Proctorville

How Proctorville began

Proctorville, on the Ohio River in Union Township, was first settled in 1797 as Quaker Bottom and grew through the 1800s as a river trading hub. When Jacob Proctor opened a general store by the wharf in 1834, riverboat captains began calling the spot Proctor's Landing, and when the village formally incorporated in 1878 residents renamed it Proctorville in his honor. A devastating fire in 1900 destroyed much of its business district, and the village never fully rebuilt; the 1985 East End Bridge to Huntington, West Virginia, later spurred new growth.

Settled 1797 (as Quaker Bottom), incorporated 1878, by renamed for Jacob Proctor, who opened a general store by the wharf in 1834.

Where the name comes from

Named for Jacob Proctor, who established a general store by the village wharf in 1834; riverboat captains took to calling the settlement Proctor's Landing, and upon incorporation in 1878 residents formalized it as Proctorville.

Before the town

No source found records a Native village, mound, trail, or treaty event specific to Proctorville/Quaker Bottom. The village lies within the Ohio River lands ceded at the 1795 Treaty of Greenville; the county's broader Native history is covered at the county level.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee.

Timeline

1. 1797 — The area is first settled and called Quaker Bottom.
2. 1816 or 1817 — The Rome Beauty apple is developed nearby in Rome Township by Joel Gillette and his son.
3. 1834 — Jacob Proctor establishes a general store by the wharf, and the settlement becomes known as Proctor's Landing.
4. 1878 — The village incorporates as Proctorville, honoring Jacob Proctor.
5. April 7, 1900 — A devastating fire destroys much of the village's business district; most destroyed businesses never rebuild.
6. 1913 and 1937 — Significant Ohio River floods cause further damage to the village.
7. 1949 — Proctorville High School merges with Rome Township's school to form the Fairland Local School District, named for its location near the county fairgrounds.
8. 1985 — The East End Bridge opens, connecting Proctorville to Huntington, West Virginia, and spurring regional growth.
9. April 2, 2024 — A derecho causes substantial damage to the community.

Stories

A fire the village never fully outgrew

Proctorville had spent most of the 19th century building a modest but real prosperity as a river trading hub, ever since Jacob Proctor opened a general store by the wharf in 1834 and riverboat captains started calling the landing after him. That prosperity was concentrated, as it was in most river towns, in a tight cluster of wooden commercial buildings near the water -- which made the fire of April 7, 1900, so costly. It tore through much of the business district in a single day, and unlike the floods of 1913 and 1937 that followed, it left nothing to rebuild around: most of the destroyed businesses simply never reopened. The village survived, but its commercial heart never fully recovered its earlier density, and it took the 1985 opening of the East End Bridge to Huntington, West Virginia -- eight decades after the fire -- to bring a new wave of growth to the community.

Photographs

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Ohio River surface water, treated at the Ironton Water Treatment Plant (built 1993, approved capacity 4 million gallons per day, about 1.3 MGD produced). The foot-of-Vernon-Street siting describes the original 1872 waterworks, not the current intake location. The water here

• Hecla Water Association94% of residentsOhio River
• Proctorville Village6% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Community health centers (2)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Public libraries (1)

Police stations (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2021: 4 of 4 passed.

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.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-08-07

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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