Clarksburg is a city in and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of
Harrison County,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
, United States, in the
north-central region of the state. The population of the city was 16,039 at the
2020 census.
It is the principal city of the
Clarksburg micropolitan area
The Clarksburg Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in North-Central West Virginia, anchored by the city of Clarksburg.
As of the 2000 census, the μSA had a popu ...
, which had a population of 90,434 in 2020. Clarksburg was named National Small City of the Year in 2011 by the National League of Cities.
History
Indigenous peoples have lived in the area for thousands of years. The
Oak Mounds The Oak Mounds is a large prehistoric earthwork mound, and a smaller mound to the west. They are located outside Clarksburg, in Harrison County, West Virginia.
Mounds
These mounds have never been totally excavated but they were probably built b ...
outside Clarksburg were created by the
Hopewell culture mound builders between 1 and 1000 C.E.
The first known non-indigenous visitor to the area that later became Clarksburg was
John Simpson,
a
trapper
Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management.
History
Neolithic ...
, who in 1764 located his camp on the
West Fork River
The West Fork River is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, long, in north-central West Virginia, United States. Via the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 881 sq ...
opposite the mouth of
Elk Creek at approximately (39.28128, -80.35145)
Settlement and early history
As early as 1772, settlers began claiming lands near where Clarksburg now stands, and building cabins. In 1773, Major Daniel Davisson (1748-1819) took up , upon which the principal part of the town is now located. By 1774, people settling near present Clarksburg included: Daniel Davisson, Obadiah Davisson (Daniel's father), Amaziah Davisson (Daniel's uncle), Thomas, John, and Matthew Nutter, Samuel and Andrew Cottrill (brothers), Sotha Hickman, and Samuel Beard. Undoubtedly, others located on these public lands, of which no official records were made.
The
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...
authorized the town of Clarksburg in 1785. Now a city, it is named for
General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American Surveying, surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier duri ...
, a Virginian who conducted many expeditions against the British and Indians during the
Indian Wars and the war of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, including the strategically critical capture of the
Forts of Vincennes, now in the State of
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
, in 1778.
As now-President
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
had proposed years earlier, the General Assembly also authorized a road from
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...
to
Morgantown in 1786, and a branch from this road (which decades later became the
Northwestern Turnpike
The Northwestern Turnpike is a historic road in West Virginia ( Virginia at the time the road was created), important for being historically one of the major roads crossing the Appalachians, financed by the Virginia Board of Public Works in the 1 ...
) would soon begin through Clarksburg toward the
Little Kanawha River
The Little Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, 169 mi (269 km) long,Gilchrist-Stalnaker, Joy Gregoire. 2006. "Little Kanawha River." ''The West Virginia Encyclopedia''. Ken Sullivan, editor. Charleston, WV: West Virgi ...
(which flows into the
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...
at
Parkersburg). In 1787, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the Randolph Academy at Clarksburg, a private school led by Rev. George Towers and the first west of the Alleghenies.
However, although many here as the 19th century began wanted the
National Road westward to follow
McCulloch's Path (improvements beginning after the
Northwestern Turnpike
The Northwestern Turnpike is a historic road in West Virginia ( Virginia at the time the road was created), important for being historically one of the major roads crossing the Appalachians, financed by the Virginia Board of Public Works in the 1 ...
company's formal incorporation by the Virginia General Assembly in 1827), Congress instead authorized construction on an easier route (
Nemacolin's Path) through Maryland and
Wheeling, which opened in 1818.
Construction of the first Harrison County courthouse began in Clarksburg in 1787. That building was followed by four increasingly larger courthouses; the most recent one completed in 1932. The first Court House stood on what is now the North East Corner of Second and Main Streets; the jail stood on the opposite side of Main Street near where the Presbyterian church now stands.
