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Tyler County

Tyler County lies on the Ohio River between Wetzel and Pleasants counties. It was formed from Ohio County on December 6, 1814, originally encompassing all of what is now Wetzel County and parts of present Doddridge and Pleasants. Tyler County was named for John Tyler, governor of Virginia (1808–11) and father of President John Tyler.

Mapped Points

• Middlebourne

  On January 27, 1813, Middlebourne was officially founded and named. In 1816, it became the county seat of recently created Tyler County.

• Paden City

  Paden City is a glass-making town. Early factories included the Paul Wissmach Glass Company, makers of cathedral glass, and the Duquesne Bottle Factory. Paden City is home to Marble King, which manufactures more than a million marbles each day.

• Sistersville

  Sistersville is the largest town in Tyler County. A toll ferry, the last in the state, conveys automobiles and passengers across the Ohio at Sistersville.

• Friendly

  White hunters settled in what became Tyler County in 1792 near the present town of Friendly. In 1937, the women of Friendly were successful in their campaign to seat an all-female municipal government. Friendly is the setting for the Shiloh books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.

• Jug of Middle Island Creek

  The Jug is located on Middle Island Creek, the longest stream in West Virginia not to bear the designation of river. Here the creek flows southward for three and a half miles before reversing direction and returning to within 100 feet of itself, creating a peninsula. This big loop is shaped something like the handle of a jug.
  

  

• Ohio River

  The Ohio River forms the western border of West Virginia for 277 miles.

• Bens Run Earthworks

  The prehistoric Bens Run earthworks were located on a terrace of the Ohio River.