Belpre

Belpre is a city in Washington County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The name Belpre is derived from a contraction of "Belle Prairie" (French for "beautiful meadow"), which is the original name given to the valley by French trappers prior to more permanent settlement by European Americans.Part of the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, the city is located about 14 miles downriver from Marietta. In 1870 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad completed the Parkersburg Bridge (CSX) across the river; at, it was reportedly the longest in the world.The population was 6,441 at the 2010 census. Belpre was the second United States settlement in the Northwest Territory after Marietta. The city is home to the first library established in the Territory. Its public school hired the first female schoolteacher in Ohio.HistoryThe first settlement at Belpre was made in 1788. In 1845 railroad developers founded the Belpre and Cincinnati Railroad, but the destination was changed to Marietta, with a corresponding name change in 1851. For a considerable period of time, travelers had to go by steamboat to connect between Marietta and Parkersburg, Virginia; the latter received service from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1857. This was shortly before the western part of Virginia seceded in 1861 after the start of the American Civil War to form Unionist West Virginia. Belpre and Marietta were later connected by rail. Coal service is still active on this line.