Relatively poor transportation slowed northwestern Virginia's development, so subscribers in Winchester,
Romney,
Kingwood, Clarksburg, Parkersburg and other towns en route caused the
Northwestern Turnpike
The Northwestern Turnpike is a historic road in West Virginia ( Virginia at the time the road was created), important for being historically one of the major roads crossing the Appalachians, financed by the Virginia Board of Public Works in the 1 ...
to be built. While the toll road increased development around Clarksburg in the 1830s, it also used a relatively anachronistic model. Nonetheless, the Randolph Academy was razed and replaced by the Northwestern Academy in 1841, a year after stage coach service began between Clarksburg and Parkersburg on the Ohio River. Clarksburg's development increased more a decade later due to new technology and further subscriptions. The
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached Clarksburg from
Grafton in 1856.
Two of the modern city's historic buildings date from this prewar era. The
Stealey-Goff-Vance House, now owned by the Harrison County Historical Society, was originally constructed in 1807, expanded in 1891 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Waldomore
Waldomore, also known as The Waldomore, is a two-story Neo-Classical brick mansion located in uptown Clarksburg, West Virginia, United States. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 4, 1978.
History
Th ...
was built beginning in 1839, served as the Clarksburg Public Library from 1931-1976 (when a new building was built next door for the majority of the collection), and added to the National Register in 1978.
Civil War
During the
Virginia Secession Convention of 1861, both Harrison County delegates opposed secession initially, although delegate (and future U.S. Congressman)
Benjamin Wilson abstained from the final vote (which approved the ordinance of secession). Its other delegate,
John S. Carlile, became a leader of the
Wheeling Convention which led to creation of the
Restored Government of Virginia during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
(during which Carlile served as U.S. Senator), and ultimately creation of the State of West Virginia. On the other hand, Confederate General
Stonewall Jackson
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...
had been born in Clarksburg in 1824.
Clarksburg's citizenry also reflected this divide. Union General McClellan established his headquarters near Clarksburg until the
First Battle of Bull Run. The B&O line made Clarksburg an important Union supply base throughout the war, with at one point more than 7000 troops in the city. It became a target of Confederate raiders, but none actually reached the city, instead striking surrounding areas with fewer defenders. The closest, most famous (and materially successful) raid, the
Jones-Imboden Raid of April and May 1863, was designed to impede recognition of West Virginia (which became the 35th state of the Union anyway in June 1863).
Postwar industrialization
In 1877, Clarksburg became one of three cities from which West Virginia voters would select their new state capital. Despite its relatively central location and an early lead, it came in second;
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 2020 census and an estimated population of 48,018 in 2021. The Charlesto ...
became and remains the state capital.
Around that time Clarksburg gained some industry and manufacturing, particularly involving glass and coal. The city grew slowly but steadily, and services increased apace. The still-functional Despard Building was built in 1870. Telephone service, the first in the state, began in Clarksburg in the mid-1880s. Native son
Edwin Maxwell was the
Republican nominee for
Governor of West Virginia in the
1884 election, though he lost narrowly to
Emanuel Willis Wilson. In 1887, Clarksburg laid its first six miles of water lines; downtown streets were lit by electricity in 1889. Nonetheless, in the late 1890s, a visitor called Clarksburg a "sleepy, moss-covered town."
Clarksburg's boom years began around the turn of the century, as coal and glass production increased. The population grew from 4,050 in 1900 to 27,869 in 1920, partly because in 1917 it annexed the previously independent surrounding communities of Adamston, Stealey, North View and Broad Oaks. The population may have reached 35,000 in 1929, before the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
.
[NRIS]
In 1894, the Traders' Hotel was constructed, the grandest structure to date. Many buildings in the
Clarksburg Downtown Historic District date from that era. In 1900, the first sewer lines were installed, and Main and Pike streets were paved with brick. In 1901, the city's first trolley opened for business (it would cease operating in 1947). Merchants Smith, Brown and Company built an early department store beginning in 1890. The Northwestern Academy was razed in 1894 and the Towers School erected (which became the city's high school). Merchants National Bank built a building in 1894 which later became the Community Bank. Clarksburg's oldest bank, the Empire National Bank, built a seven-story headquarters in 1907. Other significant buildings include the Goff Building (1911), Municipal Building (1888), the Waldo Hotel (1901–1904), Robinson Grand (1912, 1940), Harrison County Courthouse (1931-1932), U.S. Post Office (1932), Masonic Temple (1911–1914), First United Presbyterian Church (1894), and First Methodist Church (1909, 1956).
