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| Marshall County |
| Monday, 14 May 2007 23:56 | |||
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One of the oldest and largest Indian burial mounds in American is located in the heart of Moundsville, where government offices are located for Marshall County. The mound is 79 feet high, 900 feet in circumference at the base, and 50 feet across at the top. It was acquired by the state in 1917. The city's industrial base consists of glass, zinc, and enamel products. It is a commercial center for the coal fields. Joseph, Samuel, and James Tomlinson settled in the flats along Grave Creek in 1771. In 1798 James Tomlinson Jr. platted the town and called it Elizabethtown in honor of his wife. A rival community was begun on the banks of the Ohio River by Simon Purdy and called Mound City. In 1865 the two were united as Moundsville. The state penitentiary was built here in 1866. Moundsville's Campy Meeting Grounds attracts thousands of visitors each August to hear evangelists, circuit riding preachers, and exhorters. Marshall County is the southernmost county of the Northern Panhandle. Commerce in the county is supported by coal mines, natural gas, oil wells, glass sand pits, clay, timber, livestock, dairy products, tobacco, and truck farming. Named for John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Marshall County was formed in 1835. The county comprises some 315 square miles of area. Marshall, who served as Chief Justice for 34 years, has been described as a man who "established the fundamental principles for constitutional interpretation" as a result of his early decisions on the high court.
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