Early Wheeling
Widely reproduced drawing from the Ohio side, a mile or so south, looking north toward Wheeling Island and
the town of Wheeling. The drawing was made before the construction of the Suspension Bridge, probably in
the 1830s or 40s. It is one of the earliest depictions of the Wheeling area. Note the man in buckskins and
carrying a rifle. Also notice the National Road coming down from Wheeling Hill toward the town. Apparently
the hills were denuded of trees by this time. Drawing from an unsourced eBay item.
Pastoral engraving from about 1849 or soon after looking down Wheeling Hill along National Road and further south to the thriving community of Wheeling. Can any of these houses be identified? The stagecoaches on the bridge are out of scale - or else they were very big! Image from Milton (1943)
A colored version and further information about this painting.
1857 view north west across Wheeling and the Suspension Bridge to Zane's Island, with Main Street along right edge. Can the church or any of these buildings be identified? From Harpers New Monthly Magazine April 1857, p. 611.
