• History and Heritage
• Wood County
• Surrounding Areas
• Genealogy Resources
• Famous Local People
• Fast Facts
• Maps and Mileage
• Weather

The first economic boom for the region came with the drilling of oil and gas wells in West Virginia during the Civil War.  Later, the Parkersburg Rig & Reel Company manufactured oil field equipment that could be found in petroleum producing centers throughout the world.    

Parkersburg could be called the “Savings Bond Capital of America.”  Since 1957, when the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of Public Debt was moved here, every U.S. Savings Bond bought or redeemed has passed through the Parkersburg office for processing.

Early in 1862 the first free school south of the Mason-Dixon Line for African-American children was opened in Parkersburg.  It was founded by seven Black men who wished to provide an education for their children.  They named the facility Sumner School.

The Parkersburg Post Office was one of the first in the country to offer free city mail delivery beginning in 1887.   

Floating soap, later sold by Proctor & Gamble as "Ivory," was first developed at Parkersburg's Upson Oil & Soap Works, also the home of the world-famous French Process Laundry Soap.

The stretch of the Ohio River between Blennerhassett Island and Parkersburg has long been regarded by rivermen as one of the most dangerous sections of the entire river to maneuver a craft through due to its sharp bend.  So many boats sank there that it gained the dubious title "Graveyard of the Ohio."  The addition of the railroad bridge across the Ohio River further complicated this hazardous bend.

While Greater Parkersburg is currently home to the DuPont Company's largest plant in North America, the city once boasted other large manufacturing facilities that are no longer in the area.  These included the largest shovel plant in the world, the Ames Company, maker of the shovel "That Built America."  Founded in the early 1770s, the company made the shovels that dug the trenches at Bunker Hill. 

Parkersburg also had the world's first and largest rayon mill, American Viscose, and one of two plants in the world to manufacture Vitolite.  Billed as "Better Than Marble," the Libbey-Owens-Ford plant in Vienna produced this colored glass that was widely used in homes and public buildings, including the Empire State Building.    

Parkersburg’s Henry Cooper Log Cabin Museum is home to one the nation’s largest button collections.

Victor G. Bloede, the Baltimore chemist who developed the adhesive on government postage stamps, began his career in Parkersburg.  He has been called "The Man Who Made Stamps Stick."

Wood County could be called "The County of Governors " since no other West Virginia county has produced more governors.  Only Kanawha County, the state's largest county, has equaled the number of state chief executives elected from Wood County.  The state's first governor and three other later governors have called Parkersburg home.   

Accessibility

Major highways include I-77 (north/south) and US 50 (east/west).

Direct air service is provided to Pittsburgh from the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport (PKB) by US Airways Express.

Local public transportation is available throughout Parkersburg and Vienna by the Mid-Ohio Valley Transit Authority (Easy Rider).

Population (2000 US Census)

Wood County, WV – 87,986
Parkersburg, WV – 33,099 (third most populated city in West Virginia)
Vienna, WV – 10,861
Williamstown, WV – 2,996
Washington County, OH – 63,251
Belpre, OH – 6,660
Marietta, OH – 14,515
Jackson County, WV – 28,000
Pleasants County, WV – 7,514
Ritchie County, WV – 10,343
Wirt County, WV – 5,873

Geography

Wood County, WV – 367 square miles
Washington County, OH – 635 square miles
Jackson County, WV – 465 square miles
Pleasants County, WV – 130 square miles
Ritchie County, WV – 453 square miles
Wirt County, WV – 233 square miles

Local Weather (Average low and high temperatures, average rainfall)

Click here for current weather conditions