Weirton, West Virginia

Weirton, West Virginia
City
Peter Tarr Furnace Site, c. 1790
FIPS code		54-85156
GNIS feature ID	1555932[5]
Website	Official website

Weirton (

Weirton was established in 1947 after the consolidation of various small towns in the vicinity of the Weirton Steel Corporation, founded by Ernest T. Weir in 1909. It is a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area, which had a population of 116,903 residents in 2020; it is also a major city in the western part of the Pittsburgh–New Castle–Weirton combined statistical area.

History

Holliday's Cove Fort was a Revolutionary War fortification constructed in 1774 by soldiers from Fort Pitt. It was located in what is now downtown Weirton, along Harmons Creek (named for Harmon Greathouse), about three miles from its mouth on the Ohio River. It was commanded by Colonel Andrew Van Swearingen (1741–1793) and later by his son-in-law, Captain Samuel Brady (1756–1795), the famous leader of Brady's Rangers. In 1779, over 28 militia were garrisoned at Hollidays Cove. Two years earlier, Colonel Van Swearingen led a dozen soldiers by longboat down the Ohio to help rescue the inhabitants of Ft. Henry in Wheeling in a siege by the British and Indian tribes in 1777. That mission was memorialized in a WPA-era mural painted on the wall of the Cove Post Office by Charles S. Chapman (1879–1962). The mural features Col. John Bilderback, who later gained infamy as the leader of the massacre of the Moravian Indians in Gnadenhutten in 1782.^[6]

A small village called Holliday's Cove — which is now most of downtown Weirton — was founded on the site in 1793. In 1909, Ernest T. Weir arrived from neighboring Pittsburgh and built a steel mill, later known as the Weirton Steel Corporation, just north of Holliday's Cove.^[7] An unincorporated settlement called Weirton grew up around the mill that, by 1940, was said to be the largest unincorporated city in the United States. By then Hollidays Cove and two other outlying areas, Weirton Heights, and Marland Heights, which as their names suggest were on hilltops or ridges surrounding the "Weir–Cove" area, had also incorporated.

On July 1, 1947, all of these areas — Hollidays Cove, Marland Heights, Weirton Heights, and unincorporated Weirton — merged and formed the city of Weirton as it currently exists. Thomas E. Millsop, the head of the Weirton Steel division of the other Ernest T. Weir company, National Steel Corporation, was elected as the city's first mayor. The city charter was approved by voters in 1950.

The Weirton Steel Corporation was once a fully integrated

In May 2023, Form Energy began construction at the Weirton mill site for a manufacturing facility producing iron-air batteries for electrical storage.^[13]

Some civic leaders are attempting to attract businesses and homeowners from the neighboring

Weirton is home to a number of sites on the National Register of Historic Places including: Johnston-Truax House, Marland Heights Park and Margaret Manson Weir Memorial Pool, People's Bank, Dr. George Rigas House, and the Peter Tarr Furnace Site.^[14]

Geography

The city of Weirton is located at 40°25′08″N 80°35′22″W / 40.41889°N 80.58944°W / 40.41889; -80.58944 (40.4189, −80.5894).^[15] It extends from the Ohio border on the west to the Pennsylvania border on the east at a point where the northern extension of West Virginia is 5 miles (8.0 km) across. It is the only community in the United States to touch two different states on either side and its own state on the other two.

Weirton is across the Ohio River from Steubenville, Ohio, and approximately 35 miles (56 km) west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, along U.S. Route 22. Pittsburgh International Airport is less than 30 miles (48 km) away. With the opening of Pennsylvania Route 576 from US 22 to the airport in October 2006, the highway distance to the airport has decreased to about 20 miles (32 km).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.26 sq mi (49.88 km²), of which 18.05 sq mi (46.75 km²) is land and 1.21 sq mi (3.13 km²) is water.^[16]

While most of the city is in Hancock County, a small section of the city is in Brooke County. ^[17]

Surrounding areas

Weirton has three borders, including the cities of Follansbee to the south and New Cumberland to the north and the Pennsylvania/Washington County township of Hanover to the east. Weirton is also adjacent to Steubenville, Ohio and is directly accessible via the Veterans' Memorial Bridge (U.S. Route 22).

