Saint Clairsville

City · Belmont County · 5,085 residents · 0.75% municipal income tax

Belmont County

Local events in Saint Clairsville

9 events in the next 90 days from 5 public calendars. All local events in Saint Clairsville

  1. Belmont County Safety Council

    11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. · STC Rec Center, St. Clairsville · From Saint Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce

  2. Start Up Stories and Strategies

    Starts 6 p.m. · Eastern Campus · Paid · From Ohio University Eastern (St. Clairsville)

Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.

How Saint Clairsville began

St. Clairsville was laid out in the late 1790s by David Newell as Newellstown, at a crossroads where routes from Pittsburgh and Washington, Pennsylvania met on the ridge above Wheeling Creek. It was renamed in 1802 for Arthur St. Clair, the Northwest Territory's Revolutionary War-general governor, and became Belmont County's seat when the county organized in 1801. By 1833, when the National Road reached it, St. Clairsville was already the first notable town west of Wheeling on that route, its Main Street lined with a courthouse, jail, churches, stores, taverns, and professional offices; much of that downtown survives today as the St. Clairsville Historic District. The city is the hometown of Sergeant Sylvester Antolak, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient killed in Italy in 1944, and of U.S. Representative Charlie Wilson.

Platted late 1790s, as Newellstown, by David Newell, incorporated 1802 (renamed St. Clairsville); became Belmont County seat with the county's 1801 organization, by David Newell (platting); renamed for Gov. Arthur St. Clair.

Where the name comes from

Renamed in 1802 for Arthur St. Clair, a Revolutionary War major general who served as the Northwest Territory's governor; St. Clair had no residence in the town, and the renaming reflected his standing as the territory's chief executive at the time Belmont County organized around the settlement.

Before the town

No Native village, camp, or trail specific to the town site of St. Clairsville itself is documented in the sources consulted, though two significant Native village sites, the Brokaw Site and the Opatrny Village Site, sit just outside city limits in the surrounding Richland Township. St. Clairsville's own ridge-top position, at the meeting of overland routes from Pittsburgh and Washington, Pennsylvania, likely followed a pre-existing travel corridor used by Native people and early traders alike, but no source consulted names a specific Native trail or camp on the town's exact footprint.

Timeline

  1. — David Newell lays out the town as Newellstown at the junction of roads from Pittsburgh and Washington, Pennsylvania.
  2. — Belmont County is organized, with the renamed St. Clairsville as its seat.
  3. — The town is renamed St. Clairsville, honoring Northwest Territory governor Arthur St. Clair.
  4. — The National Road reaches St. Clairsville, already established as the first notable town west of Wheeling on the route, with a courthouse, jail, churches, mercantile stores, taverns, and professional offices lining Main Street.
  5. — The present Second Empire-style Belmont County Courthouse is completed on the town's highest point, designed by architect Joseph Warren Yost.
  6. — The Clarendon Hotel is built in downtown St. Clairsville; it is later renovated into extended-stay lodging.
  7. — Sylvester Antolak, a St. Clairsville native, enlists in the U.S. Army on July 14.
  8. — Sergeant Sylvester Antolak is killed in action on May 24 near Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, after single-handedly charging a German machine-gun position; he is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
  9. — A section of Interstate 70 through St. Clairsville is renamed the Sgt. Sylvester Antolak Highway in his honor.

Stories

Two hundred yards under fire

Sylvester Antolak grew up in St. Clairsville and enlisted in the Army from there on July 14, 1941. Not quite three years later, on May 24, 1944, during the fighting to break out of the Anzio beachhead near Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, Sergeant Antolak led his squad across roughly 200 yards of open ground toward a German machine-gun position. He was hit three times, his arm shattered, but kept moving, wedging his submachine gun under his uninjured arm and closing to within 15 yards of the enemy position before he could fire. He killed two German soldiers and forced ten more to surrender, then refused medical treatment so he could lead his squad against a second strongpoint; he was killed before reaching it, but his men, following the example he had just set, captured that position too. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, and in 2017 the stretch of Interstate 70 running through his hometown was renamed in his honor.

