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800.752.4982 800.752.4982 800.752.4982 ||| GREATERPARKERSBURG.COM GREATERPARKERSBURG.COM GREATERPARKERSBURG.COM

LocationThe Greater Parkersburg area consists of fi ve cities in two states: Parkersburg, Vienna and Williamstown, West Virginia and Marietta and Belpre, Ohio. Other historic cities considered part of the area are found in Ritchie and Wirt Counties, West Virginia.

v Located at the intersection of I-77 & US 50

v Bisected by the Little Kanawha and Ohio Rivers

AccessibilityMajor highways include:

v I-77 (north/south from Ohio to South Carolina)

v US 50 (east/west from Washington, D.C. to California)

v Public bus transportation available within Parkersburg and Vienna city limits

v Regional airport with service to Dulles International Airport

v Taxi services

Climatev January average temperature is 38 degrees

v July average temperature is 85 degrees

v Average annual rainfall is 42.4 inches

Geographyv Wood County, WV covers 367 square miles

v Ritchie County, WV covers 454 square miles

v Wirt County, WV covers 233 square miles

v Washington County, OH covers 635 square miles

Population (2010 U.S. Census)

v Parkersburg is the third largest city in West Virginia with a population of 31,492.

v Wood County, WV Population: 86,956

v Wirt County, WV Population: 5,717

v Ritchie County, WV Population: 10,449

v Washington County, OH Population: 61,778

v Marietta was the fi rst city established in the Northwest Territory and today has a population of 14,085.

Educationv Eight colleges, universities, and technical schools are located throughout the region.v Wood County has four high schools, fi ve junior high schools and 19 elementary schools.

Oil and Gas Museum

Ohio Valley University

Julia-Ann Square Historic District

E s c a p e , d i s c ove r & p l a y.Fact Sheet

Oil and Gas Museum

GreaterParkersburg.com | 800.752.4982

Local Economy

350 7th Street, Parkersburg, WV 26101304.428.1130 or 800.752.4982 GreaterParkersburg.com

Convent ion & Visi tors Bureau

More than a dozen of the nation’s Fortune 500 companies have chosen the Parkersburg area as their place to do business — and with good reason. Few areas can match its combined advantages of good location, a skilled labor force and land availability.

A well known international chemical company found Parkersburg suitable for its operations in the late 1940s and 1950s. E. I. du Pont de Nemours Company purchased 400 acres once owned by George Washington for its Washington Works site in 1945. Operations at the plant began in 1948. Today, the facility produces a variety of polymer products (plastics), and the Washington Works site is the world’s largest producer of Tefl on.

The area is also a major agricultural region, with large commercial and family-size farms contributing signifi cantly to the local economy. Dairy farming is a major industry, while fruits and vegetables produced in Wood County are shipped to metropolitan areas in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

State & Local Tourism Factsv Tourism generates $294.3 million in Wood County, WV.

v Tourism employs 5,571 individuals in Wood County, WV.

v Parkersburg’s Henry Cooper Log Cabin Museum is home to one the nation’s largest button collections.

v West Virginia’s fi rst governor, Arthur I. Boreman hailed from Parkersburg. Three additional governors have called Wood County home.

v West Virginia’s nationally recognized Rails to Trails project includes more than 1,000 miles of trails that can be used by hikers, bikers and equestrians.

v West Virginia became the 35th state in the Union on June 20, 1863.

v Nearly 80% of the state is covered in forests.

Blennerhassett Island and the Ohio River

Mountwood ATV Adventures


The Man Who Made Stamps Stick Victor G. Bloede, the Baltimore chemist who developed the gum used on all government postage stamps, began his career in Parkersburg.

Parkersburg Rig & Reel The trade name “Parkersburg” on rig and reel equipment was once as common a sight to oil men as the oil itself. Oil fi eld equipment manufactured at Parkersburg Rig & Reel and other local manufacturers could be found in petroleum producing centers throughout the world.