Climate

Weirton has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfa), with warm summers and chilly to cold winters.

• Annual Average High Temperatures: 82 °F (28 °C) °F (summer) 40 °F (4 °C) (winter)
• Annual Average Low Temperatures 60 °F (16 °C) (summer) 25 °F (−4 °C) (winter)
• Highest Recorded Temperature: 102 °F (39 °C) (1988)
• Lowest Recorded Temperature: −22 °F (−30 °C) (1994)
• Warmest Month: July
• Coolest Month: January
• Highest Precipitation: June
• Annual Precipitation: 40.55 inches (1,030 mm)

Demographics

By 2011, the city and its two counties had attracted the attention of the New York Times which noted the town was dwindling in population. The article reported that Brooke County had just 71 live births for every 100 deaths and that Hancock County was in similar straits. This has led, the article claimed, to a reduction in civic institutions.^[21]

2010 census

As of the

There were 8,839 households, of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.7% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.78.

The median age in the city was 46 years. 19.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23% were from 25 to 44; 30.8% were from 45 to 64; and 20.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

There were 8,958 households, out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.79.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.2% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,212, and the median income for a family was $42,466. Males had a median income of $37,129 versus $19,745 for females. The

Economy

Historically, Weirton's economy, as well as that of the region, was dominated by the

In December 2022, Form Energy announced it will build a plant to manufacture iron-air batteries for grid- scale electrical storage in Weirton.^[23]

Due to the area's close proximity to

Government

The following people have been elected Mayor of Weirton since the city's incorporation in 1947:

Police

There have been three

Children in Weirton are served by the Hancock County School District [25] and the Brooke County School District.^[26] The current schools serving the city are:

• Weirton Elementary School – grades K-4
• Weir Middle School – grades 5-8
• Weir High School – grades 9-12
• Brooke Primary School North - grades K-2
• Brooke Intermediate North - grades 3-4
• Brooke Middle School - grades 5-8
• Brooke High School - grades 9-12

In popular culture

Weirton was the subject of a photo essay, "Weir's Weirton," in the

Weirton has attracted the attention of Hollywood filmmakers and writers on several occasions:

• Weirton was one of several Ohio Valley towns that served as film locations for the acclaimed 1978 film, The Deer Hunter, starring Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep.
• Six years later it served as the primary location for filming of Reckless starring Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah.
• The movie Super 8 was filmed in downtown Weirton, as well as many other places throughout the town, in late September to mid October 2010. The town stood in for the fictional town of Lillian, Ohio.
• Weirton Steel discuss their concerns with foreign imports and what it is doing to the size of their mill.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• Weirton was also the inspiration and guidance in the 1989 book No Star Nights. According to the author biography included in the book, author Anna Smucker drew upon her memories growing up in Weirton for a tale about childhood spent in an industrial town.[27]
• In the novel The Egyptian Cross Mystery, Ellery Queen spent some time in Weirton while investigating a murder in the small village of Arroyo, West Virginia.
• Weirton is mentioned in the song by Daniel Johnston, Natalie, Queen of Weirton

Notable people

• James J. Andrews, Union spy during the Civil War
• Bob Gain, football player for the Cleveland Browns; 1950 Outland Trophy winner
• Hausman specification test
• Bob Jeter, football player for the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears; three-time NFL champion
• Gary Jeter, football player for the New York Giants, Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots
• Kevin Miller, football player for the Minnesota Vikings and Birmingham Stallions
• Ken Reed, member of the West Virginia House of Delegates
• Mike Rodak, football player for the Cleveland Rams, Detroit Lions, and Pittsburgh Steelers
• Karen Staley, singer-songwriter
• Ernest T. Weir, founder of the National Steel Corporation
• Ronald Robert Williams
  , basketball player for West Virginia University, San Francisco Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Lakers.
• Quincy Wilson, football player for West Virginia University and the Cincinnati Bengals

See also

• List of cities and towns along the Ohio River
• Veterans Memorial Bridge
• Market Street Bridge (Steubenville)
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hancock County, West Virginia

References