Excerpt from Souvenir of Wheeling

The first settlement, Fort Fincastle, was made on the site of Wheeling in 1769. In 1776 the name was changed to Fort Henry. The defenses sustained an attack of the British and Indians in 1782. The settlement was incorporated as a village under its present name in 1806, and was given a city charter in 1836. When the State of West Virginia was formed in 1863, Wheeling was made the Capital. The seat of government was transferred to Charleston in 1870, and although restored to Wheeling in 1875, was again returned to Charleston in 1885.

Wheeling occupies a prominent place in the industrial world. The presence of cheap fuel and natural gas in abundance, and an advantageous geographical position with excellent facilities for the distribution of products by rail or river have brought about this result. Today the iron and steel mills of Wheeling employ over ten thousand men; glass and pottery manufactories produce annually immense quantities of the finest American ware; ninety per cent of the metal ceilings used in the country are manufactured in this city, and here the preservation of fruit is receiving its highest development as an industry.

There are more packets running in and out of Wheeling than from any other port on the Ohio, not excepting Pittsburg, Cincinnati, or Louisville. The tonnage carried annually is enormous, and the passen ger traffic has doubled during the last ten years.

Wheeling is noted for its fine churches and private residences. Its public schools are worthy of the metropolis of a great State, and its public parks will compare favorably with those of much larger cities.

The city has now about fifty thousand inhabitants, and including the surrounding coal fields where more than twenty thousand men are employed, and other contiguous territory, it is estimated to be the center of a population of not less than a quarter of a million.

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