Belpre (Ohio)

Washington County

39-05424

Belpre is a city on the Ohio River in Washington County in the U.S. state of Ohio, about 160 kilometers southeast of Columbus. Belpre has about 6,700 inhabitants. (As of the census of 2000. )

In Belpre are a number of listed buildings from the time of settlement of Ohio by whites who were listed on the National Register of Historic Places ( NRHP), including the 1799 built house of the town's founder, Jonathan Stone.

History

Belpre (from French: " Belle Prairie " beautiful prairie ) in 1789 by a group of 40 settlers - 13 of them veterans of the American War of Independence - founded under the leadership of Captain Jonathan Stone, who had made ​​from Marietta here on the way to the to inspect land which they had purchased from the government. Belpre was so after the Marietta founded in 1788, the second permanent settlement in what was then the Northwest Territory.

Economy

Due to its central location in the valley of the Ohio River to Belpre developed quickly. In the 20th century, agriculture was the most important industry with extensive cultivation. In the 50s and 60s of the 20th century it came to the settlement of chemical industry and the importance of agriculture declined.

Personalities

• Larry Dalton ( born 1943 ), professor of chemistry, in particular polymers for nonlinear optics.