PAR'KERSBURG. A city and the county. seat of Wood County, W. Va.. 98 miles southwest of Wheeling, on the Ohio River, at the month of the Little Kanawha, and on the Baltimore and Ohio, the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern, and the Ohio River railroads (Slap: West Virginia, C 2). It is regularly laid out with a gradual rise from the water's edge. the limits of the city extending for some distance on both rivers. A railroad bridge spans the Ohio at this point, one and one-third miles long. and another spans the Kanawha, both being imposing examples of engineering. The city has a fine public park, public library. Washington High School, Acad emy of the Visitation, Fedora] building, court house. and city hall. Blennerhasset Island, of historic interest, is in sight of the city. There are regular steamboat lines to important river ports. The city is favorably located in the cen
tre of a fertile agricultural region, and has an active trade. There are several noted medicinal springs near the city, petroleum and gas wells, and coal and clay deposits of great value. The industrial interests are extensive. There are lumber mills. iron foundries. machine shops, furniture and chair factories, oil refineries. ve neer and panel works, breweries, oil-well supply works, flouring mills, etc. Settled in 1773. Par kersburg was first incorporated in 1820. and in 1S63 was chartered as a city. a charter of 1893, the government is vested in a mayor, chosen biennially. and a council which elects the majority of administrative officials. The water works are owned and operated by the munieipal ity. Population, in 1890, 8408; in 1900, 11,703.