An automobile had reached Clarksburg in 1902, and that technology fostered further development. In 1928,
U.S. Route 50 was paved through Clarksburg. U.S.
Interstate 79
Interstate 79 (I-79) is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States, designated from I-77 in Charleston, West Virginia, north to Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5) and PA 290 in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is a primary thoroughfar ...
would open in 1979 and connect Clarksburg with Charleston as well as Pennsylvania. In 1924, Clarksburg hosted a parade for its "native son",
John W. Davis, who had become the "dark horse" Democratic Presidential candidate (but lost) to Republican incumbent
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...
. The following year, Republican and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Howard M. Gore
Howard Mason Gore (October 12, 1877June 20, 1947) was an American politician. He served as the 8th Secretary of Agriculture from 1924 to 1925, during the administration of President Calvin Coolidge, and he served as 17th governor of West Virgin ...
, became Governor of West Virginia. During the 1920s, Clarksburg's
Melville Davisson Post
Melville Davisson Post (April 19, 1869 – June 23, 1930) was an American author, born in Harrison County, West Virginia. Although his name is not immediately familiar to those outside of specialist circles, many of his collections are still ...
(1869-1930) may have been the country's highest paid author, writing 17 novels including the characters of Randolph Mason and
Uncle Abner.
As the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
began, the Farmers Bank closed in 1929, and the Bank of West Virginia (which had opened in 1869) failed in 1933. Clarksburg's population dropped to 30,579 by 1940, and further as the decade progressed. Former Gov. Gore served as state agricultural commissioner (1931–33) and later as Public Service Commissioner (1941–47).
However, Clarksburg managed to avoid urban blight and preserved much of the architecture it had gained during the "boom years". It is now West Virginia's tenth largest city. The West Virginia Preservation Alliance, the state's first, was created in Clarksburg in 1981.
Mountaineer Militia
On October 11, 1996, seven men having connections with the
Mountaineer Militia, a local anti-government
paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
group, were arrested on charges of plotting to blow up the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...
's Criminal Justice Information Services Division complex in Clarksburg. While members of the group had been assembling large quantities of explosives and blasting caps, militia leader
Floyd Raymond Looker
Floyd may refer to:
As a name
* Floyd (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Floyd (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
Places in the United States
* Floyd, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Floyd, Iowa ...
obtained blueprints of the FBI facility from a Clarksburg firefighter. Plastic explosives were confiscated by law enforcement officials at five locations in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Looker was taken into custody after arranging to sell the blueprints for $50,000 to an
undercover FBI agent, whom he believed to be a representative of an international terrorist group. In 1998 Looker was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Two other defendants were sentenced on explosives charges, and the firefighter drew a year in prison for providing blueprints.
Business and industry
The availability of natural resources, coupled with easy access to railroad facilities, attracted industry and manufacturing to Clarksburg, including chemical plants, brickworks, potteries, foundries and machine shops, hardwood and casket companies, glass factories (including the Akro-Agate marble company), and the Jackson (later Phillips) Sheet and Tin Plate Company, the forerunner of Weirton Steel. Economic development brought successive waves of immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries, including
Irish,
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, region2 ...
,
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...
,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
,
Belgians
Belgians ( nl, Belgen; french: Belges; german: Belgier) are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultur ...
, and
Spanish.
Early 20th century Clarksburg boasted eight banks, three hospitals, and several fine hotels, including the elegant seven-story Waldo, which opened in 1909. The seven-story Empire Bank building went up in 1907, the nine-story Goff Building in 1911, and the 10-story Union Bank in 1912.
