The National Road was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the 620-mile (1,000 km) road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main transport path to the West for thousands of settlers. When improved in the 1830s, it became the second U.S. road surfaced with the macadam process pioneered by Scotsman John Loudon McAdam.
Marshall County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. At the 2010 census, the population was 33,107. Its county seat is Moundsville. With its southern border at what would be a continuation of the Mason-Dixon line to the Ohio River, it forms the base of the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A historic and bustling city of commerce and heavy industry, Huntington has benefited from its location on the Ohio River at the mouth of the Guyandotte River. It is home to the Port of Huntington Tri-State, the second-busiest inland port in the United States.
Thurmond is a town in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States, on the New River. The population was five at the 2020 census. During the heyday of coal mining in the New River Gorge, Thurmond was a prosperous town with a number of businesses and facilities for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.
Benwood is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,420 at the 2010 census.
McMechen is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Ohio River. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,926 at the 2010 census.
Grafton is a city in and the county seat of Taylor County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 5,164 at the 2010 census. It originally developed as a junction point for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, serving numerous branches of a network that was vital to the regional coal industry.
The James River and Kanawha Canal was a partially built canal in Virginia intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its towpath became the roadbed for a rail line following the same course.
The National Register of Historic Places in the United States is a register including buildings, sites, structures, districts, and objects. The Register automatically includes all National Historic Landmarks as well as all historic areas administered by the U.S. National Park Service. Since its introduction in 1966, more than 90,000 separate listings have been added to the register.
The Parkersburg Bridge crosses the Ohio River between Parkersburg, West Virginia, and Belpre, Ohio. Designed by Jacob Linville, the bridge has 46 spans: 25 deck plate girder, 14 deck truss, 6 through truss, and 1 through plate girder. 50,000 cubic yards (38,000 m3) of stone were used for the 53 piers. The bridge was constructed from May 1869 to January 1871 by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. At the time of its completion, the bridge was reportedly the longest in the world at 7,140 feet (2,180 m).
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops is a historic industrial district in Martinsburg, West Virginia. It is significant both for its railroading architecture by Albert Fink and John Rudolph Niernsee and for its role in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. It consists of three contributing buildings, one of which is the oldest covered roundhouse in the United States. The presence of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in Martinsburg dates back to the late 1840s, when the first engine and machine shops were erected for the expanding company.
John Rudolph Niernsee was an American architect. He served as the head architect for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Rudolph also largely contributed to the design and construction of the South Carolina State House located in Columbia, South Carolina. Along with his partner, James Crawford Neilson, Rudolph established the standard for professional design and construction of public works projects within Baltimore and across different states in the United States.
The Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey is the point from which the United States in 1786 began the formal survey of the lands known then as the Northwest Territory, now making up all or part of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The survey is claimed to be the first major cadastral survey undertaken by any nation. The point now lies underwater on the state line between Ohio and Pennsylvania. Because it is submerged, a monument commemorating the point is adjacent to the nearest roadway and located on the state line between East Liverpool, Ohio and Ohioville, Pennsylvania. The area around the marker was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
Ridgedale is a 19th-century Greek Revival plantation house and farm on a plateau overlooking the South Branch Potomac River north of Romney, West Virginia, United States. The populated area adjacent to Washington Bottom Farm is known as Ridgedale. The farm is connected to West Virginia Route 28 via Washington Bottom Road.
Bulltown is an extinct town in Braxton County, West Virginia, United States. The GNIS classifies it as a populated place.
Captain William Foreman was a colonial American officer from Hampshire County, Virginia, who was killed during an Indian ambush at the McMechen Narrows on the Ohio River south of Wheeling, Virginia in 1777.
Eagle Rock is a census-designated place (CDP) in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States, located along the James River between Iron Gate and Buchanan.
Fort Forman was a stockade fort erected by Captain William Foreman at the beginning of the French and Indian War situated three miles north of Romney on the South Branch Potomac River near Vance on West Virginia Route 28. Fort Furman was in use from its construction in 1755 until 1764.
Coal River Locks, Dams, and Log Booms Archeological District is a national historic district and historic archaeological site located on the Coal River in Boone, Lincoln, and Kanawha County, West Virginia. It consists of an underwater resource depicting the navigation and transportation system used on the Coal River during the late-19th and early-20th century. It includes remains of timber cribs, locks and dams, and a lock master house. It was designed by William Rosecrans in the mid-1850s, and was one of the first complete lock and dam systems in West Virginia.
Wheeling Island Historic District is a national historic district located on Wheeling Island in Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia. The district includes 1,110 contributing buildings, 5 contributing sites, 2 contributing structures, and 3 contributing objects. It is a largely residential district consisting of two-story, frame detached dwellings built in the mid- to late-19th and early-20th century, including the Irwin-Brues House (1853) and a number of houses on Zane Street. The houses are representative of a number of popular architectural styles including Bungalow, Italianate, Queen Anne, and Colonial Revival. Notable non-residential contributing properties include the Exposition Building (1924), Thompson United Methodist Church (1913-1915), Madison School (1916), firehouse (1930-1931), the Bridgeport Bridge (1893), the Aetnaville Bridge (1891), "The Marina," Wheeling Island Baseball Park, and "Belle Island Park." It includes the separately listed Wheeling Suspension Bridge, Harry C. and Jessie F. Franzheim House, and John McLure House.
