Fire Department. The city installed public docks a few years ago with a ramp leading to the dock system. There is a pavilion that is dedicated to one of the city leaders who worked to see the waterfront improved and better utilized, Mr. Bryan Wilson. It is a lovely green space nestled in historic downtown New Martinsville.
Located in Brooke County, the city of Wellsburg serves as the county seat. One of the oldest towns on the Ohio river, it was established a few years after brothers Friend, Israel, and Jonathan Cox first laid an informal claim on approximately 1,200 acres of land in 1772. They sold the land to Charles Prather in 1788. In 1791, Prather successfully petitioned for the incorporation of the town, which he named Charlestown, before it was renamed in honor of his son-in-law.