By 1929, Clarksburg had reached its peak population of 35,115. During the Depression the city lost industry and population, but during World War II the railroad again made it a central clearinghouse. New development came with the construction in the 1970s of Interstate 79 and the new four-lane U.S. 50 Appalachian Corridor D connecting I-79 to I-77, but plant closings in the 1980s had a negative impact. New expansion in the government and technology sectors began in the 1990s, including the relocation of the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Center to Clarksburg and construction of a new federal building and a new building to house Fairmont State University's Clarksburg branch.
*In 1975, Clarksburg opened a new public library designed by
Marcel Breuer, adding another distinctive element to its architecturally rich downtown.
*The city has a daily newspaper,
The Exponent-Telegram, three local television stations, and six radio stations.
*Clarksburg is home to Eastpointe and Newpointe, the largest strip mall in West Virginia, adjacent to Interstate 79. Most of Clarksburg's retail has relocated to the strip malls, and downtown is now home to many professional services.
8
Akro Agate Company
The
Akro Agate Company of Clarksburg was a world leader in manufacturing glass
marbles. Organized in
Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...
, in 1911 the firm relocated to Clarksburg in 1914 because of the availability of glass sand and cheap natural gas for fuel. The
Chinese checkers craze of the 1930s and ’40s helped make the marbles very profitable, with more than 2,000,000 made per week. Beginning in the 1930s a line of pressed glass vases, floral ware, and colorful glass containers was produced. Miniature glass children’s dishes, including tea pots, cups, saucers, and other pieces, were sold as inexpensively boxed sets when
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
limited the availability of metal for toys. The marbles and multicolored pressed articles in similar hues are sought by collectors today. Pressed products can sometimes be identified by the trademark of the letter ''A'' with a crow flying through it. The firm, located off South Chestnut Street, ceased production in 1951.
Hazel-Atlas Glass Company
Hazel-Atlas Glass Company
The Hazel-Atlas Glass Company was a large producer of machine-molded glass containers headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded in 1902 in Washington, Pennsylvania, as the merger of four companies:
*Hazel Glass and Metals Compan ...
, the glassmaking giant in a state known for glass production, was created in 1902 by the merger of four earlier companies. The largest glass company in the United States from the 1930s until the 1950s, Hazel Atlas was a major producer of inexpensive ‘‘
depression glass’’ table sets of pink, green, blue, colorless, and black glass. Hundreds of thousands of glass premiums given away in oats, coffee, and other products were made by Hazel Atlas.
Hazel Atlas glass plants in West Virginia included one along the
Tygart River in
Grafton (1916–60) that largely produced wide-mouth canning jars, and the world's largest tumbler factory in Clarksburg (1902–87). By 1920, the Clarksburg factory had 15 acres of floor space, employed 1,200 people, and shipped all over the world. The company's metal factories in Wheeling made lids and closures for glass containers.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
In July 1995, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...
completed construction on its Criminal Justice Information Services Division complex in Clarksburg. The $200 million complex, located on 986 acres, is the national repository for the FBI's law enforcement records. The project came about through the efforts of Senator
Robert C. Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd (born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr.; November 20, 1917 – June 28, 2010) was an American politician and musician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A ...
. In 1990, in Byrd's second year as head of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the senator worked to fund the center and get it built in West Virginia, not Washington.
Geography
Clarksburg is located at , along the
West Fork River
The West Fork River is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, long, in north-central West Virginia, United States. Via the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 881 sq ...
and
Elk Creek.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.
Clarksburg is located in West Virginia's
North-Central region. It lies within the
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
of the
Western Allegheny Plateau.
Clarksburg is located at the junction of U.S. 50 and U.S. 19, two miles west of the junction of U.S. 50 with Interstate 79. The city lies at an elevation of 1,007 feet at the junction of
Elk Creek and the
West Fork River
The West Fork River is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, long, in north-central West Virginia, United States. Via the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 881 sq ...
of the
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-c ...
