Brilliant is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in eastern Jefferson County,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, along the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. It was named after the Brilliant Glass factory that once was located in the town. The population was 1,317 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the

Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area The Weirton–Steubenville, WV–OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Upper Ohio Valley, is a metropolitan statistical area consisting of two counties in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, Northern Panhandle of West Virginia an ...

. Brilliant was formerly incorporated as a village, but it disincorporated on November 24, 1993.

History

Brilliant was laid out in 1819 by western Virginia statesman Philip Doddridge under the name "Philipsburgh". The location was considered significant to commerce as it was the convergence of many roads in close proximity to the

and parallel to the Wellsburg wharf. A new addition was laid out in 1836 named "La Grange", a name also adopted by the railway station in 1856. In 1880, the Brilliant Glass Company was established and a glass factory was built at La Grange. The town later adopted the name of the glass company and was incorporated as "Brilliant", changing the titles of the railway station and post office. The Cardinal Power Plant is located south of Brilliant. It commenced operations in 1967.

Geography

Brilliant is in northeastern Wells Township, along the

south of

Steubenville Steubenville ( ) is a city in Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Ohio River west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area has an es ...

Ohio State Route 7 State Route 7 (SR 7), formerly known as Inter-county Highway 7 until 1921 and State Highway 7 in 1922, is a north–south state highway in the southern and eastern portions of the U.S. state of Ohio. At about in length, it is the longest ...

, a four-lane freeway, passes through the southeast side of the community, leading north (upriver) to Steubenville and south to

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

, across the river from

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, 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 Mo ...

. According to the 2010 census, the Brilliant CDP has a total area of , of which (or 98.87%) are land and (or 0.56%) are water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Brilliant has a

Humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

Education

Public education in the community of Brilliant is provided by the Buckeye Local School District. Public high school students in the city attend Buckeye Local High School; Brilliant High School formerly served as the high school in the city. Brilliant has a public library, a branch of the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County.

References

{{Authority control Former municipalities in Ohio Census-designated places in Jefferson County, Ohio Ohio populated places on the Ohio River Populated places disestablished in 1993