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Wheeling, West Virginia
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Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains within the state's northern panhandle. It is the fifth-most populous city in West Virginia and the most populous city in the northern panhandle with a population of 27,062 at the 2020 census. The Wheeling metropolitan area had 139,513 residents in 2020. Wheeling is located about 60 miles (97 km) west of Pittsburgh and 120 miles (190 km) east of Columbus via Interstate 70.
Wheeling was settled in 1769 on land contested between colonial Pennsylvania and Virginia, and later grew to become Virginia's largest city west of the Appalachians. During the American Civil War, Wheeling was the host of the Wheeling Conventions that led to the separation of West Virginia from Virginia and served as the state capital from 1861 to 1870, and again from 1875 to 1885. It became a manufacturing center in the late nineteenth century due to its location along major transportation routes, including the Ohio River, National Road, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. After the decline of heavy industry and substantial population loss following World War II, Wheeling's major industries now include healthcare, education, law and legal services, entertainment and tourism, and energy.
The origins of the name "Wheeling" are disputed. One of the more credible explanations is that the word comes from the Lenni-Lenape phrase wih link or wee lunk, which meant "place of the head" or "place of the skull." This name supposedly referred to a white settler who was scalped and decapitated. His severed head was displayed at the confluence of Wheeling Creek and the Ohio River. Earlier sources say that the head was that of a Native American prisoner, not a settler. Native Americans had inhabited the area for thousands of years. In the 17th century, the Iroquois from present-day New York state conquered the upper Ohio Valley, pushing out other tribes and maintaining the area as their hunting ground.
Originally explored by the French, Wheeling still has a lead plate remnant that the explorer Céloron de Blainville buried in 1749 at the mouth of Wheeling Creek to mark his claim. Later, Christopher Gist and George Washington surveyed the land, in 1751 and 1770, respectively.
During the fall of 1769, Ebenezer Zane explored the Wheeling area and established a claim to the land via "tomahawk rights", the practice of girdling a few trees at a prominent site and marking the bark with the initials or name of the person making the claim. He returned the following spring with his wife Elizabeth and his younger brothers, Jonathan and Silas; they established the first permanent European settlement in the Wheeling area, naming it Zanesburg. Other families joined the settlement, including the Shepherds (see Monument Place), the Wetzels, and the McCollochs (see McColloch's Leap).
In 1787, the United States gave Virginia this portion of lands west of the Appalachians, and some to Pennsylvania at its western edge, to settle their claims. The Northwest Ordinance that year established the Northwest Territory to cover other lands north of the Ohio River and west to the Mississippi River. Settlers began to move into new areas along the Ohio.
In 1793, Ebenezer Zane divided the town into lots, and Wheeling was officially established as a town in 1795 by legislative enactment. By an act of the Virginia General Assembly on December 27, 1797, Wheeling was named the county seat of Ohio County. The town was incorporated on January 16, 1805. On March 11, 1836, the town of Wheeling was incorporated into the city of Wheeling.
Originally dubbed Fort Fincastle in 1774, the fort was later renamed Fort Henry in honor of Virginia's American governor, Patrick Henry. In 1777, Native Americans of the Shawnee, Wyandot, and Mingo tribes joined to attack pioneer settlements along the upper Ohio River, which were illegal according to the Crown's Proclamation of 1763. They hoped an alliance with the British would drive the colonial settlers out of their territory. Local men defended the fort, later joined by recruits from Fort Shepherd (in Elm Grove) and Fort Holliday. The native force burned the surrounding cabins and destroyed livestock.
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Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains within the state's northern panhandle. It is the fifth-most populous city in West Virginia and the most populous city in the northern panhandle with a population of 27,062 at the 2020 census. The Wheeling metropolitan area had 139,513 residents in 2020. Wheeling is located about 60 miles (97 km) west of Pittsburgh and 120 miles (190 km) east of Columbus via Interstate 70.
Wheeling was settled in 1769 on land contested between colonial Pennsylvania and Virginia, and later grew to become Virginia's largest city west of the Appalachians. During the American Civil War, Wheeling was the host of the Wheeling Conventions that led to the separation of West Virginia from Virginia and served as the state capital from 1861 to 1870, and again from 1875 to 1885. It became a manufacturing center in the late nineteenth century due to its location along major transportation routes, including the Ohio River, National Road, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. After the decline of heavy industry and substantial population loss following World War II, Wheeling's major industries now include healthcare, education, law and legal services, entertainment and tourism, and energy.
The origins of the name "Wheeling" are disputed. One of the more credible explanations is that the word comes from the Lenni-Lenape phrase wih link or wee lunk, which meant "place of the head" or "place of the skull." This name supposedly referred to a white settler who was scalped and decapitated. His severed head was displayed at the confluence of Wheeling Creek and the Ohio River. Earlier sources say that the head was that of a Native American prisoner, not a settler. Native Americans had inhabited the area for thousands of years. In the 17th century, the Iroquois from present-day New York state conquered the upper Ohio Valley, pushing out other tribes and maintaining the area as their hunting ground.
Originally explored by the French, Wheeling still has a lead plate remnant that the explorer Céloron de Blainville buried in 1749 at the mouth of Wheeling Creek to mark his claim. Later, Christopher Gist and George Washington surveyed the land, in 1751 and 1770, respectively.
During the fall of 1769, Ebenezer Zane explored the Wheeling area and established a claim to the land via "tomahawk rights", the practice of girdling a few trees at a prominent site and marking the bark with the initials or name of the person making the claim. He returned the following spring with his wife Elizabeth and his younger brothers, Jonathan and Silas; they established the first permanent European settlement in the Wheeling area, naming it Zanesburg. Other families joined the settlement, including the Shepherds (see Monument Place), the Wetzels, and the McCollochs (see McColloch's Leap).
In 1787, the United States gave Virginia this portion of lands west of the Appalachians, and some to Pennsylvania at its western edge, to settle their claims. The Northwest Ordinance that year established the Northwest Territory to cover other lands north of the Ohio River and west to the Mississippi River. Settlers began to move into new areas along the Ohio.
In 1793, Ebenezer Zane divided the town into lots, and Wheeling was officially established as a town in 1795 by legislative enactment. By an act of the Virginia General Assembly on December 27, 1797, Wheeling was named the county seat of Ohio County. The town was incorporated on January 16, 1805. On March 11, 1836, the town of Wheeling was incorporated into the city of Wheeling.
Originally dubbed Fort Fincastle in 1774, the fort was later renamed Fort Henry in honor of Virginia's American governor, Patrick Henry. In 1777, Native Americans of the Shawnee, Wyandot, and Mingo tribes joined to attack pioneer settlements along the upper Ohio River, which were illegal according to the Crown's Proclamation of 1763. They hoped an alliance with the British would drive the colonial settlers out of their territory. Local men defended the fort, later joined by recruits from Fort Shepherd (in Elm Grove) and Fort Holliday. The native force burned the surrounding cabins and destroyed livestock.
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