.
Transportation
Clarksburg is at the crossroads of
U.S. Route 50 (
Corridor D), the main arterial route for Clarksburg, and
Interstate 79
Interstate 79 (I-79) is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States, designated from I-77 in Charleston, West Virginia, north to Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5) and PA 290 in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is a primary thoroughfar ...
. Other major highways include
West Virginia Route 20
West Virginia Route 20 is a major north–south state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 52 in Bluewell, a small unincorporated suburb of Bluefield. The northern terminus is a ...
,
West Virginia Route 58,
U.S. Route 19, and
West Virginia Route 98.
The
Northwestern Turnpike
The Northwestern Turnpike is a historic road in West Virginia ( Virginia at the time the road was created), important for being historically one of the major roads crossing the Appalachians, financed by the Virginia Board of Public Works in the 1 ...
, now known as
U.S. Route 50, chartered in 1827, and began in 1831, reached Clarksburg in 1836 and was
macadam
Macadam is a type of road construction, pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam around 1820, in which crushed stone is placed in shallow, convex layers and compacted thoroughly. A binding layer of stone dust (crushed stone from the ...
ized from the Tygarts Valley River to
Parkersburg in 1848.
The
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached Clarksburg from
Grafton in 1856.
*
Interstate 79
Interstate 79 (I-79) is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States, designated from I-77 in Charleston, West Virginia, north to Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5) and PA 290 in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is a primary thoroughfar ...
*
U.S. Route 50
*
U.S. Route 19
*
West Virginia Route 20
West Virginia Route 20 is a major north–south state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 52 in Bluewell, a small unincorporated suburb of Bluefield. The northern terminus is a ...
*
West Virginia Route 58
*
West Virginia Route 98
*
West Virginia Route 279
Clarksburg is served by the
North Central West Virginia Airport, approximately 7 miles east of the city.
Landmarks and attractions
*
Oak Mounds The Oak Mounds is a large prehistoric earthwork mound, and a smaller mound to the west. They are located outside Clarksburg, in Harrison County, West Virginia.
Mounds
These mounds have never been totally excavated but they were probably built b ...
*
Waldomore
Waldomore, also known as The Waldomore, is a two-story Neo-Classical brick mansion located in uptown Clarksburg, West Virginia, United States. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 4, 1978.
History
Th ...
*
Edgewood Manor
Edgewood Manor is located in Clarksburg, West Virginia on the east side of US Route 19 and State Route 20 North just one-fourth of a mile off of the West Pike Street Exit off Route 50. Another much older house of the same name, Edgewood (Bunk ...
*
Washington Irving High School
*
Liberty High School
*
Kelly Miller High School
*
Victory High School
*
Waldo Hotel
Nearby places
Relation of Clarksburg to nearby places, not necessarily contiguous
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
of 2010, there were 16,578 people, 7,213 households, and 4,179 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
was . There were 8,132 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.9%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 3.9%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.2%
Native American, 0.3%
Asian, 0.3% from
other races, and 2.4% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population.
There were 7,213 households, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.1% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.91.
The median age in the city was 39.5 years. 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.8% were from 25 to 44; 27.1% were from 45 to 64; and 16.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.0% male and 52.0% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
of 2000, there were 16,743 people, 7,447 households, and 4,378 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
was 1,758.3 people per square mile (679.0/km
2). There were 8,662 housing units at an average density of 909.7 per square mile (351.3/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.86%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 3.83%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.13%
Native American, 0.36%
Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.44% from
other races, and 1.34% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino were 1.06% of the population.
There were 7,447 households, out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.2% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,722, and the median income for a family was $35,075. Males had a median income of $30,194 versus $22,388 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $17,587. About 14.8% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 28.5% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.
Belgians
During the first decade of the 20th century,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
was frequently spoken on the West Virginia streets of such communities as
South Charleston, the North View section of Clarksburg, and the small town of
Salem. These neighborhoods shared a connection to the window-glass industry, and the people speaking French often were
Walloons
Walloons (; french: Wallons ; wa, Walons) are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group living native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of France. Walloons primarily speak '' langues d'oïl'' such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Wallo ...
