Local History Videos

Old Images of Parkersburg, West Virginia in Historic Photos & Film

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Debbie Death
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Closeup of an extract of an old photo panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy flooding

Glimpse history through old images of Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Parkersburg’s Panorama c.1909

The panorama photo taken sometime aroung 1909 captures the city along the riverside, and the smaller areas of development across the waters.

I’ve added three close up images taken from this panorama, so you can see a bit more detail.

Old photo panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1909
Old photo panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1909. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Closeup of an extract of a panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1909
Closeup of an extract of a panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1909. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Closeup of an extract of a panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1909
Closeup of an extract of a panorama photo of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1909. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Closeup of an extract of a panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1909
Closeup of an extract of a panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1909. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Parkersburg’s Panorama c.1913

The next two old photos show a panorama of the city, probably in 1913.

I’ve added three closeup images from each of these photos, so you can see more detail of the structures, buildings, and ships.

Two old photo panoramas of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy flooding
Two old photo panoramas of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy flooding. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Closeup of an extract of an old photo panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy flooding
Closeup of an extract of a panorama photo of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy floods. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Closeup of an extract of an old photo panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy flooding
Closeup of an extract of a panorama photo of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy floods. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Closeup of an extract of an old photo panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy flooding
Closeup of an extract of a panorama photo of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy floods. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Closeup of an extract of an old photo panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy flooding
Closeup of an extract of a panorama photo of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy floods. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Closeup of an extract of an old photo panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy flooding
Closeup of an extract of a panorama photo of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy floods. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Closeup of an extract of an old photo panorama of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy flooding
Closeup of an extract of a panorama photo of Parkersburg, West Virginia, taken around 1913 during heavy floods. From the archives of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Old Photos of Parkersburg

These old photos of Parkersburg show city life and streets over many decades.

There are a surprising number of flood and fire disasters recorded in these old photos.

Vintage Scenes of Parkersburg, West Virginia – ReelNostalgia on YouTube

Parkersburg in 2012

This next vide was uploaded to YouTube in 2012. It shows a drive through quiet local roads to 7th Street.

parkersburg wv – lester mcgee on YouTube

Drone Footage 2017

While this isn’t an archive film showing how the city looked many decades ago, it is a nice record of the streets and buildings from above. You can see historic properties still in use, and the way the riverfront has dramatically changed from a century ago.

Parkersburg, West Virginia Drone Fly Over – Troy Aurora on YouTube

More about West Virginia