Martins Ferry, Ohio

Belmont County

39-48104

Martins Ferry is a city on the Ohio River in Belmont County in the U.S. state of Ohio. Martins Ferry has good 7,200 inhabitants (as of the 2000 census ), making it the largest town in County Belmont.

The poet James Wright, who was born in Martins Ferry in a working class family and grew up there during the Depression, wrote "Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio " one of his most famous poems. To him, the James Wright Poetry Festival was held in honor in Martins Ferry from 1980 to 2007 a ​​year.

History

The place was first settled in the 1780s at the latest by White; the settlement was called Norristown. Wild settlements ( squatters ) on the western bank of the Ohio River were repeatedly evacuated. 1787 was the place in the territory of the newly established Northwest Territory, and has now been officially settled. In that year, Absalom Martin received the land on which now stands Martins Ferry, as payment for his services as a surveyor. 1795 - seven years later - Martin founded on his land a place called Jefferson, and began individual plots for sale. After the administrative seat of the county Belmont but was instead set up in his place in St. Clairsville, Martin bought the land back and made the parcelling reversed. However, the Martin -powered ferry (English Ferry ) across the Ohio River to Wheeling in West Virginia remained in operation.

Personalities

• Alex Groza (1926-1995), basketball player and Olympic champion
• Theodore Barber (1927-2005), psychologist and hypnosis researchers
• Lou Groza (1924-2000), football player of the Cleveland Browns, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• William Dean Howells (1837-1920), writer, literary critic and magazine editor.
• James Wright (1927-1980), poet and Pulitzer Prize winner