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Wood County is located in the northwest part of West Virginia along the Ohio River and is divided by the Little Kanawha River.
The first European to explore this area appears to have been Celoron de Blainville. In the summer of 1749, he descended the Ohio River, planting lead plates along the river valley which proclaimed that the land belonged to France. The English settlers and traders paid no attention to his claims and moved into the area at will.
Wood County was established in 1798 from the western part of Harrison County. The county was named in honor of James Wood, governor of Virginia at the time of the county's creation. The 1800 census showed 1,217 persons living in the new county.
The most famous early resident was Harman Blennerhassett. In 1797, he built one of the most palatial homes west of the Alleghenies on what became known as Blennerhassett Island, just below Parkersburg in the Ohio River. The splendor was short-lived, for Blennerhassett was ruined by the failure of the Burr-Blennerhassett conspiracy (1806), and his mansion was destroyed. The island is today an historical park.
The outbreak of the Civil War found Wood County in favor of the Union. The leaders of Wood County also were the leaders of, first, the restored government of Virginia and, later, the movement to form a new state.
Wood County was an important trading area beginning in the 1790s. The completion of the Northwest Turnpike gave impetus to the county's growth. This economic expansion continued with the arrival of a branch line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1857 and the development of the Burning Springs oil fields in the early 1860s. After the Civil War, Wood County prospered with the oil and gas trade. When oil and gas became less important, Wood County continued to grow by developing industry and commerce. The population grew from 11,046 in 1860 to 38,001 by 1910.
Parkersburg, the county seat, was named for Alexander Parker, who owned the land. The title to this land was contested by others, who had previously laid out the town of Newport. The matter went to court and in 1809, the courts ruled in favor of the Parker heirs. In 1810, the town's name officially became Parkersburg.
The town grew slowly and had a population of 2,493 in 1860. However, Parkersburg profited greatly from the oil and gas boom following the Civil War and became an important financial, industrial and commercial center. Its population exceeded 8,000 by 1890 and more than doubled (to 17,842) in 1910.
In 1971, the city became the home of Parkersburg Community College (now West Virginia University at Parkersburg), the state's first community college.
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(From E. Lee North's 'The 55 West Virginias,' published by West Virginia University Press. Used with permission.)
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