Naming the streets of Wheeling

by Kate Quinn

Until about 1870, the streets of Wheeling were mostly mud. Pigs and dogs had the roam of the streets and the smells of the city were offensive. But every town probably could say that.

At first the streets were paved in stone and sidewalks were brick. Main Street was probably the first street and it was graded by 1805 when a visitor noted that the houses along the street were two or three feet below street level. The first market house was nothing but a shed for the butcher shop and a few stalls but Market Street was probably given its name then. The only inhabitant was a Mr. Church who burnt lime and supplied it for the National Road’s construction.

The Second Ward Market or North Market was built in 1822 for $690 by subscription from citizens. On the Union Street (11th st) side was a brick plaza with locust posts surrounding it so that vehicles and horses could not infringe. An addition to the North end occurred in 1832. On the second floor the City Hall was at one end and the Town Hall at the other.

Wood Street was most probably named for Robert Wood who had a cotton mill there. Lindsley or Linsly Street (19th) was named for Noah Linsly.

John St (16th) was named for John Fawcett, a trustee of the incorporated city of Middle Wheeling. He was a merchant who sold dry goods, bolts of cloth, and staple goods for more than 30 years on Main St. with his partner Henry Moore. He was a member of the East Wheeling Company. He eventually moved to Fawcettown which became East Liverpool, Ohio.

Eoff Street was named for John Eoff (picture) who lived on Water Street. He had a practice in Charleston before moving to Wheeling. The town of Wheeling was established in 1795. In 1806 the town was incorporated. By 1836 the town became an incorporated city. Eoff served on the Board of Commissioners. In his will he stated that he and William Chapline laid out the city into lots as he was one of the principal owners of property in the city. Eoff was a doctor, had 10 children, and one of his son’s also became a doctor. An act of the Virginia Assembly in 1828 named John Goff as laying out the streets. Though there was a John Goff in Wheeling, this is most probably a misspelling of the name Eoff. It was picked up by some historians who perpetuated the misspelling of the name. Chapline Street is not necessarily named for Moses Chapline, a commissioner in 1797 who erected the court house, stocks and whipping post. He served as mayor from 1808 to 1809. His son, William C. Chapline (born in 1785) was appointed a trustee of the incorporated addition of South Wheeling about the time that the streets were being laid out and named. He gave the street his family’s name.

William Chapline owned a slave called “Sam” who ran away to Canada on account of “ill-usage by a member of the Chapline family”. His wife and children, left behind, wanted to move to Mt. Pleasant, Ohio. William loaned them his horse and wagon and money which angered many locals. He was attacked on the bridge over Wheeling Creek on his way home late one night. He was on horseback and his two assailants were hooded or masked. He struck them several times with his shillelagh, only to later discover that one of them was his son Josiah, also listed as a trustee of South Wheeling.

There were many Jacobs in Wheeling’s history, but the street was most probably named for Zachariah Jacobs, a prominent Wheeling attorney and citizen. He was the mayor of Wheeling from 1824 to 1828 and was instrumental in founding the Second Presbyterian Church. Caldwell Street (now 32nd) was named for the Caldwells who came to Wheeling in 1775 and were in Fort Henry when it was attacked. Joseph Caldwell served in the War of 1812. He was paid in land in what is now South Wheeling. He served as sheriff, banker, county justice and merchant. The east end of 11th street, south to the creek was called Ellet Street for the builder of the Suspension Bridge. Most of Wheeling’s streets were named for trees, presidents or statesman like Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. With the exception of Goodrich St. (named for a dry goods store owner) and Fink St. (for Theodore Fink), or the Indian tribe (Huron) the same was true of streets on Wheeling Island.

