Wheeling Heritage Trail

 The Wheeling Heritage Trail follows the Ohio River for 16.5 miles along an old railbed and connects Wheeling, West Virginia to Wellsburg, West Virginia.  We parked north of Wheeling and walked/rolled north towards Wellsburg. After about 1.5 miles of traveling through a green corridor beside the river the trail climbed to parallel Route 2. We turned around as this point and went south, passing our parking spot and going through downtown Wheeling before turning around again to make a total distance of about 6 miles.

The section of the trail that we were on is very urban. If we do this trail again we'll start at Wellsburg and go south. Google satellite view shows that part of the trail farther away from the highway with less developement. 

The trail is in good condition and the only hill we encountered was the section climbing to Route 2.9

Most of the parking areas along the trail are not suitable for large vehicles. We parked at west end of 5th Street where it meets the trail. The parking area is gravel with plenty of room to park and turn around an RV. 5th Street is steep but navigable by any vehicle. Trail     40.07814, -80.72694

Museum of Ceramics

 East Liverpool, Ohio was founded in 1798 and remained a small Ohio River town until the 1839 arrival of James Bennett, a potter from England. After emigrating to the US in 1836 he worked in potteries in other states before discovering that the yellow clay along the river banks in East Liverpool was ideal for pottery making, spurring him to open his own pottery. The success of Bennett's small factory encouraged other potters to open shop. Business boomed due to the good transportation route on the river, ample clay deposits, and a labor pool of skilled immigrants from England. 

In 1923, 17 companies with 270 kilns employed about 7000 men, women, and children. The depression in the 1930s, the lifting of tariffs on foreign pottery, and a reluctance to modernize the factories lead to many closures over the proceeding years. Today American Mug & Stein Company in East Liverpool and Fiesta Tableware Company, across the river in Newell, West Virginia, are the only companies still in the area. 

The display cases in the museum are filled with products created in the potteries. The history of East Liverpool and the pottery industry are covered in detail. The lower level has more cases of pottery plus wonderful photographs of  pottery workers and full-size dioramas portraying the steps of pottery making.

An accessible entrance with a call button is located at the rear of the museum. An elevator provides access to both floors. 

Parking is available on the street. Museum  40.61845, -80.5771

 

Thompson Park

In 1899 Will Thompson, a local East Liverpool man who was a successful composer and music publisher, donated 100 acres to the city for a park. Over the years the city has planted trees, added tennis courts, picnic shelters, ball fields, a swimming pool, and a disc golf course. A loop road circles the disc golf course and has been closed to traffic to make a paved walking path which was the reason for our visit.

The path goes slightly downhill then back up. It's a little less than 1/2 mile so we circled around several times. 

There are two small lots; one to the left inside the park; the other to the left outside the park. Both are large enough for RVs but the one outside the park is pull-through so it's a better option. Park  40.64465, -80.56302

Upper Ohio Valley Museum and Hall Of Fame

The museum was originally going to be dedicated just to Lou Holtz but when the idea was raised to him he suggested that it include Upper Ohio Valley people in all fields of endeavor.  Not being football fans we had no idea who Lou Holtz was but since the museum is free we stopped to find out. The museum has a small section on Holtz, exhibits on other notable residents, and historic exhibits on the area. The museum is in the old First National Bank in East Liverpool and uses the bank vault for a display on Pretty Boy Floyd.  Floyd, a petty criminal, bank robber, jail inmate, and murderer, met his demise near East Liverpool on October 22, 1934 at hands of local and federal law enforcement. 

 

The accessible entrance to the museum is on Crook Ave. Crook Ave- also know as Umbrella Alley because of the colorful umbrellas providing shade- is a pedestrian walkway. There isn't a push button to alert the staff and they may not hear knocking so it's best to call ahead. The main floor of the museum is accessible. The model train layout is hard to see from a seated position. The ramp to view some of the Pretty Boy Floyd exhibit is narrow and steep. A lift accesses the second floor. The lower level is not accessible. 

Parking is available on the street. We parked two blocks south on  4th Street and walked/ rolled up Crook Ave. Wheelchair users may need assistance as it's fairly steep. Museum  40.61877, -80.57911

First Ladies National Historic Site

The visitor center is located in the historic 1895 City National Bank building with the main exhibits in the restored lobby. A theater in the lower level has four videos that play continuously. We watched In Times Of War and found it to be very informative. We would have watched all of them if we had more time. The second floor has a few more exhibits, a kid's hands-on area, and a research library open by appointment only. 

 

The accessible entrance has a call button and is located on the south side of the museum, to the left of the main entrance. Once inside there's a lift that goes to the lower level and then an elevator for access to the first and second floors. 

We parked on the street, taking up two spaces. Most of the meters are limited to two hours but the museum is small so that's plenty of time to see the exhibits and watch at least two videos. The sidewalks and curb cuts are in good condition. Visitor Center  40.79766, -81.3753

 

Air Heritage Aviation Museum

Dedicated volunteers are the driving force of this small museum. The eight planes on display have been restored to flying condition and the exhibit cases feature stories, models, and memorabilia.  

The museum is accessible except to the second floor gallery.

We noticed the Harvest Hosts sign when we pulled in so we asked if we could stay the night even though we hadn't called ahead of time. Yes! Very quiet although people who spotted the museum sign on Route 51 turned down Airport Drive to check it out so expect some activity even when the museum is closed. Museum  40.7775, -80.38997