Wheeling Island is the most populated

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in 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 ...

. It lies within the city of Wheeling in Ohio 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 B ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The 2000 census showed a resident population of 3,142 people on the island, which has a land area of .

Neville Island Neville Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its land area consists entirely of Neville Island, which is an island on the Ohio River. The population was 1,084 at the 2010 census. History The island was form ...

, Pennsylvania, is larger () but has fewer people (1,232). Wheeling Island lies at the mouths of Wheeling Creek of Ohio and Wheeling Creek of West Virginia. The island is home to the

Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack (formerly Wheeling Downs) is a greyhound racino located on Wheeling Island in the middle of the Ohio River, which is a part of the city of Wheeling, West Virginia. It is located just off the Wheeling Island ...

at Wheeling Downs and

Wheeling Island Stadium Wheeling Island Stadium is a stadium used mostly for American football and soccer located on Wheeling Island in Wheeling, West Virginia. The original portion of the stadium was dedicated on June 10, 1927, but a large concrete seating section was ad ...

, home of the West Virginia State Football Championships. Wheeling Island has a number of historic homes featuring

Victorian Architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...

. An elementary school (Madison Elementary, by Prominent WV Architect F.F. Faris, also Wheeling Island is the location of his personal residence), churches, a public pool (Bridge Park Pool), and several restaurants are located on the island. A section of Wheeling Island is protected as part of the

Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge The Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge (ORINWR) is a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in non-contiguous sites consisting of islands along of the Ohio River, primarily (85% of acreage) in the U.S. state of West Virginia. There are also two ...

Transportation

Wheeling Island is connected to downtown Wheeling via the

Fort Henry Bridge The Fort Henry Bridge is a crossing of the Ohio River main channel in Wheeling, West Virginia. The tied-arch bridge carries two lanes in each direction of Interstate 70 (I-70), U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 250. The bridge opened af ...

, carrying

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

, U.S. Route 40, and

U.S. Route 250 U.S. Route 250 (US 250) is a route of the United States Numbered Highway System, and is a spur of U.S. Route 50. It currently runs for from Richmond, Virginia to Sandusky, Ohio. It passes through the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio. ...

, and the

Wheeling Suspension Bridge The Wheeling Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the main channel of the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. It was the largest suspension bridge in the world from 1849 until 1851. Charles Ellet Jr. (who also worked on the Nia ...

, carrying the

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

. Two additional bridges cross the back channel of the Ohio River to connect the island to

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

, one for Interstate 70, and a second for US 250 and US 40. The

Aetnaville Bridge The Aetnaville Bridge is a through truss bridge spanning the back channel of the Ohio River between Bridgeport, Ohio and Wheeling, West Virginia. The bridge was built in December 1891 and used for vehicular traffic until December 1988, when it w ...

also crosses the back channel of the Ohio River, but was closed to vehicle traffic in 1988 and to the public in 2016 over safety concerns.

Variant names

Originally known by various names including ''Zanes Island'' and ''Madison Island'', the

Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...

decided upon ''Wheeling Island'' as the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

's official name in 1902. Local residents refer to it as simply "The Island."

References

External links

Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming CenterWheeling Island.org - Information and ResourcesCreative Impressions
Publisher of ''Wheeling Island: A Photographic History '' by Robert W. Schramm {{authority control River islands of West Virginia Geography of Wheeling, West Virginia Islands of the Ohio River Landforms of Ohio County, West Virginia

Transportation

Variant names

See also

References

External links