Unique northern panhandle of West Virginia created by historic dispute

WEIRTON, W.Va — West Virginia's remarkable shape is partly defined by its odd northern panhandle, a finger of land that extends northward more than 60 miles from the central region of the state.

The early history of the northern panhandle of West Virginia

Home to its first capital, at Wheeling, the origins of the northern panhandle of West Virginia date back to the 1700s and a contentious boundary dispute between Virginia and Pennsylvania that helped shape the history of the U.S.

According to Weirton-based historian Paul Zuros, both colonies issued land grants before the American Revolution and sent soldiers and frontiersmen to settle the same land.

“Pennsylvania believed they claimed the land in western Pennsylvania, and Virginia thought that that was part of Virginia,”  Zuros says. “You can imagine that this was a problem for both states.”

 In 1776, Virginia created three new counties—Ohio, Monongalia, and Yohogania. Yohogania would have taken up Hancock and Brooke counties in what's now West Virginia, and Fayette, Beaver, Allegheny, Washington, and parts of Westmoreland counties in modern-day Pennsylvania.

“It’s a vast amount of land that Yohogania County is sort of claiming, so that would mean Pittsburgh would have been squarely in Virginia at that particular moment in history,” Zuros says. 

Zuros says the dispute eventually became so aggressive that the Continental Congress was forced to step in and promised to settle the boundary and land dispute after the war.

How the Ellicott Line shaped the northern panhandle of West Virginia

In 1785, the issue was officially solved by surveyor Andrew Ellicott, who, based on records from the 1760 survey of the Mason-Dixon Line, found the end of that line and extended a new line north from there. This became known as the Ellicott Line, which marked the boundary between Virginia and Pennsylvania.

“Both states accepted that line,” Zuros says. “That’s why we’ve got the Ellicott Line on West Virginia’s eastern border and then the Ohio River on West Virginia’s western border.” 

The Ellicott Line extends past Chester, West Virginia, to Lake Erie, crossing the Ohio River near Chester, West Virginia, and establishing the boundary between Ohio and Pennsylvania. It also became the "Point of Beginnings" for land surveys across Ohio and the Northwest Territory. 

“In the 1780s, they passed the Northwest Ordinance, and that opened up the country on the western side of the Ohio River to settlement,” Zuros says.

“It was a way they were surveying and marking out this land to be sold. So, the Ellicott Line was vitally important—not only for West Virginia and Virginia but also for the Northwest Territory.” 

After the border between Virginia and Pennsylvania was established, Yohogania County was whittled down to encompass the area of modern-day Hancock and Brooke counties.

“They decided to annex that land into Ohio County with its base in Wheeling, and then in 1796, Ohio County was divided again to create Brooke County,” Zuros says.

“Brooke County was divided again in 1848 to create Hancock County, and that’s what we’ve got now. It’s really fascinating history.” 

After the Civil War, the Ellicott Line was resurveyed to ensure the line between what's now West Virginia and Pennsylvania was correct.

“I think it was off maybe 10 feet or so,” Zuros says. “They put markers every mile between the borders and then extended them up. They also marked it between Ohio and Pennsylvania as well, later on.”

A different culture in the northern panhandle of West Virginia

By the 1800s, the panhandle’s culture, like that of most of western Virginia, was markedly different from that of eastern or "tidewater" Virginia, and the differences only grew.

“It’s something you see throughout West Virginia, and I think part of that was we didn’t have a lot of good roads out here, Zuros said.

"We just didn’t have the same culture that the people in the eastern part of Virginia had, and we didn’t have these huge plantations and as many people. It was just a little different than what was going on in the eastern part of the state at that particular moment in history.”

After the Civil War, however, the panhandle became industrialized. Wheeling became a large manufacturing center, thanks chiefly to easy access to rail transportation and the mighty Ohio River.

“It’s also on the National Road, so you have a lot of settlers coming through our area,” Zuros says.

“We’ve got the Ohio River, which was the major highway at one time, and we've got the railroads connecting us to the east and west. We’re kind of in the center of it all."

The beginning of the 20th century saw a rise in steel mills in the panhandle, and Weirton Steel soon became the largest employer in West Virginia.

Because of its industry, the panhandle witnessed an influx of immigrants who continued to shape the region.

“In Weirton, because of the steel mills, we had a huge population of immigrants coming in from all over the world,” Zuros says.

"Those immigrant groups have stayed pretty true. You still have ethnic communities up here. That’s not to say other parts of the state don’t have that, but I think that adds to the unique flavor of this area as well because it became so industrialized.” 

Zuro says that the panhandle remains more culturally similar to western Pennsylvania.

“In Hancock and Brooke counties, we tend to be more like western Pennsylvania folks,” he says.

“Where I am in Hancock County, the county is only three miles wide between Pennsylvania and Ohio. That’s all we’ve got of West Virginia up here. The people here tend to follow more things from western Pennsylvania.”

Many in the panhandle work in Ohio or Pennsylvania but still enjoy the benefits of living in the Mountain State.

“We’re fortunate, and especially in Hancock County and Weirton, we do have people who work and spend their time in Pittsburgh but live in West Virginia because the property taxes are better,” Zuros says.

“And you’ve got a better quality of life here. It’s a lower cost of living here as well. There’s a lot of perks, and we love it, and it's unique for sure.”

Why you should visit the northern panhandle of West Virginia

Zuros encourages anyone to visit and experience the panhandle. Though it differs geographically from the more mountainous regions of West Virginia, it enjoys a rich beauty and history. 

“We don’t have the giant mountains like in the southern part of the state, and our origins are just a little bit different," he said.

"You see a lot of the history down in southern West Virginia—the coal mines and timber industry. We had that, but not to the same extent. We’ve got a unique history and background, lots of land disputes here in the past.

"Come and visit, and experience what life is like here in the Northern Panhandle.”

Read also: The eastern panhandle of West Virginia: how it came to be

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