Harrisville

How Harrisville began

Harrisville grew from a cabin built by Isaac Holmes in 1796 and was formally platted on October 19, 1814 by John Wells, Thomas Gray, Store Hutchinson, and Robert Dutton, with Wells as proprietor; the plat was filed January 9, 1815. By 1821 the village had about 130 residents and a strong Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) community. In 1834, thirty-five local women signed a petition to Congress calling for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and for "immediate enfranchisement of every human being that shall tread this soil," one of the first known demands for women's suffrage, according to Wikipedia. Confederate raiders under John Hunt Morgan passed through in 1863.

Settled 1796 (Isaac Holmes' cabin), platted October 19, 1814 (filed January 9, 1815), by John Wells, Thomas Gray, Store Hutchinson, and Robert Dutton.

Where the name comes from

The origin of the name Harrisville is not documented. The county was named for William Henry Harrison in 1813, but no account of the village says it was named for him.

Before the town

No Native American village, mound, or treaty boundary specific to Harrisville is documented; the land was included in the general Ohio cessions of the 1780s-1790s (Treaty of Fort McIntosh, 1785, and Treaty of Greenville, 1795) before organized American settlement began, and it lay within range of Mingo, Delaware (Lenape), and Shawnee hunting and travel along the Ohio River tributaries.

Nations recorded here: Mingo (Seneca-Cayuga), Delaware (Lenape), Shawnee.

Timeline

1. 1796 — Isaac Holmes builds a cabin at the site that becomes Harrisville.
2. 1814 — Harrisville is platted on October 19 by John Wells, Thomas Gray, Store Hutchinson, and Robert Dutton.
3. 1815 — The plat is filed on January 9.
4. 1821 — The village has grown to about 130 residents, with a strong Society of Friends (Quaker) presence.
5. 1834 — Thirty-five women of Harrisville sign a petition to Congress demanding abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and full enfranchisement.
6. 1850 — The census counts 300 residents.
7. 1863 — Confederate raiders under John Hunt Morgan pass through Moorefield and Harrisville on their way toward the Ohio River.
8. 1880 — The census counts 318 residents.
9. 1888 — Howe's gazetteer lists a United Presbyterian, a Methodist Episcopal and a Methodist Protestant church; the school census is 143.
10. 1905 — The hack service between Cadiz and Harrisville, which had run for many years, ends about this year.
11. 1910 — The census counts 364 residents.
12. 1920 — The census counts 356; the village has a miners' co-operative supply company, a creamery, a Knights of Pythias lodge, a four-room brick school and a daily auto hack to Wheeling.
13. 1940 — The population peaks at 442.
14. 2020 — The census counts 179 residents.

Stories

An 1834 petition ahead of its time

In 1834, thirty-five women of Harrisville signed a petition to Congress that called for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and for the "immediate enfranchisement of every human being that shall tread this soil." Wikipedia describes it as one of the first known demands for women's suffrage. The village had about 130 residents in 1821, with a strong presence of the Society of Friends (Quakers).

Local history sources: genealogytrails.com · en.wikipedia.org · yourohionews.com · archive.org · archive.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · harrisoncountyohio.gov

A well in the Ohio River valley (alluvial) aquifer serving the St. Clairsville-area system The water here

• Tri-county Water Authority86% of residentsOhio River valley aquifer (wells)
• Adena Village14% of residentsOhio River valley aquifer (wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Basic Audit, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-12-23

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

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