“Savings Bond Capital of America” Parkersburg could be called the “Savings Bond Capital of America.” Since 1957, when the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of Public Debt was moved here, every U.S. Savings Bond bought or redeemed has passed through Parkersburg for processing.

The First Free School for African Americans The fi rst free school for African Americans south of the Mason Dixon line opened in Parkersburg in 1862.

Graveyard of the Ohio The Ohio River between Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park and Parkersburg has long been regarded by rivermen as one of the most dangerous sections of the entire river to maneuver a craft through. So many boats sank there that it gained the dubious title “Graveyard of the Ohio.” The addition of the B&O Railroad Bridge further complicated this hazardous bend.

The Shovel That Built America The largest shovel plant in the world, the Ames Company, resided in Parkersburg until the mid-1990s. Ames shovels are said to have been used to dig the trenches at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The company was founded in the early 1770s.

The World’s Largest Rayon MillAt one time, Parkersburg was the site of the world’s fi rst and largest rayon plant, American Viscose, on the City’s southside.

“Better Than Marble” One of two plants in the world to manufacture Vitrolite, the colored glass billed as “Better Than Marble,” was operated in Vienna by Libby-Owens-Ford Company. Vitrolite was widely used in homes and public buildings, including the Empire State building in New York City.

It Floats Floating soap, later sold by Procter & Gamble as “Ivory,” was fi rst developed at Parkersburg’s Upson Oil & Soap Works, also the home of world-famous French Process Laundry Soap.

Silk for Stockings Out of the Parkersburg Silk mill came real silk that made its way to the hosiery mills of the nation. Japanese cocoons were used in the local mills.

Free City Delivery The Parkersburg Post Offi ce was one of the fi rst in the country to offer free city mail delivery beginning in 1887.

E s c a p e , d i s c ove r & p l a y.

Historical Facts & Famous People

American Viscose


350 7th Street, Parkersburg, WV 26101304.428.1130 or 800.752.4982 GreaterParkersburg.com

Convent ion & Visi tors Bureau

William Batten – former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and president of JC Penney Company.

Harman Blennerhassett – exiled Irish aristocrat. Built a lavish estate in the wilderness on an Ohio River island that bears his name. Stood trial for and was acquitted for his part in Aaron Burr’s Southwest conspiracy (1807).

Margaret Blennerhassett – Harman’s wife and West Virginia’s fi rst poet. Brought a high level of culture to the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Arthur I. Boreman – fi rst governor of West Virginia (1863-69).

Aaron Burr – former U.S. vice president. Hatched his ill-fated plot for Southwest conquest on Blennerhassett Island (1805-06).

Joseph H. Diss Debar – An artist, Debar was asked by the state legislature to prepare drawings for the offi cial State Seal of West Virginia, which was approved and has never been changed. Debar created the seal in a carriage house residence that remains in Parkersburg’s Julia-Ann Square Historic District.

Paul Dooley – actor. His fi lms include “Breaking Away,” “Popeye” and “Run Away Bride.”

Alvaro F. Gibbens – author. Founded Daughters of American Pioneers.

Linda Goodman – popular astrology writer. Wrote best sellers “Sun Signs” and “Love Signs.”

Leonard D. Heaton – U.S. Army surgeon general. Served as Dwight Eisenhower’s personal physician and surgeon.

Moses Hewitt – frontier scout. His captivity by the Indians is one of the best recorded in the annals of Ohio Valley frontier history.

Andrew Delmar Hopkins – eminent horticulturalist and etymologist.

Bernard McDonough – internationally known industrialist, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Earle “Greasy” Neal – coach at Yale and of the Philadelphia Eagles football team.

Market Street

Paul Dooley

Third Street

Felix Stump – commander-in-chief of the Pacifi c Fleet after World War II.

Peter G. Van Winkle – U.S. senator. Cast deciding vote in impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson (1867).

Gill Robb Wilson – Served as an American pilot, Presbyterian minister, and military advocate. Wilson is regarded as the founder of Civil Air Patrol (December 1941) and served as CAP’s fi rst executive offi cer.


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