History
In 1917, upon a 300 acre farm formerly owned by a man named Robert Miller, housing construction first began for the new Village of Beech Bottom. All of the houses, along with a Post Office, General Store, Drug Store, Protestant Church, and Catholic Church were all built and owned by the early steel company who had purchased the Miller farm. Early residents of the Village of Beech Bottom rented their homes off of the steel/land company. At the time, the only privately owned homes were located outside of (to the north and south of) the 300 acre area owned by "the company".
During these early years a unique streetcar system was setup along the main road that ran north and south through the Village of Beech Bottom, parallel to the Ohio River. In 1922 this road was one of the very first four West Virginia state roads to be given its sequentially numbered designation. It was called, State Road 2, and this road, along with State Roads 1, 3 and 4 were intended to be the main through highways across the state. The other three original state roads were eventually changed, but State Road 2 remained the same, and we still know it as today as State Route 2. Back when the street cars were running along Route 2 through the Village of Beech Bottom, there were designated stops, where the car would stop to pick up and discharge passengers. The stops were sequentially numbered and some of these numbers can still be seen today in the names of our streets. For example, there were stops 47, 48, 49, etc. Originating in the area previously designated as stop 49, there was, and still is, a road that goes up the hill from Route 2 called 49 Hill. This road, along with the intersecting Apple Pie Ridge, were a couple of the very first roads in all of Brooke County.
The early steel company that owned all of the land, buildings, and streetcar system, became known as Wheeling Steel Corporation. In 1952, Wheeling Steel Corporation sold all of the houses and a Mayor was elected in the Village of Beech Bottom. From then on, we were on our own to take care of our housing needs and the needs of the Village.
Memories of early residents are still shared and treasured today in the Village of Beech Bottom. Many traces from our rich history can still be seen and found today in the Village of Beech Bottom. It is interesting to look back upon our history and to be amazed at how far we have come. Imagine where we can go from here with the continued cooperation from community that has been evident all throughout our history!