Historical Facts

View historical facts for Clarksburg: 

  • Clarksburg was named in 1778 for General George Rogers Clark and incorporated in 1785.
  • Clarksburg Downtown Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
  • During the Civil War, Clarksburg served as a supply depot of the Union Army from 1861 to 1865. General George B. McClellan had his headquarters here in 1861 until the Battle of Bull Run.
  • John Simpson camped here in 1764. He was the first white man in the area.
  • Clarksburg is the birthplace of General Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson.
  • The Northwestern Turnpike, chartered in 1827, and begun in 1831, reached Clarksburg in 1836 and was macadamized from the Tygarts Valley River to Parkersburg in 1848.
  • In 1840 there was an established daily line of stages and a regular mail service which made connection with Ohio River steamers at Parkersburg.
  • The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached Clarksburg from Grafton in 1856.
  • The historic district of Clarksburg is mainly outlined by Hewes Avenue on the north, Main Street on the south, Chestnut Street on the west, and E B. Saunders Way [formerly Water Street] on the east.
  • Many of the older homes can be found on East Main Street from Monticello Avenue to the Goff Plaza Bridge.
George B. McClellan