, or French-speaking
Belgians
Belgians ( nl, Belgen; french: Belges; german: Belgier) are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultur ...
. About 1900, changes in window-glass manufacture brought thousands of immigrants from the Charleroi area of Belgium just when the industry was expanding into West Virginia to take advantage of cheap natural gas and large deposits of silica sand. For a generation, window-glass factories, many of which were worker-owned cooperatives, relied heavily on these Belgian immigrants to provide the skills necessary to make West Virginia a national center of production.
West Virginia's Belgians came from an area economically similar to West Virginia. The
Charleroi basin of the
Hainaut province
Hainaut (, also , , ; nl, Henegouwen ; wa, Hinnot; pcd, Hénau), historically also known as Heynowes in English, is a province of Wallonia and Belgium.
To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders (clockwi ...
in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
was dependent upon coal mining, steel production, and window-glass manufacturing. The Belgians’ new homes in north-central West Virginia and the Kanawha Valley must have felt familiar.
They left
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
because the Belgian glass factories were struggling in the 1880s and 1890s. Equally important, workers had limited opportunities to voice their concerns either politically or economically. Belgian glassworkers found in the United States an effective trade union to represent their workplace concerns and the means to build a vibrant political movement advocating democratic socialism. In fact, some of these Belgian enclaves, including
Star City near
Morgantown and Adamston (now part of Clarksburg), elected
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
mayors in the years before
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. Aside from politics, Belgian ethnic communities also became famous for the cuisine, musical groups, social clubs, and celebrations composing the unique Belgian cultural heritage.
The technological changes that had made skilled Belgian workers so valuable, however, soon gave way to newer technologies that turned window-glass manufacture from a skilled craft to a mass-production industry. By the end of the 1920s, a few large corporations dominated the industry and machines replaced most of the skilled craftsmen. One exception, window-glass cutters, continued to provide opportunities to a new generation of Belgian-Americans. More than 70 years later, the
Belgian-American
Belgian Americans are Americans who can trace their ancestry to people from Belgium who immigrated to the United States. While the first natives of the then-Southern Netherlands arrived in America in the 17th century, the majority of Belgian imm ...
Heritage Society keeps alive the history and culture of this fascinating ethnic group.
Events
Clarksburg is a cultural center of the north-central West Virginia region and hosts many events and festivals. Since 1979 Clarksburg has hosted the annual
West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival held during
Labor Day weekend. Every September since 1991 the city has been the site of th
West Virginia Black Heritage Festival Since 2006 Clarksburg has hosted the annual Glen Elk Wine, Music and Arts festival. Since 1997 Clarksburg has also hosted the Greater Clarksburg 10K race, the official WV 10K State Championship. In 2007 the race was renamed the Jarvis Greater Clarksburg 10K.
Climate
Clarksburg has a humid continental climate if one considers the 0 °C isotherm. To the molds of
Köppen the climate may be considered the southern boundary of the ''Dfb'' zone at low altitudes in the
North American continent (limit of 39 ° N), although in the immediate vicinity it is ''Dfa''.
The city still suffers strong influences from the south, especially from the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
but due to its location has a much more significant influence of the cold air intrusion of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
, where it is not protected by the
Appalachians. The extent further to the south is due to the eastern and southeastern mountain ranges blocking the oceanic influence in part, even if it is minimal anyway by the considerable distance from the coast. At the same time it can be classified as ''Cfa'' or hybrid of different climatic zones according to the criterion to be surveyed, a situation similar to that of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
.
