The Northern Panhandle is the northern of the two
panhandles
A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state.
While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
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 Bur ...
. It is a culturally and geographically distinct region of the state. It is the state's northernmost extension, bounded by
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
and 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 Illino ...
on the north and west and the state of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
on the east. Its unusual configuration is the result of the
Revolutionary-era claims of Virginia's former
Yohogania County
Yohogania County was created by the new state of Virginia in 1776, in an area long disputed between Virginia and Pennsylvania. The county ceased to exist after the border dispute between the two states was resolved in the 1780s. Thus, it is somet ...
boundary lying along the Ohio River, conflicting with interpretations of the
Colony of Pennsylvania
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...
's royal charter. The conflict was settled by compromise in the 1780s.
In 2013, its northernmost two counties were included in the
Pittsburgh consolidated area by the U.S. Census.
The region has a total combined population of 132,295 as of the
2010 census.
Counties
The following counties, listed from north to south, are universally accepted as being part of the Northern Panhandle:
*
Hancock County
*
Brooke County
*
Ohio County
*
Marshall County
Most West Virginians also include
Wetzel County, and sometimes
Tyler County, directly to the south of Marshall County, as a part of the Northern Panhandle, although they do not lie strictly within the northern extension.
Since statehood, they have formed the core of .
The northern counties of the Northern Panhandle comprise part of the
Weirton–Steubenville, WV–OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the western regions of
Greater Pittsburgh
Greater Pittsburgh is a populous region centered around its largest city and economic hub, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The region encompasses Pittsburgh's urban core county, Allegheny, and six adjacent Pennsylvania counties: Armstrong, Beaver, ...
. The southern counties are part of the
Wheeling, WV–OH Metropolitan Area.
Economy
In the late 19th century, the Northern Panhandle developed as an industrial area, especially in the manufacturing of steel and glass products. It still largely retains its industrial character, although many of its factories have closed down or fallen on hard times like others in the
Rust Belt
The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions and ...
. The region also contains the
Panhandle Coalfield The Panhandle Coalfield is a coalfield located in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia counties of Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, and Wetzel. Mining is primarily in the Pittsburgh coal seam, sometimes called the No. 8 seam, which is of a stea ...
.
Banks in these counties are serviced by the
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is the Cleveland-based headquarters of the U.S. Federal Reserve System's Fourth District. The district is composed of Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. ...
, while the rest of West Virginia is in the
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is the headquarters of the Fifth District of the Federal Reserve located in Richmond, Virginia. It covers the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and most of West Virginia ...
.
Education
The region houses three four-year colleges—the
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
West Liberty University
West Liberty University (WLU) is a public university in West Liberty, West Virginia. It is West Virginia's oldest institution of higher education. It offers more than 70 undergraduate majors plus graduate programs, including a master's degree ...
and the private
Bethany College and
Wheeling University
Wheeling University (WU, formerly Wheeling Jesuit University) is a private Roman Catholic university in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded as Wheeling College in 1954 by the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits) and was a Jesuit inst ...
. All five counties listed in this article, plus
Tyler County, are located within the service area of
West Virginia Northern Community College
West Virginia Northern Community College (WVNCC) is a public community college with its main campus in downtown Wheeling, West Virginia. Established in 1972, WVNCC serves all six counties in West Virginia's Northern Panhandle. It is part of the W ...
.
See also
*
Yohogania County, Virginia
Yohogania County was created by the new state of Virginia in 1776, in an area long disputed between Virginia and Pennsylvania. The county ceased to exist after the border dispute between the two states was resolved in the 1780s. Thus, it is somet ...
References
{{Coord, 40, 10, N, 80, 35, W, region:US-WV_scale:500000, display=title
Pittsburgh metropolitan area
Regions of West Virginia
Mason–Dixon line
Borders of West Virginia
Appalachia