About Pleasants County
Pleasants County is in the western part of the state located northeast of Parkersburg and about 88 miles southeast of Columbus, Ohio. Its western boundary is the Ohio River which is the West Virginia state border with Ohio. It was formed in 1851 from parts of Ritchie, Tyler and Wood counties. The county is named after James Pleasants (1769-1836), a Virginia governor, legislator, and member of U.S. Congress.
It is rural with a present territory of 131 square miles and a population 7,376. Its county seat and major town is St. Marys (pop. 2,017) located on the Ohio River in the western center of the county at the mouth of Middle Island Creek. The only other town is Belmont (pop. 1,036) also along the Ohio River southwest of St. Marys. The Ohio River is a major transportation waterway, and the county has rail connections with a rail line bisecting the center of the main street in St. Marys.
Major employment is in chemical manufacturing, retail, fossil fuel electric power generation, health care and social assistance, and accommodation and food service. Major agricultural products are livestock and forage.
For detailed, current census data for the county, go to West Virginia Quickfacts from the U.S. Census Bureau or ePodunk.
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