A town platted for a crossroads, twice renamed

St. Clairsville exists because two roads met on a ridge above Wheeling Creek. David Newell laid out Newellstown there in the late 1790s specifically because it sat where routes from Pittsburgh and from Washington, Pennsylvania, converged, a natural resting point for travelers heading into the newly opened Ohio Country. The town's name changed again in 1802, this time not for a geographic feature but for a person, Arthur St. Clair, whose main connection to the town was his job: governor of the Northwest Territory at the moment Belmont County organized around Newell's crossroads settlement. By 1833 that same crossroads position had made St. Clairsville the first notable stop west of Wheeling on the new National Road, and the courthouse, taverns, and stores that grew up along Main Street to serve travelers are largely what survives today as the town's historic district.

Photographs

A brick tavern building in St. Clairsville, Ohio, documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey.
A brick tavern building in St. Clairsville, Ohio, documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey. (1999 (photographed for HABS))
Photo: Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress, public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Belmont County Courthouse, St. Clairsville, Ohio, photographed in 1891.
Belmont County Courthouse, St. Clairsville, Ohio, photographed in 1891. (1891)
Photo: USGenWeb (uploader), unknown original photographer, public domain · Wikimedia Commons

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

Water

Main (Municipal) Reservoir and Provident Reservoir (both surface-water intakes, filtered), plus a permanent consecutive connection buying treated groundwater from Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3 (PWSID OH0700412), reportedly up to 200,000 gallons a day. The water here

Hospitals, fire stations and more

Inside Saint Clairsville's boundary: 2 nursing homes, 1 fire or EMS station, 1 high-hazard dam, 3 public schools, 1 private school, 1 library, 1 museum, 1 police station, 1 Superfund site and 4 spill cases. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.

Nursing homes (2)

  1. Continuing Healthcare at Forest Hill1 of 5 stars · St Clairsville
    Address
    100 Reservoir Road, St Clairsville, OH 43950
    Certified beds
    88
    Residents on an average day
    69
    Medicare overall rating
    1 of 5 stars
    Health inspections
    2 of 5 stars
    Staffing
    1 of 5 stars
    Quality measures
    3 of 5 stars
    Penalties since 2023
    1 fine totalling $26,685 (latest 2025-11-20)
    Ownership
    For profit - Corporation
    Chain
    CERTUS HEALTHCARE
    Continuing care retirement community
    Yes
    Takes
    Medicare and Medicaid
    Phone
    (740) 695-7233
    Medicare ID
    365696
  2. Park Health Center2 of 5 stars · St Clairsville
    Address
    100 Pine Avenue, St Clairsville, OH 43950
    Certified beds
    87
    Residents on an average day
    81
    Medicare overall rating
    2 of 5 stars
    Health inspections
    2 of 5 stars
    Staffing
    3 of 5 stars
    Quality measures
    3 of 5 stars
    Penalties since 2023
    1 fine totalling $17,345 (latest 2025-08-22)
    Ownership
    For profit - Corporation
    Chain
    FOUNDATIONS HEALTH SOLUTIONS
    Takes
    Medicare and Medicaid
    Phone
    (740) 695-4925
    Medicare ID
    365975

Source: CMS Care Compare nursing home provider and penalties files; Medicare star ratings run 1 to 5.

Fire and EMS stations (1)

  1. Cumberland Trail Fire District Station 23 - 1Saint Clairsville
    Address
    142 South Marietta Street, Saint Clairsville, OH 43950
    Coordinates
    40.07690, -80.90196

Source: USGS National Map structures (most Ohio records last updated 2019 to 2022), checked against the Columbus and Cleveland station lists. The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction and mutual aid, not by distance.

High-hazard dams (1)

  1. St. Clairsville Reservoir No. 1 DamLITTLE McMAHON CREEK · condition: satisfactory
    Hazard class
    High: a failure would probably cost a life
    Condition
    Satisfactory (assessed 11/27/2025)
    River or stream
    LITTLE McMAHON CREEK
    Purpose
    Water Supply
    Type
    Earth
    Height
    36 ft
    Storage
    346 acre-feet
    Completed
    1929
    Owner type
    Local Government
    County
    Belmont County
    Nearest town (NID)
    Echo
    Last inspection
    10/11/2022
    Emergency action plan
    Yes
    NID ID
    OH00793

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams, August 2026. "High hazard" rates what a failure would cost downstream, not how likely one is; the condition is the state's assessment.

