I’m not sure that Wheeling deserves its own webpage. Forget not sure, I know Wheeling doesn’t deserve its own webpage, that I should have jammed this in somewhere else on a broader West Virginia page. A quick coffee stop in Wheeling on a cross-country trip does add any new revelations to West Virginia that I didn’t previously have after a three day drive through the state a few years ago—that revelation is that West Virginia has been abandoned.
Likewise, Wheeling has been abandoned. The city’s main commercial thoroughfare has a post-World War Two boom that is reminiscent of Morgantown. The city hit a population peak around 61,000 in the 1930s and 1940s. Today the population is 26,430. Fewer people live here today than in 1880. It feels that way. There is a what seems to be a nice, new arena for a Pittsburgh Penguins minor league affiliate; there’s a small farmer’s market nearby; there’s a nice waterfront park; there’s just no people.
Likewise, Wheeling has been abandoned. The city’s main commercial thoroughfare has a post-World War Two boom that is reminiscent of Morgantown. The city hit a population peak around 61,000 in the 1930s and 1940s. Today the population is 26,430. Fewer people live here today than in 1880. It feels that way. There is a what seems to be a nice, new arena for a Pittsburgh Penguins minor league affiliate; there’s a small farmer’s market nearby; there’s a nice waterfront park; there’s just no people.
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