WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA

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'Wheeling' is a city in West Virginia, in the United States. Most of the city is in Ohio County, with a small part in Marshall County. It is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State area and is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 31,419 (31,059 in Ohio County, 360 in Marshall County). The population was estimated at 29,639 in 2005 [1].
Wheeling was originally a settlement in the British Colony of Virginia and later an important city in the Commonwealth of Virginia until 1863 when the western counties of Virginia seceded from the state. Wheeling was the location of the Wheeling Convention, which established the state of West Virginia, and was the capital of West Virginia from 1863-1870 and 1875-1885. The capital of West Virginia was twice moved from Wheeling to Charleston, due mostly to political reasons and legislative agreements.

Contents
History
Discovery
Establishment
Fort Henry
Geography
Demographics
Government
Attractions
Parks and Recreation
Education
K-12
Colleges and Universities
Entertainment
Music
Sports
Live Racing and Gaming
Table Gaming
Media
Infrastructure
Transportation
Air Transportation
Companies based in Wheeling
People from Wheeling
Wheeling in Fiction
See also
References
External links

History


Discovery

The name "Wheeling" is of the American Adena tribe derivation for "place of the skull." At the confluence of Wheeling Creek and the Ohio River near what is now 16th and Main Streets, a white settler was scalped and decapitated, and the severed head displayed. Originally explored by the French, Wheeling still has a lead plate remnant buried by Celeron de Bienville in 1749 at the mouth of Wheeling Creek. Later, Christopher Gist and even George Washington surveyed the land in 1751 and 1770, respectively.[1]
Establishment

Ebenezer, Silas, and Jonathan Zane were the first and original settling family near the present day City of Wheeling. The settlement, called Zanesburg, is believed to have occurred in 1769. Other notable families joined the settlement including the Shepherds (see Monument Place), the Wetzels, and the McCollochs (see McColloch's Leap). It was officially established as a town in 1795 and incorporated in 1806. By an act of the Virginia General Assembly on December 27, 1797, Wheeling was named the county seat of Ohio County.[2]
Fort Henry

Originally dubbed Fort Fincastle in 1774, the fort was later renamed Fort Henry in honor of Virginia's American Governor Patrick Henry. In 1777, Native American tribes of the surrounding areas joined to attack settlements along the Ohio River. Local men later joined by recruits from Fort Shepherd (in Elm Grove) and Fort Holliday. The native attacking force subsequently burned the surrounding cabins and destroyed livestock.
"McColloch's Leap"

During the first attack of the year, Major Samuel McColloch led a small force of men from Fort Vanmetre along Short Creek to assist the besieged Fort Henry. McColloch was separated from his men and was chased by attacking tribesmen. Upon his horse, McColloch charged up Wheeling Hill and made what is known as McColloch's Leap 300 feet down its eastern side.
Later in 1777, a native army along with some British soldiers attempted to take Fort Henry. During this siege, Fort Henry's supply of ammunition was exhausted. The defenders decided to dispatch one of its men to secure more ammunition from the Zane homestead. Betty Zane volunteered for the dangerous task. During her departing run, she was heckled by both native and British soldiers. Upon successfully reaching the Zane homestead, she gathered a table cloth and filled it with gunpowder. During her return, she was fired upon but was uninjured. It is believed that one bullet did, in fact, pierce her clothing. As a result of Zane's heroism, Fort Henry remained in American control.[2]

Geography


Downtown Wheeling

Wheeling is located at (40.070348, -80.698604).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 41.0 km² (15.8 mi²). 36.0 km² (13.9 mi²) of it is land and 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²) of it (12.07%) is water.
Wheeling is located in Northern West Virginia, on a tiny sliver of the state. It is directly across the river from the state of Ohio and only 11 miles west of Pennsylvania.
Wheeling Creek flows through the city, and meets the Ohio River in downtown Wheeling.
The city is located both on the West Virginia side of the Ohio River and on an island in the middle of the river called Wheeling Island.

Demographics


As of the census of 2000, there were 31,419 people, 13,719 households, and 7,806 families residing in the city. The population density was 872.1/km² (2,258.4/mi²). There were 15,706 housing units at an average density of 436.0/km² (1,128.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.72% White, 4.99% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.91% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.16% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.58% of the population.
There were 13,719 households out of which 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.1% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.89.
Different architectural styles, including Italianate, make up these townhouses in Wheeling.

