Two 1909 Wheeling, WV skyline photos

[Wheelingman04]

1909 photos showing the city's density and the surrounding hills of West Virginia and Ohio.






Here is a little bit about Wheeling for those who don't know much about my city. This is from the Wheeling City government page.

LOCATION AND FACTS


The City of Wheeling encompasses approximately 11.2 square miles of land and is located along the Ohio River between Ohio and Pennsylvania in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. The City lies approximately 60 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and over half of the country’s population is within a five hundred mile radius. This is due to Interstate 70, a major east-west route, running through the City. It connects with Interstate 79, thirty-two miles east of Wheeling, and Interstate 77, fifty miles west. The Wheeling-Ohio County Airport located just less than twelve miles from downtown also serves the City as well as the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, just less than an hour’s drive from Wheeling.

More Wheeling Facts – Did You Know?

Founded in 1769.

Incorporated in 1836.

Elevation is 687 feet above sea level.

Population is 31,400 (2000 Data).

Climate temperatures range from an average of 72.7° Fahrenheit in the summer to an average of 29.3° Fahrenheit in the winter. Average annual rainfall is 36" and snowfall is also 36".

Wheeling is the largest city in the Wheeling-Belmont County (Ohio) Metropolitan Statistical Area that includes Ohio and Marshall Counties, WV and Belmont County, OH.

HISTORY


Colonel Ebenezer Zane founded Wheeling in 1769. The town grew up around Fort Henry, which was built by Captain Crawford and a company of men from Fort Dunmore, Virginia, in 1774. By the early 1880’s, trade along the Ohio River made Wheeling, Virginia a popular frontier town. National Road, the nation’s first roadway, was created by an act of Congress and reached Wheeling in 1818 from Cumberland, Maryland. National Road was the most important avenue of commerce and, as such, Wheeling became known as the "gateway to the west."

Wheeling was established as a town in 1795 and incorporated in 1836 through a Charter granted by the Virginia Assembly. Wheeling was loyal to the Federal Government during the Civil War and the State of West Virginia was born here. The first convention of the delegated from the loyal counties of northwestern Virginia met in Wheeling on May 13, 1861 and inaugurated the movement which finally resulted in the admission of West Virginia into the Union as a state on June 20, 1863. Wheeling, West Virginia was the capital of the newly formed state from 1863 to 1870 when it was moved to Charleston. In 1875, the seat of the government was brought back to Wheeling and remained until 1885, again being transferred to Charleston where it has since remained.

In the last decades of the 19th century, iron and steel mills developed on the banks of the Ohio River. Other industries thrived, too, including glass works and cigar factories. In particular, the manufacture of cut iron nails became a major element of Wheeling’s economy and Wheeling became known as the "nail capital of the world."

Through an active industrial economy and large working population, Wheeling became the richest city per capita in America at the end of the 19th century. This is evident in the City’s grand architecture of the beautiful mansions which stand today as a testimony to the earlier time of wealth.