🏭 Wheeling, West Virginia | Historic River City & Former State Capita

Located along the Ohio River in northern West Virginia, Wheeling is a historic yet weathered industrial city within the Rust Belt. With a population of around 28,000, it serves as the county seat of Ohio County and was once the capital of West Virginia. 📅 I stopped here for an hour in December 2022, and my brother also visited in August and September 2023. 📜 Historical Significance: Originally a settlement in colonial Virginia, later becoming the second-largest city in the Commonwealth Hosted the Wheeling Convention during the Civil War, leading to the creation of West Virginia Served as the new state’s first capital (1863) before the government moved to Alexandria An important transportation and manufacturing hub in the 19th century thanks to its location along the Ohio River, national road, and B&O Railroad 🏭 Industrial Rise & Decline: Boomed with manufacturing in the late 1800s Post-WWII deindustrialization led to factory closures and population decline Today’s economy focuses on healthcare, education, legal services, tourism, and energy 🎓 Notable Institution: Wheeling Jesuit University 🧭 Early Explorers & Settlement: First claimed by French explorer Céloron de Blainville (1749) Surveyed by Christopher Gist (1751) and a young George Washington (1770) Permanently settled by Ebenezer Zane and his family (1770), originally named “Zanesburg” 🌉 Though much quieter today, Wheeling remains a city layered with American history—from native and colonial traces to Civil War politics and industrial rise and fall. #WheelingWV #WestVirginiaHistory #RustBelt #OhioRiver #AmericanHistory #TravelUSA #HistoricTowns