Belmont

Formed September 7, 1801 (10^th county)

Belmont County (66,495), Saint Clairsville (5,093), Martins Ferry (6,257)

The stone courthouse, built in 1885, looks like a small capitol.  It is located at Main and Market streets.  Main Street is United States Highway 40 in the town.  Joseph Warren Yost was the architect of this Beaux Arts structure.  The structure features columns, a tower/dome with working clock, and Lady Justice over the entrance.  Veteran memorials and a Liberty Bell replica are on the grounds.  There was also an 1815 courthouse.  A bank was remodeled in the 1930’s to become an Annex.  The county was established on September 7, 1801 from Jefferson and Washington counties as the 10^th county.  Pultney was the first county seat until 1805 when Saint Clairsville took over.  The county name is French for “beautiful mountain.”  Saint Clairsville is named for Northwest Territory Governor Arthur Saint Clair.  Belmont County is the birthplace of 1 Ohio Governor, Wilson Shannon. 

Belmont County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Two Common Pleas Court Judges serve Belmont County.  Belmont County is on the eastern border with West Virginia.  The Ohio River forms its eastern border.  Columbus, Ohio is west and Youngstown, Ohio is north of the county.  The county center is 4 miles South of Saint Clairsville.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Jefferson County and West Virginia and Monroe, Noble, Guernsey, and Harrison counties. 

The area of the county is 537.4 square miles.  It is 18 out of 88 in the state.  It ranks 36 out of 88 in population in the state.  It has a density of 123.7 persons per square mile making it 40 out of 88 in the state.  Belmont County has 44.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 70 travels through the county from east to west from West Virginia to Guernsey County.  United States Highway 40 enters from West Virginia and joins Interstate Highway 70 into Guernsey County.  United States Highway 250 comes in from Harrison County, northwest, and goes into West Virginia, southeast.  The county is overall rectangular.  The county seat is located in the northeast quarter of the county.  The largest city is on the eastern border of the county.  Saint Clairsville is the county seat and Martins Ferry is the largest city.  Saint Clairsville is 7.7% of the county population while Martins Ferry is 9.4% of the county population.  This county is in the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Yorkville