Web Encyclopedia News Blogs Forums

Parkersburg, West Virginia

Parkersburg, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha Rivers, is the third largest city in the State of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Wood County and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The Bureau of the Public Debt, an agency of the U.S. Treasury Department, is headquartered in Parkersburg.

History

Parkersburg was originally named Newport when it was laid out in the late 1700s. A section of the land in the town was laid out over land granted to Alexander Parker for his Revolutionary War service. The title conflicts between Parker and the city planners of Newport were settled in 1809 in favor of Alexander Parker's heirs. The town was renamed Parkersburg in 1810. It was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly in 1820. It was rechartered as a city in 1860.

The town was the terminus of the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike and the Northwestern Turnpike. In 1857 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad built a branch line to the town. The town was important as a transportation and medical center during the American Civil War. It then became a transportation hub in the gas and oil boom following that war.

Blennerhassett Island is a historical site located in Parkersburg.

Geography

Parkersburg is located at 39°15'58" North, 81°32'32" West (39.266175, -81.542139).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.2 square miles (31.6 km²), of which, 11.8 square miles (30.6 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it is water. The total area is 3.19% water.

The city is situated at the confluence of the Ohio River and the Little Kanawha River. The Little Kanawha River divides the north and south sides of the city.

Climate

Parkersburg's climate is warm during summer when temperatures tend to be in the 70's and very cold during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 30's.

The warmest month of the year is July with an average maximum temperature of 85.80 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is January with an average minimum temperature of 22.30 degrees Fahrenheit.

Temperature variations between night and day tend to be moderate during summer with a difference that can reach 21 degrees Fahrenheit, and fairly limited during winter with an average difference of 18 degrees Fahrenheit.

The annual average precipitation at Parkersburg is 40.69 Inches. Rainfall in is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The wettest month of the year is July with an average rainfall of 4.58 Inches.
Parkersburg Weather | Parkersburg WV

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,099 people, 14,467 households, and 8,767 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,800.5 people per square mile (1,081.2/km²). There were 16,100 housing units at an average density of 1,362.2/sq mi (525.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.36% White, 1.75% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.81% of the population.

There were 14,467 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.4% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% have someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,990, and the median income for a family was $33,081. Males had a median income of $30,516 versus $20,287 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,106. About 16.1% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.7% of those under the age of 18 and 10.4% of those 65 and older.

North Parkersburg

Beechwood, Downtown, Fairview Heights, Granada Hills, Julia-Ann Square, Meadowcrest, Oakwood Estates, Quincy Hill, Riverside, Woodland Park, Davisville, North End, Worthington, East End

South Parkersburg (Southside)

Larkmead, Rockport, Marrtown, Pettyville, Tavennerville, Tygart, Lubeck, Belleville, Washington, Mineral Wells

Media

The Parkersburg News and Parkersburg Sentinel are the city's two major daily newspapers. The same company also publishes the Marietta A.M. and Graffiti, West Virginia's alternative news magazine.

There are many radio stations broadcasting from Parkersburg, including 106.1 Z106 (WRZZ),102.1 The River (WRVB), U.S. 107 WNUS, MIX 100 (WDMX), V96.9 (WVVV), WXIL, Froggy 99.1, and 103.1 The Bear.

WTAP, the local NBC affiliate, is the main local television station.www.wtap.com

Higher Education

Mountain State College is located in the city.
West Virginia University at Parkersburg is located a few miles outside the city.
Ohio Valley University is located nearby in Vienna.

High Schools

Parkersburg is the home of the Parkersburg High School Big Reds, the Parkersburg South High School Patriots, and the Parkersburg Catholic High School Crusaders.

Middle Schools

Middle Schools include Jackson, Van Devender, Blennerhassett, Edison, and Hamilton.

Museums

Blennerhassett Museum of Regional History

Henry Cooper Log Cabin Museum

Oil and Gas Museum

Sumnerite African-American History Museum

Veterans Museum of Mid-Ohio Valley

Parks

Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park

Bicentennial Park

Corning Park

Point Park

Southwood Park

Quincy Park

City Park

Johnson T. Janes Park

Friendship Park

Fort Boreman Historical Park

Mountwood Park

Sports

Parkersburg was home to the Ohio Valley Redcoats, a minor league baseball team, until 1998. The city is in negotiations to bring professional baseball back to Parkersburg.http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/507520.html

In 2008, the city and its three high schools placed second in ESPN's TitleTown USA competition.http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/507650.html?nav=5061 In an essay on ESPN.com, it was pointed out that through the 2007-2008 school year, the city has 192 high school state championships between Parkersburg, Parkersburg South and Parkersburg Catholic. 183 of those championships have come after 1950.

Film & Television

The Steven Soderbergh film Bubble, released in 2006, was filmed in Parkersburg and neighboring Belpre, Ohio, using an all-local cast.

Other films shot in the city are Salvage (2006) and The Barbecue (2006).http://www.imdb.com/List?endings=on&&locations=Parkersburg,%20West%20Virginia,%20USA

Parkersburg was the set for the 1962 television series It's a Man's World.http://www.imdb.com/List?endings=on&&locations=Parkersburg,%20West%20Virginia,%20USA

The city was featured in a 1989 episode of Rescue 911

Notable Natives and Residents

Allen Appel

William M. Batten

Harman Blennerhassett

Cyrus Cotton "Cy" Hungerford

Members of Scenes From A Movie

Zao

References in Popular Culture

Parkersburg was mentioned in the 1962 song I've Been Everywhere

Sister Cities

valign="top" |

– Parkersburg, Iowa,

This section is sponsored by:
parkersburg, west virginia
Don't just search for parkersburg, west virginia, find results.
www.ask.com

Wedding DJ Serving Ohio, West Virginia
Professional Wedding DJ Serving Southeast Ohio, West Virginia
www.movdj.com

Parkersburg, West Virginia
Find Parkersburg, West Virginia info here!
www.dealrain.com

Better Results For Parkersburg, West Virginia
Find parkersburg, west virginia results and other info here!
www.dealshine.com

Laptops
Find a great deal on a Laptop Computer by browsing our Laptop Computer listings.
www.LaptopComputersInfo.com

Top laptops Info. All in One.
Find great deals and info for laptops. Search smarter. Save more. Search with OXY.
www.oxysearch.com

Extreme Laptop Sale
Ultra Performance Notebook Systems Save up to $2000 on special units!
www.notebookchoice.com

Laptop
Laptop At Huge Discount! Free Shipping On Laptop.
www.insights1.com