St. Clairsville

St. Clairsville is a city in and the county seat of Belmont County, Ohio, United States. Nicknamed "Paradise on the Hill", it is part of the Wheeling, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,184 at the 2010 census.HistoryThe seat of justice of Belmont County was originally known as Newellstown, and under the latter name was laid out in the late 1790s by David Newell. The name of the settlement was soon changed to St. Clairsville in honor of Northwest Territory Governor and Revolutionary War Major-General Arthur St. Clair.In 1833, St. Clairsville contained a brick courthouse and jail, five houses of worship, seventeen or eighteen mercantile stores, several groceries, a drug store, a book store, five taverns, three printing offices, four or five physicians, and fourteen or fifteen lawyers, and a large number of mechanics' shops. CBS's well known Charles Kuralt's program..."On the Road With Charles Kuralt" drove through Saint Clairsville for a TV segment, in the 1960s.Belmont County is also the venue for the world-famous "jamboree in the hills" outdoor country music festival. In 1986, The syndicated Paul Harvey show featured a special election being held in Belmont County for purposes of Selecting a new official county seal and flag, created by then county resident Michael A Massa.GeographySt. Clairsville is located at (40.079379, -80.901274). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.44sqmi, of which 2.42sqmi is land and 0.02sqmi is water. The Official Belmont County Seal, designed by county native Michael A. Massa, features 13 stars, denoting that the county was the 13th parcel to have originally been incorporated into what was the US Northwest Territory.