Moving out the Pike, the town of Fulton was named for the designer of the steamboat who powered up the Hudson River in 1807. It is not known whether the name was given by the owner of the paper mill there (a Mr. Armstrong) or Judge Thompson who was a congressman and argued the case against Pittsburgh’s attempt to take down the Wheeling Suspension Bridge. Thompson acquired land there through his wife, a Steenrod, and Steenrod House, built in 1818, was one of the most prominent inns on the National Road with twenty-three rooms and yard for the herds of pigs, sheep, and cattle being driven along the Road. Steenrod was a contractor on the National Road.

Leatherwood was an incorporated village by 1868. Waste material from the paper mill, caused the founders (one of who was George Knox of Knox Lane) to patent leatheroid, a product used to make wall coverings, suitcases, seat covers, and more. It was the vinyl of its day.

Altenheim Street was the original site of the Altenheim rest home, across from Vance Church.

Woodsdale’s streets are mainly named for the many types of trees found there. The original property, owned by Colonel Archibald Woods was payment for fighting in the Revolution; he owned 60,000 acres situated in Eastern Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky. A story is told that a group of gentlemen on the streets of Wheeling were discussing whether the moon was occupied. One said to the others, “I’m sure it is not or colonel Archie would have a quarter section there.” His home, called Woodsland was on what is now Homestead Avenue and the surrounding streets are named for grandchildren Hamilton and Archibald. Orchard Road was named for the many fruit trees surrounding his home. Other streets such as Kenwood and Woodlawn were named for the family. Many of the streets of Woodsdale have changed over the years. Edgewood or Edgwood Street is a conglomeration of the names Edgington and Woods, the two biggest landowners in that area.

Thomas Edgington of Brook County fought in the Revolution and built the first railway in the area with Wells, founder of Wellsburg. His son Jesse was captured by Indians. He loved attending the horse races at Beech Bottom with his nephew Daniel Edgington, a Wheeling attorney who married the daughter of John Woods (grandson of Andrew Woods, brother of Archibald). The race track was moved to Center Wheeling in 1825 but the large number of faro tables, noise, attraction of prostitutes, etc caused the residents to complain so Daniel volunteered part of his land as a racetrack, and hired a Baltimore company to manage it. It proved unprofitable and closed.

Daniel Edgington (Edgington Lane) married Hester, daughter of John Woods who had inherited a large part of the family farm. The Edgington house stood at the center of what is now Echo Point but was moved by Orville Dewey who purchased a portion of the farm in 1884. The Edgington house was moved to the eastern portion of the knoll so that seven other building sites could be made available there.

Daniel Heiskell (Heiskell Avenue) purchased land from the widow of John Woods in 1890 and built “The Knolls” at the top of Chicken Neck Hill across from Echo Point which was a beautiful bed and breakfast at one time recently.

Although there was a George M. Park who once owned Echo Point Circle, it is much more likely that North and South Park streets were named for the small park located there.

Seibert Street which runs alongside St. Michael’s church was named for Conrad Seibert who came to the US in 1856. He was a bookbinder, paper hanger, and dairy farmer before establishing an ice works on the Wheeling Creek around 1850. His son George was born in 1862.

Bae-Mar Street was named for the real estate developers Baeden and Maurder. Frissell Street (off of Washington Avenue, was named for Dr. Frissell who took care of the nuns at Mt. de Chantal and the girls who boarded there. Carmel Road is named for the Carmelite nuns who located there.

Hubbard Place, across from Wheeling Park, was named for William Hubbard, grandson of Dana Hubbard who owned a saw mill in wheeling during the Revolution. His father Chester Hubbard was a banker and financer who was one of the fathers of statehood for West Virginia. William, who made his home on Hubbard Lane, was an attorney who became a congressman and revised the tax laws of West Virginia.

Cecil Place was named for A.J. Cecil whose farm it was originally. He first sold shoes, then groceries and hardware.

This article does not cover the streets of Elm Grove and many more parts of the city which I will save for Part Two of the story.

This was presented at a very popular Lunch with Books talk at the Ohio County Puplic Library on February 27, 2013.

Return to History Stories by Kate Quinn


Map excerpts from 1853 map of the City of Wheeling.