Pleasants County, West Virginia | Make It Your Future

Map of Pleasants County

  • LOCATION
  • Region: Mid Ohio Valley
  • Area: 135 square miles
  • COUNTY SEAT: St. Marys
  • CLIMATE
  • Ave temperature (F): 54
  • Monthly temp range: 30 – 75
  • Ave relative humidity: 68%
  • PREVAILING WIND DIRECTION: SW
  • AVE ANNUAL RAINFALL: 41”
  • AVE ANNUAL SNOWFALL: 25”
  • DEMOGRAPHICS
  • Population 7,514
  • Population density/sq mile 58
  • Median age 39
  • Households 2,887
  • Ave household size 2.51
  • Ave family size 2.93
  • Housing units 3,214
  • Median house value $67,100
  • Ave annual wage $39,319
  • Wage rank in State 2nd
  • Unemployment rate (2004) 6.1%
  • MAJOR COMMUNITY ASSETS
  • • A highly desirable quality of life manifested by one of the lowest crime rates in the United States.
  • • A workforce that is skilled, committed and that is characterized by a good work ethic.
  • • An ease of access to river, rail, and interstate transportation.
  • • A very competitive electric utility rate structure.
  • • A fiber optics backbone component in place.
  • • A small friendly community strategically located within 500 miles of 2/3 of the population of the country.
  • • A community that is very supportive of industry.
  • • Larger private sector employers
    • • Cytec, Inc.
    • • Allegheny Power Company
    • • Arvilla Pipeline
    • • SimEx, Inc.
    • • Alpharma, Inc.
    • • Arvilla Well Service
    • •Tenaska Power/Pleasants Energy
  • MAJOR CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYMENT
  • Sales and Office 25%
  • Management and Professional 22%
  • Production and Transportation 21%
  • Service 19%
  • Construction and Maintenance 12%
  • Other 1%
  • Worker Commuting patterns
  • Residents – Work in county 1,429
  • Residents - Work in another county 1,071
  • Non-Residents – Work in county 1,067
  • Residents – Average travel time to work in minutes 24
  • UTILITIES
  • Electricity Allegheny Power
  • Natural Gas Dominion Resources
  • Water City of St. Marys
  • City of Belmont
  • Route 16 Water Corp.
  • Pleasants County Public
  • Service District
  • Union Williams Public
  • Service District
  • Waste Water City of St. Marys
  • City of Belmont
  • Union Williams Public
  • Service District
  • Telecommunications Frontier,
  • Citizens Comm
  • COMMUNICATIONS
  • Newspapers
  • St. Marys Oracle Weekley
  • Pleasants County
  • Leader Weekley
  • Radio
  • WRRR-FM 93.9
  • WXCR-FM 92.3
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • Railroad: CSX
  • Highways:
  • Interstate 77 7 miles
  • Interstate 70 50 miles
  • US Route 50 12 miles
  • Waterway:
  • Ohio River Channel depth 9’
  • Airport:
  • Mid-Ohio Valley Regional 6 miles

Pleasants County, one of the smallest of West Virginia's counties, lies by the Ohio River in the western part of the state. The county is divided into two nearly equal portions by Middle Island Creek. Within its borders, both fertile bottom land and the highlands of the Appalachian foothills can be found.

The area's first recorded permanent settlement was made by a pair of French brothers, Isaac and Jacob LaRue, in 1790. They had been awarded a grant of land in return for their service to the American cause during the Revolutionary War.

Pleasants County was formed from portions of three other counties -- Wood, Tyler and Ritchie -- in 1851. It was named after James Pleasants (1769-1836), governor of Virginia from 1822 to 1825. The population in 1860 was 2,945.

Agriculture and timber were for many years the major sources of income. These were supplanted starting in the 1890s by oil and gas. The oil fields proved to be extremely productive and brought great wealth to the area. While the boom period lasted less than 20 years, oil and gas are still significant sources of revenue. The majority of the county's population now finds employment in local industries and businesses.

St. Marys, the county seat, is located on the banks of the Ohio. The town was founded by Alexander Creel in 1849. According to legend, Creel was traveling by steamboat down the Ohio when he beheld a vision of the Virgin Mary who told him that a city founded at the joining of the Ohio River and Middle Island Creek would be happy and prosperous. Creel bought the land, marked off the streets for his city, and named it in honor of the Virgin Mary.

  • LOCAL GOVERNMENT DIRECTORY
  • Emergencies — 911
  • Belmont City Hall — 665-2160
  • St. Marys City Hall — 684-2401
  • Belmont Fire Dept. — 665-7401
  • St. Marys Fire Dept. — 684-7122
  • PC Emergency Squad — 684-3810
  • Pleasants County Commission/Administrator — 684-1127
  • Assessor’s Office — 684-3132
  • Circuit Clerk — 684-3513
  • Circuit Judge — 684-3274
  • County Clerk — 684-3542
  • Development Authority — 684-1220
  • Health Department — 684-2461
  • Human Services Department — 684-9244
  • Library — 684-7494
  • Parks and Recreation Office — 684-7525
  • Prosecuting Attorney — 684-2202
  • Sheriff — 684-2285
  • WVU Extension Office — 684-2448

PROPERTY TAX STRUCTURE

Property in West Virginia is divided into four classes (Sec. 11-8-5, Code). Different tax rates are imposed on each class, but there are limitations on the aggregate amount of taxes that may be imposed on each class. The classes are as follows:

Class I - all tangible personal property employed exclusively in agriculture, including horticulture and grazing, products of agriculture while owned by the producer, notes, bonds, bills and accounts receivable, stocks, and any other similar intangible personal property;

Class II - property owned, used and occupied by the owner exclusively for residential purposes, and farms including land used for horticulture and grazing, occupied and cultivated by their owners or bona fide tenants;

Class III - real and personal property not in Classes I or II, and located outside of municipalities; and

Class IV - real and personal property not in Classes I or II, and located within municipalities.

  State County School Municipal Total
CLASS I
Pleasants County .0025 .1430 .3954 .5409
City of Belmont .0025 .1430 .3954 .1250 .6659
City of St. Marys .0025 .1430 .3954 .1738 .7147
CLASS II
Pleasants County .0050 .2860 .7908 1.0818
City of Belmont .0050 .2860 .7908 .2500 1.3318
City of St. Marys .0050 .2860 .7908 .3476 1.4294
CLASS III
Pleasants County .0100 .5720 1.5816 2.1636
City of Belmont
City of St. Marys
CLASS IV
Pleasants County
City of Belmont .0100 .5720 1.5816 .5000 2.6636
City of St. Marys .0100 .5720 1.5816 .6952 2.8588