Belmont County, Ohio: History
Belmont County was authorized in September 1801 by the Northwest Territorial legislature, with area partitioned from Jefferson and Washington counties. The county would be organized two months later with St. Clairsville being named as the county seat in 1803. Its area was reduced in 1810 when area was ceded for the formation of Guernsey County and again in 1813 for the formation of Monroe County. It has retained its boundaries unchanged since 1813. Belmont is the French toponym meaning "beautiful mountain". Settlers migrating westward followed Zane's Trace through the county. Later, the National Road was built through the county. Quakers were among the county's first settlers. Many of these people would become outspoken critics of slavery, including famous abolitionist Benjamin Lundy.
Some of the earliest settlers in Belmont County were the Vernons, Williamses and Thomases from Georgia; the Starbucks from Nantucket; the Pattersons, Bundys, Stantons, Edgertons, Doudnas, Boswells, Outlands, Halls, Middletons and Hansons from North Carolina; the Baileys from Southeastern Virginia, and the Smiths from Pennsylvania.
Belmont County is located in the Ohio coal belt. At one time, steamships traveling down the Ohio River knew the county's community of Bellaire as the last stop for coal until Cincinnati. In 1866, the county was served by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Toledo & Ohio Railroad. The National Road also ran through Bellaire. Given the county's transportation resources, fuel resource, and experienced workforce in nearby Wheeling, West Virginia, the county was an excellent location for a glass manufacturing plant. The county's first glass works was the Excelsior Glass Works, which was organized in 1849. In 1866 Belmont Glass Company became Bellaire's first of many glass plants, and the second in Belmont County. Some of the founders of this glass works later started another glass factory in Bellaire: the Bellaire Goblet Company. In 1880, the state of Ohio ranked fourth in the country in glass production, and Belmont County ranked sixth among the nation's counties. By 1881, Bellaire had 15 glass factories, and was known as "Glass City". At the beginning of the next decade, the state of Ohio was ranked second in the nation in glass production based on the value of the product.
Belmont County was the venue for the world-famous Jamboree in the Hills outdoor country music festival from 1977 to 2018. 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 Massa.