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Brooke County

Located in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, Brooke County is bounded on the north by Hancock County, on the south by Ohio County, by Pennsylvania on the east, and by the Ohio River and the state of Ohio on the west.

Mapped Points

• Wellsburg

  Wellsburg, the county seat of Brooke County, was once known as Charlestown, but the name was changed in 1816. Wellsburg was the home of Patrick Gass, the last surviving member of the Lewis and Clark expedition and author of a memoir of the famous journey. The original Grimes Golden apple tree was found just east of Wellsburg.
  

  

• Weirton

  Weirton, located in southern Hancock and northern Brooke counties, is an industrial city once dominated by Weirton Steel Company. The company was once the largest private employer in West Virginia and the state’s first billion-dollar corporation.
  

  

• Follansbee

  Follansbee is named for the Follansbee brothers who bought the land in 1902. They erected a steel mill, using 40 acres for the mill and allotting the rest for town lots, naming the town for themselves. In 1906, Follansbee became a city.

• Bethany College

  Founded in 1840, Bethany College is the oldest college in West Virginia. The college was established in 1840 by Alexander Campbell. His mansion is a National Historic Landmark.
  

  

• Ohio River

  The Ohio River begins at Pittsburgh, with the union of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. From there the Ohio travels 981 miles to Cairo, Illinois, where it joins the Mississippi.

• Mount St. George

  Mount St. George was one of the grandest private estates built in West Virginia during the 20th century. Originally the home and working farm of James B. Vandergrift, a Pittsburgh steel heir, the property was first called Vancroft.

• Beech Bottom

  There are 424 recorded prehistoric mounds in West Virginia, left by ancient people who once occupied the region. Three of those mounds were found at Beech Bottom.

• Drover's Inn

  The historic Drover’s Inn was built in 1848–51 by John Fowler. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.