It is the ''Dfb'' boundary throughout the northern hemisphere if it is to be disregarded in elevated regions on all continents. The southern record could appear on the
Korean peninsula
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...
but the dry season defined version (''Dwb'') predominates in these locations. The average temperature is 52.2 °F (11.2 °C) with a high average of 63.3 °F (17.3 °C) and a low average of 41.1 °F (5.1 °C). It has 45.6 inches (1159 mm) of rain with peak in May (4.8 inches or 122 mm) and lower value in February with 3.2 inches (82 mm). The amount of total snow is 25 inches (63 cm), with highest values between January and February, 8 inches (20.3 cm) in total for each month. Since the season of snowfall goes from November to March.
Record temperatures range from on
January 19, 1994, up to as recently as September 3 and 4, 1953.
;Notes:
Notable people
*
Tony Anthony
Darrell W. Anthony (born April 12, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler, also known by his ring name Dirty White Boy. He wrestled primarily for independent promotions in the Southeastern United States. He was most active throughout ...
: actor, producer, director, and screenwriter
*
Hugh Aynesworth: author and journalist
*
Babe Barna
Herbert Paul "Babe" Barna (March 2, 1915 – May 18, 1972) was a left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1937–1938), New York Giants (1941–1943) and Boston Red Sox (1943). Barna batted left-handed and ...
: Major League Baseball Player 1937-1943
*
W. Robert Blair: Illinois politician
*
Rex Bumgardner
Rex Keith Bumgardner (September 6, 1923 – June 1, 1998) was a halfback in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Bumgardn ...
: professional football player,
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...
(1948–1949) and
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
(1950–1952)
*
John S. Carlile: American merchant, lawyer, and politician, including a United States Senator, one of West Virginia's founders.
*
William W. Chapman: United States politician
Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
and
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
*
Harry Courtney: professional baseball pitcher and Professional Football Player 1919-1922
*
Phyllis Curtin: opera soprano
*
John J. Davis: U.S. Congressman, helped found West Virginia
*
John W. Davis:
Democratic Party nominee for
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
in 1924
*
Jimbo Fisher:
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...
of the
Texas A&M Aggies football team.
*
Nathan Goff, Jr.: congressman and United States
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
*
Guy D. Goff
Guy Despard Goff (September 13, 1866January 7, 1933) was an American lawyer and politician - who served as a United States senator from West Virginia. Earlier in his career, he was United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and ...
: son of Nathan Goff, Jr., Served as a US senator and the US DA for the eastern district of Wisconsin
*
Howard Mason Gore:
United States Secretary of Agriculture
The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments.
The department includes several organ ...
under president Calvin Coolidge
*
Mabel Grouitch
Mabel Grouitch ( ''née'' Dunlop; August 13, 1872 or August 13, 1881 – August 13, 1956) was an American archeologist, philanthropist and voluntary nurse with the Red Cross in Serbia, during the two Balkan wars and World War I.
Early years an ...
: American surgical nurse who worked with the Red Cross during World War I
*
Robert Graetz
Robert Sylvester Graetz Jr. (May 16, 1928 – September 20, 2020) was a Lutheran clergyman who, as the white pastor of a black congregation in Montgomery, Alabama, openly supported the Montgomery bus boycott, a landmark event of the civil rights m ...
: Lutheran clergyman who, as the white pastor of a black congregation in Montgomery, Alabama, Civil Rights Activist
*
Bert Hamric Major League Baseball Player
*
William S. Haymond US House of Representative, representing Indiana. Civil War surgeon in the Union Army.
*
Samuel Lewis Hays 19th Century United States Senator
*
Lynn Hornor: represented West Virginia in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
*
William Lowther Jackson
William Lowther Jackson Jr. (February 3, 1825 – March 26, 1890) was an American lawyer, Democratic politician, slaveholder and jurist who became the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia prior to the American Civil War, and later fought in the Conf ...
:
Confederate General during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
*
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nea ...
:
Confederate lieutenant-general during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
*
Edward B. Jackson: Member of the 16th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
James Pindall and reelected to the 17th Congress, served from October 23, 1820, to March 3, 1823
*
Porter Jarvis, President of Swift & Company, Chicago.