The age distribution is 20.6% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 84.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,388, and the median income for a family was $38,708. Males had a median income of $30,750 versus $22,099 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,923. About 13.1% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.3% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government


Under West Virginia law, cities may adopt the Manager-Mayor Plan. The elected mayor presides over meetings of the Wheeling City Council, which is comprised of six members elected from geographic wards. City Council members serve four-year terms. The City Council also confirms executive nominations for members to various boards which have limited regulatory authority including the Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, and the Traffic Commission.[2] The City Manager serves as Chief Executive and Administrative officer for the city.[3] The current Mayor of Wheeling is Nick Sparachane, and the current City Manager of Wheeling is Robert Herron. The current members of City Council are Gloria Delbrugge (1st Ward), Vernon Seals (2nd Ward), Robert E. "Herk" Henry (3rd Ward), Brent Bush (4th Ward), Vice-Mayor Mike Nau (5th Ward), and Barry Crow (6th Ward)[4]. City elections will be held in 2008.

Attractions


West Virginia Independence Hall

Parks and Recreation

Wheeling features several municipal parks including Oglebay Resort & Conference Center and Wheeling Park. Ohio County is home to six golf courses including designs by renowned golfer Arnold Palmer and architect Robert Trent Jones. It is also the site of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge which was once the longest suspension bridge in the world.
West Virginia Independence Hall was the site of the Wheeling Convention From 1861-1863, the building housed heated debates on the Virginia Ordinance of Secession, the First Constitutional Convention of West Virginia [5], and naming the State [6].

Education


West Virginia Northern Community College

''See Also'': ''Ohio County, West Virginia - Education''
K-12

As elsewhere in West Virginia, K-12 schools are organized at the county level of government. The public school system, Ohio County Schools, consists of 13 schools. There are nine elementary schools, four middle schools, and Wheeling Park High School. There also exist several private and parochial schools including Wheeling Central Catholic High School, Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy, and the Linsly School.
Colleges and Universities

Wheeling is the hub of higher education in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. Wheeling Jesuit University, a private Jesuit university which has received the highest academic ranking of any college or university in the state, is located in Wheeling . The main campus of West Virginia Northern Community College has recently been expanding throughout downtown Wheeling and focuses on job training and community development. Also located within close proximity to the city are
West Liberty State College, a public four-year college and private Bethany College giving area residents a wide variety of educational options.

Entertainment


Music

Wheeling has an old-style theater, the Capitol Music Hall. The Music Hall was home to a popular radio program in the early forties, ''It's Wheeling Steel'', featuring musical performances by workers at a local steel plant. Nowadays, the Capitol Music Hall welcomes musical performances of all types. It is also the performance hall of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. It has also served as the home for Jamboree USA. The Capitol Music Hall is the largest theatre in the state of West Virginia, with some 2,500 seats. The Capitol Music Hall was sold by Clear Channel Communications to LiveNation in the Spring of 2005. Since the purchase by LiveNation the Capitol Music Hall has remained dormant, although certain limited engagements are still held there.
Held in nearby Belmont County Jamboree In The Hills draws over 100,000 country music fans to the Wheeling area every July.
Sports

Wheeling is also home to the Wheeling Nailers hockey team. The Nailers play in the WesBanco Arena (formerly the Wheeling Civic Center), and participate in the North division, American Conference of the ECHL. The Ohio Valley Greyhounds of United Indoor Football also play at WesBanco Arena.
Live Racing and Gaming

Wheeling is the home of Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center located on Wheeling Island. Formerly Wheeling Downs the facility features live greyhound racing and slots.
Table Gaming

In accordance with House Bill 271 adopted on March 8, 2007, Ohio County and Jefferson County held special elections on June 9, 2007 to approve the legalization of table games within the respective counties. The measure passed with 7,568 yes votes to 3,965 no votes [7]. The Jefferson County measure failed. A similar measure was successfully adopted in Hancock County on June 30, 2007 [8].

Media


The Fort Henry Bridge carries I-70, US 40, and US 250 across the Ohio River, Wheeling, West Virginia

Due to its close proximity to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wheeling is heavily influenced by Pittsburgh's broadcast media outlets, which are easily received in the area. Besides broadcast stations Wheeling's cable providers also carry Fox Sports Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh-centric news/talk channel PCNC as it's "home" sports and information sources.
In addition to the Pittsburgh outlets the Wheeling television market is served by CBS affiliate WTRF-TV Channel 7, PBS affiliate W41AA Channel 41, and NBC affiliate WTOV-TV Channel 9 in nearby Steubenville, Ohio. The city is served by cable television provider Comcast.
Wheeling's radio dial is home to WWVA 1170 AM, the state's only 50,000 watt AM station which can be heard throughout the East Coast at night. WVLY 1370 AM and WKKX 1600 AM provides local news, sports, and talk. On the FM dial WVKF 95.7, WKWK 93.7, WOVK 98.7 and WEGW 107.5 provides the area with various music genres. The Wheeling area is also the home of WVJW, a listener supported commercial-free station which also serves as the local Pacifica affiliate. Pittsburgh's radio stations also provide wheeling with coverage. A number of translators and repeater stations provide NPR and American Family Radio networks.
The city is home to The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register newspapers. Both The Intelligencer and the Wheeling News-Register are owned by Ogden Newspapers Inc., which is also based in Wheeling. The Intelligencer is published weekday mornings and Saturdays, while the News-Register is published weekday afternoons and Sundays. The Times-Leader of Martins Ferry, Ohio, another Ogden Newspapers Inc. paper, also covers Wheeling issues.