Public schools (3)

  1. St Clairsville Elementary School3.5 of 5 stars · Saint Clairsville
    Address
    120 Norris St, Saint Clairsville, OH 43950
    School district
    St. Clairsville-Richland City School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    624
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    37
    Report card, 2025-26
    3.5 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    87.9%
    Ohio building IRN
    043216
    NCES school ID
    390459902399
  2. St Clairsville High School3 of 5 stars · Saint Clairsville
    Address
    102 Woodrow Ave, Saint Clairsville, OH 43950
    School district
    St. Clairsville-Richland City School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    522
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    22.84
    Report card, 2025-26
    3 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    81.9%
    Four-year graduation rate
    98.3%
    Ohio building IRN
    035626
    NCES school ID
    390459902398
  3. St Clairsville Middle School3.5 of 5 stars · Saint Clairsville
    Address
    104 Woodrow Ave, Saint Clairsville, OH 43950
    School district
    St. Clairsville-Richland City School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    530
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    29.25
    Report card, 2025-26
    3.5 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    85.2%
    Ohio building IRN
    035618
    NCES school ID
    390459902397

Source: NCES EDGE public school locations 2024-25 and Common Core of Data 2023-24 (type, students, teachers); Ohio School Report Cards 2025-26 (Department of Education and Workforce), matched by name within the district.

Private schools (1)

  1. St Mary's Central SchoolPrivate, Catholic · Saint Clairsville
    Address
    226 W Main St, Saint Clairsville, OH 43950
    Kind
    Catholic
    Students, 2023-24
    101
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    11
    Students per teacher
    9.18182
    Phone
    (740) 695-3189
    NCES private school ID
    01060466

Source: NCES Private School Survey 2023-24.

Public libraries (1)

  1. St. Clairsville Public LibraryCentral library · St. Clairsville
    Address
    108 W. Main St., St. Clairsville, OH 43950
    What it is
    Central library
    Library system
    St. Clairsville Public Library
    Open
    2,704 hours a year, 52 weeks
    Building
    9,216 sq ft
    System's visits, FY2024
    59,748
    System's loans, FY2024
    119,560
    People the system serves
    16,084
    Phone
    (740) 695-2062

Source: IMLS Public Libraries Survey FY2024 (outlets and their systems). Any Ohio resident can get a free card at any Ohio public library.

Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)

  1. Cumberland Trail Genealogical SocietyHistorical society · St Clairsville
    What it is
    Historical society
    City
    St Clairsville
    Coordinates
    40.08551, -80.90559

    The museum list is IMLS's 2018 file; a museum may have closed or moved since.

Source: IMLS Museum Data Files, 2018.

Police stations (1)

  1. Saint Clairsville Police DepartmentSaint Clairsville
    Address
    100 North Market Street, Saint Clairsville, OH 43950
    Coordinates
    40.08111, -80.90026

Source: USGS National Map structures, police stations, corrected and completed by hand (September 2026). The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction, not by distance.

Superfund sites (1)

  1. Belmont County Flood Response - HazmatSuperfund program · St. Clairsville
    Address
    Postal Address Is Unavailable for The Site, St. Clairsville, OH 43950
    County
    Belmont County
    Status
    Superfund program site, not on the National Priorities List
    EPA program ID
    OHN000509227
    EPA registry ID
    110067350716

Source: EPA Facility Registry Service, Superfund (SEMS) and National Priorities List sites. Many program sites were assessed and needed no cleanup.

Spills reported since 2021 (4)

  1. Natural Gas2025-05-14 · Saint Clairsville
    Reported
    2025-05-14
    What spilled
    Natural Gas
    Where
    Saint Clairsville, Butler County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2505EPA0000768
  2. Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2024-06-18 · St Clairsville
    Reported
    2024-06-18
    What spilled
    Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
    Largest amount reported
    50 gallons
    Where
    St Clairsville, Belmont County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2406EPA0001027
  3. Fuel Gasoline ( 25% Ethanol Not E85)2023-07-08 · St Clairsville
    Reported
    2023-07-08
    What spilled
    Fuel Gasoline ( 25% Ethanol Not E85)
    Where
    St Clairsville, Belmont County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2307EPA0001128
  4. Lead (Pb)2026-03-09 · St Clairsville
    Reported
    2026-03-09
    What spilled
    Lead (Pb)
    Where
    St Clairsville, Belmont County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2603EPA0000337

Source: Ohio EPA emergency response spill reports, 2021 to September 2026, one point per case where Ohio EPA placed it. A report is what the caller or responder recorded; amounts are often blank or estimated.