*
John David Jamerson: Standout NCAA basketball player for Ohio University and NBA player selected by the Miami Heat in the 1st round (15th overall) of the 1990 NBA Draft.
*
Louis A. Johnson:
United States Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The se ...
*
Tuffy Knight
David "Tuffy" Knight (born May 17, 1936) is a former coach of Canadian university football and a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Knight was a high school football, track, and basketball coach in Southeastern Ohio who moved to Ca ...
: former coach in Canadian university football, and a member of the
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about ...
*
Charles S. Lewis: member of the 33rd Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of
John F. Snodgrass
*
Pare Lorentz
Pare Lorentz (December 11, 1905 – March 4, 1992) was an American filmmaker known for his film work about the New Deal. Born Leonard MacTaggart Lorentz in Clarksburg, West Virginia he was educated at Buckhannon High School, West Virginia Wesl ...
: film director
*
Frank Loria:
Virginia Tech Hokies football All American player. He later died in the
Southern Airlines Flight 932 airplane crash, that killed most of
Marshall University
Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States.
The university is currently composed of nine colleges ...
's football team, on November 14, 1970
*
Lloyd Lowndes, Jr.:
Governor of Maryland
The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...
*
Bruce Marks
Bruce S. Marks (born March 14, 1957) is an American attorney and politician who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 2nd district from 1994 to 1995.
Early life
Marks was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
...
(born 1957), American politician
*
Joseph M. Minard: Democratic member of the West Virginia Senate
*
Ken Moore: Professional Football player for the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
*
Frederick Mosteller
Charles Frederick Mosteller (December 24, 1916 – July 23, 2006) was an American mathematician, considered one of the most eminent statisticians of the 20th century. He was the founding chairman of Harvard's statistics department from 195 ...
: founding chairman of Harvard's statistics department
*
Elliott Northcott: Federal Judge appointed by President Calvin Coolidge on April 6, 1927
*
Dave Nutter: Virginia House of Delegates
*
Mike Patrick
Michael Patrick (born September 9, 1944) is a retired American sportscaster, known for his long tenure with ESPN.
Early career
Patrick began his broadcasting career in the fall of 1966 at WVSC-Radio in Somerset, Pennsylvania. In 1970, he was ...
:
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
sportscaster
*
Melville Davisson Post
Melville Davisson Post (April 19, 1869 – June 23, 1930) was an American author, born in Harrison County, West Virginia. Although his name is not immediately familiar to those outside of specialist circles, many of his collections are still ...
: author of the
Uncle Abner detective fiction series from 1911 to 1928
*
Jay Randolph: sportscaster, son of senator
Jennings Randolph
*
Stuart F. Reed
Stuart Felix Reed (January 8, 1866 – July 4, 1935) was an American lawyer and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who became the Secretary of State of West Virginia (1909–1917) and represented West Virginia's 3rd con ...
: politician who represented West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives
*
Emily Shaffer: Actress
*
Thomas Thomas (boxer): heavyweight boxer, Once rated #6 in the world
*
Cyrus Vance
Cyrus Roberts Vance Sr. (March 27, 1917January 12, 2002) was an American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980. Prior to serving in that position, he was the United States Deputy Secretary o ...
:
United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
*
Patty Weaver: actress, ''
The Young and the Restless
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...
'' (1982–present), ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'' (1974–1982)
*
Sam Wetzel
Robert Lewis Wetzel (October 6, 1930 – January 20, 2022) was a United States Army lieutenant general.
Education
Robert Lewis "Sam" Wetzel, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, graduated from high school in 1948 and was planning to study engineering a ...
US Army General
*
Sherilyn Wolter: actress who has appeared television soap operas.
*
Kirsten Wyatt: Broadway actress, ''
Grease'' (2007–present).
*
Jean Yancey: women's small business consultant, motivational speaker.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Cities in West Virginia
Cities in Harrison County, West Virginia
Northwestern Turnpike
County seats in West Virginia
Clarksburg micropolitan area
Coal towns in West Virginia