Infrastructure


Transportation

Interstate 70 and its spur I-470 run through the city east-west and link it with suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the east and Ohio to the west. U.S. Route 40/National Road links downtown with residential neighborhoods to the east. WV Route 2 connects Wheeling with Moundsville to the south and Weirton to the north. U.S. Route 250 also runs through the city.
The Fort Henry Bridge and Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge carry I-70 and I-470 respectively over the Ohio River. The historic Wheeling Suspension Bridge carries cars and light trucks as well as pedestrian traffic between downtown and Wheeling Island.
Bus transportation to points throughout North America is available from Wheeling through Greyhound Lines.
Air Transportation

Wheeling is less than an hour away from the Pittsburgh International Airport, which provides most of the domestic non-stop service for the Tri-State area. The city is also served by a small general-aviation field.
Companies based in Wheeling


WesBanco Banks

Stone & Thomas (defunct department store chain formerly headquartered in Wheeling)

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel

People from Wheeling



Leon "Chu" Berry, jazz saxophonist

John Corbett, actor

Rebecca Harding Davis, author

Joyce DeWitt, actress

Doug Fetherling, writer

Walter L. Fisher, U.S. Secretary of the Interior

Craig J Martin, Country music Singer/Songwriter

Gene Freese, baseball player

Jack Glasscock, major league baseball player[4]

Chuck Howley, football player

Bill Mazeroski, baseball player

Cy Morgan, a Major League Baseball pitcher

Bob Ney, former U.S. Representative from Ohio

Tim O'Brien, bluegrass musician

Walter Reuther, labor leader

John Yarnall, naval officer during War of 1812

Eleanor Steber, American operatic soprano associated with the Metropolitan Opera

Joanne Dru, actress

Faith Daniels, network broadcaster

Jack Canfield, motivational speaker

Wheeling in Fiction



★ Wheeling is referred to in as the nearest large town to Hope Falls, where the story takes place. It is also the home of the mysterious 'Institute', representatives of which come to capture the protagonist in the show's finale just moments too late.

★ Wheeling is referred to in Columbus, Ohio-set "Family Ties" when Michael J. Fox's character says, "let's go down to Wheeling, West Virginia..." because the legal drinking age at the time was eighteen in West Virginia whereas Fox and his friends were unable to imbibe in Ohio where the drinking age had already been raised to twenty-one.

★ Billy Joel's hit "Billy the Kid" references the ballad's antagonist's birthplace as Wheeling, West Virginia.

★ In Season 2 of The West Wing, the episode "In This White House" names Wheeling as a location where two would-be assassins purchased firearms in their mission to kill the show's President Jed Bartlett. NBC later apologized for the reference and agreed to make two other mentions of Wheeling in a more positive light. One included a reference as a flyover location in a scene set on Air Force One.

★ John Corbett's character, Chris Stephens (Chris in the Morning), in Northern Exposure is from Wheeling.

See also



Ohio County, West Virginia

List of cities and towns along the Ohio River

References


1. The West Virginia Encyclopedia, , , , West Virginia Humanities Council, 2006, ISBN 0-9778498-0-5
2. History of Wheeling City and Ohio County, West Virginia and Representative Citizens, , , , Biographical Publishing Company, 1902,
3. History of Wheeling City and Ohio County, West Virginia and Representative Citizens, , , , Biographical Publishing Company, 1902,
4. The Baseball Encyclopedia, , , , Macmillan Publishing, 1979, ISBN 0-02-578970-8


★ Minder, Mike. Wheeling’s Gambling History to 1976. Wheeling: Nail City Publishing, 1997.

★ Schramm, Robert W. ''The Linsly School.'' Mount Pleasant, S. Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.

External links



City of Wheeling, West Virginia Official Site

Wheeling Convention and Visitor's Bureau

Memorials, monuments, statues & other outdoor art in & around Wheeling (with pictures)

The Highlands Shopping and Entertainment Complex

Wheeling National Heritage Area

History of Ohio County, WV

West Virginia Department of Transportation - Wheeling-Ohio County Airport

Wheeling Island

Website of the Wheeling Police Department

The Intelligencer and The News-Register

Ohio County Public Library

''History of Wheeling City and Ohio County, West Virginia'' compiled by the Hon. Gibson Lamb Cranmer

Creative Impressions Publisher of ''Wheeling Island: A Photographic History'' by Robert W. Schramm

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Wheeling, West Virginia Travel Deals