Its ZIP codes

Each ZIP code that touches Saint Clairsville, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.

Local government

Who holds office in Saint Clairsville, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.

Money issues on the ballot since 2017: 1 of 1 passed.

Ballot issues

DateIssueForAgainstResult
2020-11-03 Issue: St. Clairsville City Charter Amendment Article 2, Section 5 1,759879Passed (66.68% for)
2020-11-03 Issue: St. Clairsville City Charter Amendment Article 4. Section 1 2,088543Passed (79.36% for)
2020-11-03 Issue: St. Clairsville City Charter Amendment Article 4, Section 3 1,963679Passed (74.3% for)
2018-11-06 Issue: St. Clairsville-Richland City Shool District - Bond Issue and Levy 1,6355,250Failed (23.75% for)
2018-11-06 Issue: City of St. Clairsville - Police - Renewal 1,4691,126Passed (56.61% for)
2017-11-07 Issue: City of St. Clairsville Current Operating Expenses - Renewal Levy 864559Passed (60.72% for)
2015-11-03 Issue: City of St. Clairsville Charter Amendment #1 1,265517Passed (70.99% for)
2015-11-03 Issue: City of St. Clairsville Charter Amendment #2 1,284494Passed (72.22% for)
2015-11-03 Issue: City of St. Clairsville Charter Amendment #3 1,255468Passed (72.84% for)

Elections for office

DateOfficeCandidates and votes
2021-11-02 Third Ward Council (unofficial count) Mark A. Thomas 89, 100.0%
2021-11-02 Second Ward Council (unofficial count) Bill Brooks 179, 46.98%; Jeff Thrash 202, 53.02%
2021-11-02 President of Council (unofficial count) James C. Velas 890, 100.0%
2021-11-02 Fourth Ward Council (unofficial count) Terra Butler 146, 57.94%; Terry Pugh 106, 42.06%
2021-11-02 First Ward Council (unofficial count) John Swan 69, 31.36%; Donald Vincenzo 151, 68.64%
2019-11-05 Mayor William Lewis Brooks 488, 32.8%; Terry Pugh 375, 25.2%; Kathryn Thalman 625, 42.0%
2019-11-05 Council at Large Perry Jones 576, 17.39%; Linda Jordan 578, 17.45%; Beth Ann Oprisch 888, 26.81%; Mark Poindexter 534, 16.12%; Michael Smith 736, 22.22%
2017-11-07 Third Ward Council John Mark Bukmir 300, 100.0%
2017-11-07 Second Ward Council Frank Sabatino 320, 100.0%
2017-11-07 President of Council Timothy A. Porter 739, 55.44%; James C. Weisgerber 594, 44.56%
2017-11-07 Fourth Ward Council Jim C. Velas 205, 59.59%; John R. Tomlan 139, 40.41%
2017-11-07 First Ward Council Perry Basile 140, 57.14%; Perry D. Jones 105, 42.86%
2015-11-03 Mayor Timothy A. Porter 858, 48.89%; Terry Pugh 897, 51.11%
2015-11-03 Council at Large Perry Jones 811, 21.94%; Linda Jordan 907, 24.53%; Beth Ann Oprisch 1,063, 28.75%; James C. Weisgerber 916, 24.78%

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.
  • Financial Health Indicators (the Auditor of State's 17 measures; critical / cautionary / positive): 2020 0 / 2 / 15; 2021 1 / 1 / 15; 2022 1 / 1 / 15; 2023 1 / 0 / 16; 2024 1 / 2 / 14; 2025 1 / 2 / 13.
  • Financial Audit, 2024, released 2025-12-30
  • Financial Audit, 2023, released 2024-10-01

The county

Belmont County: 23 ZIP codes, 29 cities, villages and townships, 64,982 people.

