Region 6 - West Virginia Department of Commerce

Community ProfilesRegion 1 - Northern PanhandleCounties: Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio, Tyler, WetzelProfileThe wide and placid Ohio River defines this region providing miles of riverscapes, including wooded islands, palisades, industriallandscapes, old river towns, and impressive locks. Tugboats pushing long strings of coal-laden barges are a familiar sight as aresteel mills and numerous other manufacturing plants. Notable bridges include the oldest suspension bridge in the U.S. in Wheeling(constructed in 1847 and still in use). Downtown Wheeling boasts one of the largest collections of Victorian architecture, the world’sbest fish sandwich, and the historic Capitol Music Hall, home of Jamboree USA. On one side of a Moundsville street is the GothicWest Virginia Penitentiary, a former maximum security prison built in 1866, terrifying in its mass, looming stone walls, and stark,graffiti-covered interior. On the other is the huge Grave Creek Mound, a 2,000 year-old Adena Indian burial mound. The former prisonhas been a favorite film and television location for everything from the Sci-Fi Channel and Cartoon Network to MTV’s “Fear” seriesand “Night of the Hunter” starring a young Kurt Russell. A few miles out of town is the mountaintop home of New Vrindaban,America’s largest Hare Krishna settlement complete with gold studded temple and 30-foot tall Hindu deities. There is an oil derrick inSistersville just down the river and miles of winding, narrow roads twisting onto spectacular river views. With Pittsburgh only an houraway (40 minutes in many locations), this region provides easy access to talent and technology.Connector Cities from Wheeling: Pittsburgh-62 miles; Cleveland-172 miles; Columbus-128 miles25