Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1858-03-04
The County Seat.

A gentleman writing rom Washington
town ship on this question, says: alt is my
opinion, and has been for years that st.
Clairsviile is not the proper place for the
county seat of Belmont county; that the
Southern part of the county has been i'm
posed upon, and especially the valley of
Captina; ard | am of the opinion il would
have been better for the county if it had
never been removed from the place where
it was first located. have often thought,
when going to St. ClairsgiIle, it would be
hard to locate a road through any part Of
Belmont that would be q worse road 10
travel; and it is the case with almost all the
Southern part OF the county. The citizens
Of that part have to cross almost all the hol-
lows at right angles.
ain the second place, | will give you my
opinion where the county seat ought to be.
There are several places which | think
have a preference over St. Clairsville. |
would say almost any place along the Cen
,ral Ohio Rail Road. Bsrnesville, Belmont,
Glencoe or Lewis Mills. OF these four
places I would give Glencoe the prefer
ence. 1t may not be quite as near the
centre of the county as Lewis n lis, but
considering the ma le of the county, it is
app~roachable with less labor in travel
But neither of these places is my choice
Bellaire is the place where ] would locate
the county seat of Belmont i | had the To-
eating to do; and will give You my reas-
ons.
Fist. It is almost central on the East
line of the county. At this place is the
point where meet the two great thorough
fares of travel that pass through and along
side of the county. Should the business
of the people call them to stay any length
of time at BelIaire, they may go unincum-
bered of a horse, which is a thing in no
way inconsiderable, when expenses over
run fees, without taking into consideration
the loss of time. All this NAV be said of
any other place on the Rail Road, with
this exception: those that 90 by way OF the
river would nave to ship aboard of the cars,
which would give additional trouble and
EXPENSE. All the main roads and travel
will eventually lead to these two thorough
fares. and if the people Of the county are
taxed for the Improvement of roads, it ought
to be those roads that lead to those chan
nels by which their surplus products are
carried to market. Another thing in my
,,Ini,, uira- pal!.Tra q rrafarapa,. - ,rIII
in all probability soon be the largest place
in'the county, and is all the place in the
county that can be a city of sufficient ca.
pacity 10 form u market for all the products
OF the county.
| see it urged by the opposition rha. this
talked-of removal is premature-that we
are burthened with tixes--the county build
ings are good enougll-the removal will De
a great increase in taxes-that the Bell.
ARE ians are spectators, &C., &c. Now
those St. GAINESVILLE gentlemen seem 10
feel a dreadful concern for the "dear ppo-
pie" OF the county. | think hat any per
son can see through all this. A certain
people on a certain occasion cried OUT
Great is Diana OF the Ephes:ans.' !
think this passage might be applied with
out pervefting the text. | say if the county
seat il to BE- moved at all, now is the very
time for the people of the county to assist
to build up a city to De 4 market for them
within their own territory. How much
has Belmont done to build Il city for Vir-
GINA! Who is there in Belmont County
that would not feel proud to have such ii
city as Wheeling within her bou,dary-
such a market for her produce!
Now. in my opinion, is the time to as
sist Bellaire; she has a great rival to con
tend against-shc needs aid in the begin
ming it ever. There is no hope of ST.
CT irsvil!e being any thing more than she
now is-simp!y a rural village. 1t surely
cannot be possible that the people of Bel
mont county viii be so foolish and blind to
their own interests, as to continue TO be-
stow their favCrs on a place That cam OF
be any benefit or honor as a city or a mar
ket, or eren i place convenient of access
In conclusion, | would say ] hope that
the Legislature viii so far take the case
into consideration as to let the voters OF
the c'uny decide the question of the re-
moval OF tn county seat by ballot. In
a pecunia.y point of view | know that there
is a large majority of the voters in the
County interested more than am. | think
| am not biased. Local interest is wha; is
creating all the opposition in the case, and
| think this a great reason why the people
of the county should decide the case. II
on the contrary, there is a majority against
removal, | think it will put the entire mat
ter at rest Cor a while. Yours. &c.