Nearby places

Rain and snow

How much has actually fallen on Saint Clairsville, day by day, from 1878 to now. Daily totals, not averages.

rain, last 30 days
2.26 in
2026-10-01 to 2026-10-30
rain so far in 2026
44.3 in
7.8 in above normal for the date
snow so far in 2026
23.5 in
a normal year brings 23.3 in
a normal year
42.9 in
average of 30 years, 1991-2020
The last twelve months
MonthRain (in)Snow (in)Days counted
October 2026 2.26 — 30
September 2026 5.04 — 30
August 2026 9.39 — 31
July 2026 3.52 — 31
June 2026 4.56 — 30
May 2026 5.67 — 31
April 2026 4.18 0.0 30
March 2026 6.81 3.9 31
February 2026 1.01 3.3 28
January 2026 1.86 16.3 31
December 2025 2.33 12.1 31
November 2025 2.50 — 30
On the record, 1878–2026
Wettest year2018 — 65.0 in
Driest year1930 — 24.6 in
Snowiest year1910 — 58.5 in
Wettest day on record18 September 2004 — 5.04 in
Heaviest snowfall in a day17 December 1890 — 17.01 in
Deepest snow on the ground27 November 1950 — 20.95 in

Estimated, not measured. No rain gauge has ever stood inside Saint Clairsville, so every figure here is worked out from the gauges around it - the nearest ones weighted most. Treat them as close estimates rather than readings.

51,992 days of records, 1878-02-01 to 2026-10-30. Source: NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily, 3,240 gauges in and around Ohio. A day is "gauged" when a gauge standing inside the boundary reported it, and the value is the mean of those gauges. Otherwise it is interpolated by inverse distance from every gauge reporting within 50 miles. Nothing is carried forward, back-filled or smoothed. Against NOAA nClimDiv county monthly precipitation over 136,848 complete county-months (checked 2026-11-01): correlation 0.9515, median absolute difference 0.217 in a month. Built 2026-11-01 from the Cracked Buckeye precipitation archive. Snow is the softer number — snowfall is measured by hand with a ruler, no agency publishes a gridded county snowfall series, and blowing snow defeats every observer.

Environmental permits and filings

What Ohio EPA has on file for Saint Clairsville: permits, inspections, violations, cleanups and the state loans behind sewer and water work. Every line links to the agency's own document.

facilities and sites on file
15
those placed on the map inside Saint Clairsville
What kind of permits
ProgramFacilities and sites
Hazardous waste5
Sewer and water-line construction3
State water loans2
Air pollution1
Public drinking water1
Source-water protection1
State sewer loans1
Wastewater and stormwater discharge1
The latest filings
DateFacility or siteWhat
ST CLAIRSVILLE WEST WWTP State sewer loans
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water compliance letter
ST CLAIRSVILLE WEST WWTP State sewer loans
ST CLAIRSVILLE RECREATION CENTER Wastewater and stormwater discharge permit
ST CLAIRSVILLE WEST WWTP State sewer loans
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water warning letter
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water inspection
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water compliance letter
FOX-SHANNON WWTP Sewer and water-line construction permit
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water inspection
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water report
FOX-SHANNON WWTP Sewer and water-line construction permit
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water notice of violation
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water inspection
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water inspection
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water compliance letter
ST CLAIRSVILLE WEST WWTP State sewer loans
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water compliance letter
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water report
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water plan
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water inspection
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water warning letter
BELMONT COUNTY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT Sewer and water-line construction permit
BELMONT COUNTY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT Sewer and water-line construction permit
BELMONT CO. SANITARY DISTRICT 3 PWS Public drinking water inspection

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.

Quick answers

What county is Saint Clairsville, Ohio in?

Saint Clairsville is a city in Belmont County, Ohio, with 5,085 residents.

When was Saint Clairsville, Ohio founded?

Saint Clairsville was laid out late 1790s, as Newellstown, by David Newell; incorporated 1802 (renamed St. Clairsville); became Belmont County seat with the county's 1801 organization. Founders on record: David Newell (platting); renamed for Gov. Arthur St. Clair. Source

How did Saint Clairsville, Ohio get its name?

Renamed in 1802 for Arthur St. Source

What ZIP code is Saint Clairsville, Ohio?

Most of Saint Clairsville is in ZIP code 43950.

Where does Saint Clairsville, Ohio get its water?

The main water source for Saint Clairsville (St. Clairsville, City Of): Main (Municipal) Reservoir and Provident Reservoir (both surface-water intakes, filtered), plus a permanent consecutive connection buying treated groundwater from Belmont Co. Sanitary District 3 (PWSID OH0700412), reportedly up to 200,000 gallons a day.

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Cracked Buckeye, "Saint Clairsville, Belmont County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/saint-clairsville/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].

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