Exhibit 31.1

                                 Certifications
            Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

I, Thomas G. Stevenson, certify that:

1.    I have reviewed this quarterly  report on Form 10-QSB of Peoples  Bancorp,
      Inc.;

2.    Based on my knowledge,  this report does not contain any untrue  statement
      of a material fact or omit to state a material fact  necessary to make the
      statement made, in light of the circumstances  under which such statements
      were made,  not  misleading  with  respect  to the period  covered by this
      report;

3.    Based on my  knowledge,  the  financial  statements,  and other  financial
      information  included  in this  report,  fairly  present  in all  material
      respects the financial condition,  results of operations and cash flows of
      the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.    The  registrant's  other  certifying  officers and I are  responsible  for
      establishing  and  maintaining  disclosure  controls  and  procedures  (as
      defined in Exchange Act Rules  13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant
      and have:

            (a)   Designed such disclosure  controls and  procedures,  or caused
                  such  disclosure  controls and procedures to be designed under
                  our supervision,  to ensure that material information relating
                  to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is
                  made known to us by others within those entities, particularly
                  during the period in which this report is being prepared;

            (b)   Evaluated the  effectiveness  of the  registrant's  disclosure
                  controls  and  procedures  and  presented  in this  report our
                  conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls
                  and  procedures,  as of the end of the period  covered by this
                  report based on such evaluation; and

            (c)   Disclosed  in  this  report  any  change  in the  registrant's
                  internal control over financial reporting that occurred during
                  the registrant's  most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's
                  fourth  fiscal  quarter in the case of an annual  report) that
                  has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially
                  affect,  the  registrant's  internal  control  over  financial
                  reporting; and

5.    The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed,  based on
      our most recent  evaluation of internal control over financial  reporting,
      to the  registrant's  auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's
      board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

            (a)   All significant  deficiencies  and material  weaknesses in the
                  design  or  operation  of  internal   control  over  financial
                  reporting which are reasonably  likely to adversely affect the
                  registrant's ability to record, process,  summarize and report
                  financial information; and

            (b)   Any fraud,  whether or not material,  that involves management
                  or  other  employees  who  have  a  significant  role  in  the
                  registrant's internal control over financial reporting.


Date:    August 13, 2004                   /s/ Thomas G. Stevenson
                                           -------------------------------------
                                           Thomas G. Stevenson
                                           President/Chief Executive Officer