Clarksburg

Understand

Clarksburg is almost 1,000 ft above sea level in a region of steeply rolling hills along the West Fork River.

Established in 1785, it was named for General George Rogers Clark, an important military leader in the Revolutionary War and the brother of William Clark, who was half of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was the birthplace of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.

Clarksburg, along with Fairmont 20 minutes north, has a fairly large population descended from Italian immigrants, many of whom came to the area to work in the coal mines and the glass factories. While Fairmont claims to be the place of origin of West Virginia's official state food: the pepperoni roll; Clarksburg also has a large proportion of bakeries specializing in the dish. Many Italians initially settled in the Glen Elk neighborhood, located between the train station (now a CSX office) and downtown on the other side of Elk Creek.

Clarksburg has suffered significant population loss within its city limits, as of 2020 half of its 1950 peak. Additionally, the historic downtown business district has suffered an apocalyptic vacancy rate with many grand buildings from Clarksburg's wealthy heyday at risk of demolition. While some of this is directly due to de-industrialization, more has to do with suburbanization and lack of civic motive to invest in the city center, evidenced by the fact that the suburb of Bridgeport to the east of Clarksburg has grown significantly during this time, and the retail nucleus of Harrison County has transitioned to a long string of big-box style development on Emily Dr. (paralleling I-79) between Clarksburg and Bridgeport.

Get in

By car

Clarksburg is at the intersection of US-50, between Parkersburg in the west and Grafton in the east, and US-19, between Fairmont in the north and Weston in the south. Clarksburg is just west of I-79 (exit 119); Bridgeport is just east of the interstate.

By plane

There is one airport serving Clarksburg.

Go North Central Regional Airport (CKB)

Flights to Orlando/Sanford, St. Petersburg, and Charlotte.

📍 2000 Aviation Way☎ +1 304-842-3400

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Get around

• Central West Virginia Transit Authority, 208 N 4th Street, +1 304-623-6002. Bus service for Harrison County, covering Clarksburg, Bridgeport, Shinnston, Adamston, Anmoore, Despard, Hartland, Northview, Nutter Fort / Stonewood, Stealey, West Milford and Wolf Summit / Salem. Fares $0.50-1.

Learn

• The Clarksburg Convention & Visitors Bureau is located at 208 Court Street [beside the Harrison County Courthouse on Main Street, +1 304-622-2157. Toll-free +1-877-622-2157. Visit them on-line, click on Visitors Bureau.
• The local newspaper is the Clarksburg Exponent Telegram, +1 304-626-1400 or +1-800-982-6034.

Go next

• Fairmont - 20 minutes north on I-79, home of Fairmont State University
• Morgantown - 40 minutes north on I-79, home of West Virginia University
• Grafton 35 minutes east on US-50
• Weston - 30 minutes south on I-79
• Buckhannon - 40 minutes away, home of West Virginia Wesleyan College
• Sutton - 1 hr south on I-79
• Elkins - 1 hr away, home of Davis & Elkins College
• Parkersburg - 1 hr 10 minutes west on US-50
• Pittsburgh - The nearest large city, 1 hr 45 minutes north on I-79.