BlockBefore
Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Belpre, Ohio

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1902 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Belpre City. It lies in ZIP code area 45714. It stands on Congress Creek. The Survey maps it on the Parkersburg quadrangle. 6,728 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 614 feet above sea level.

Belpre within Washington County

Population over time

2 figures

Belpre grew from 6,441 to 6,728 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20106,441
20206,728+287 (+4%)

Then and now

1902 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 92 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Belpre, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Belpre, surveyed 1902

Compare 1902 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

19 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

36,149 words on this township

History of Washington County, Ohio, published 1881 names this settlement in its chapter on Belpre Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

In 1797 the court declared that all the territory south of the townships of Waterford and Marietta and north of Gallipolis, be known as Belpre township, embracing parts of the present counties of Athens, Vinton, and Ross, together with fractions of Hocking, Meigs, Jackson, and Pike as they stand to-day.

Passage source: History of Washington County, Ohio, published 1881.

The lines marked out in 1790 were bounded north by territory now embraced in Warren, Barlow and Fairfield, east and south by the Ohio river and west by what became Athens county, Decatur and a section of Fairfield township.

Passage source: History of Washington County, Ohio, published 1881.

The general form of Belpre is similar to that of Washington county, of which it is the most southern township. Resembling a triangle, it has about eight miles of northern line and nearly seven miles on the west, while the Ohio river as an irregular hypothenuse meanders in a southwesterly direction. North and west, with a general tendency toward the south, are ranges of hills which alternately approach toward and recede from the valley of the Ohio. These hills have no special geological features. They are in many respects similar to their sister hills in the eastern part of the county, save that there are no large deposits of coal or petroleum. Towards the southern portion of the township there are slight indications of oil, and their seams of coal have occasionally been worked, but the labor is unremunerative. All along the line of the ridge which determines the course of the streams and extends from northeast to southwest, may be found in the out-croppings of the rocky sides an excellent quality of sandstone, especially adapted for building purposes, and in many places affording an excellent grind-stone grit. The principal quarry is a short distance above Little Hocking, and stone is taken from the vicinity of Belpre village.

Passage source: History of Washington County, Ohio, published 1881.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Belpre Township - it names this place 162 more 162 times.

Fires near this place

97 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 97 fires within 5 miles of Belpre between 1992 and 2020, burning about 78 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 10 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning43
Equipment and vehicle use16
Misuse of fire by a minor12
Arson/incendiarism10
Smoking6
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Recreation and ceremony3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Natural1
Other causes1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
24 September 2015Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWest Virginia Division of ForestrySCENIC HILLS
14 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWest Virginia Division of Forestry5809 DUPONT ROAD
14 September 2010Smokingunder an acreWest Virginia Division of Forestry1253 GIHON ROAD
11 September 2002Smokingunder an acreWest Virginia Division of ForestryELI-LOCUST RD.
11 September 2002Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreWest Virginia Division of ForestryBROADMOORE ADDN
6 August 1999Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreWest Virginia Division of ForestryTOWN
4 August 2007Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresWest Virginia Division of Forestrynot named
15 August 2009Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWest Virginia Division of ForestryLOST PAVEMENT ROAD

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 252 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 252 specimens collected within 10 miles of Belpre between 1877 and 1974: 146 Fungi, 84 Animalia, 19 Plantae, 3 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by AGOSTINI, CHARLES T, Archer W. A., Archer, W. A. and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Uromyces hedysari-paniculati (Schwein.) Farl.Uromyces hedysari-paniculati (Schwein.) Farl.1922E. Bartholomew
Specimen of Gymnosporangium globosum (Farl.) Farl.Gymnosporangium globosum (Farl.) Farl.1937Blickle, A.H.Parkersburg
Specimen of Petrova houseri Miller, 1959Petrova houseri Miller, 19591954W. MillerVeto
A photograph of the species Inula helenium, not of this specimenInula helenium L.1877Guttenberg, G.Parkersburg
A photograph of the species Sonchus asper, not of this specimenSonchus asper (L.) Hill1877Guttenberg, G.Parkersburg
A photograph of the species Amaranthus spinosus, not of this specimenAmaranthus spinosus L.1878Guttenberg, G.Parkersburg
A photograph of the species Clinopodium vulgare, not of this specimenClinopodium vulgare L.1878Guttenberg, G.*Parkersburg
A photograph of the species Scutellaria nervosa, not of this specimenScutellaria nervosa Pursh1878Guttenberg, G.Parkersburg
A photograph of the species Rorippa palustris, not of this specimenRorippa palustris var. fernaldiana (Butters & Abbe) Stuckey1891C. F. MillspaughParkersburg.
A photograph of the species Stephanoderes pini, not of this specimenStephanoderes pini Hopkins, 19151900D. Hopkins[Not Stated]
A photograph of the species Uromyces asclepiadis, not of this specimenUromyces asclepiadis Cooke1902W. A. KellermanBelpre
A photograph of the species Botryosphaeria ribis, not of this specimenBotryosphaeria ribis Grossenb. & Duggar1927Shear C. L.Parkersburg

All 252 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Belpre: 2 producers, 2 past producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Atlas PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
K. S. Crane No. 1 & K. S. HoistSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Mill Boat and K.S. Hoist PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Ohio River Sand & GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Washington County

Storms near this place

20 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Belpre in 20 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 12 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 3 hail, 1 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 1997Thunderstorm WindBelpre$115,000The city's safety-service director said more than 100 trees were downed in the city. He estimated wind gusts of around 70 mph. Roofs were damaged by fallen trees. Some city residents even reported their vehicles were lifted off the pavement.
June 2003Flash FloodBelpre$50,000Marietta measured 2 inches of rain in 90 minutes. In that community, cars were stranded, and a few homes received water damage. Route 618 was damaged near Belpre.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindBelpre$50,000Trees and power lines fell, damaging roofs in town. Several streets were blocked by fallen tree branches. An F2 tornado was occurring across the Ohio River, near Lubeck in Wood County of West Virginia.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindBelpre$20,000Trees fell onto homes and power lines.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindBelpre$10,000Trees were uprooted in town. One fallen tree damaged a van.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindBelpre$10,000Trees and large branches were blown down. Some power lines were brought down by the fallen trees.
June 1997Flash FloodBelpre$10,000Streams overflowed and blocked roads in the southeastern portion of the county.
June 1997Flash FloodBelpre$10,000Several township roads were flooded. No dwellings were affected.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindBelpre$10,000Thunderstorms moved from east to west crossing the Ohio River from West Virginia. The city of Marietta hauled 130 loads of fallen limbs away over a eight day cleanup period. At least two homes were damaged. A dairy barn was heavily damaged in Warren Township. A tree fell onto a car in Belpre.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindBelpre$8,000A tree fell on two vehicles in Belpre, causing considerable damage.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindBelpre$5,000Multiple trees were blown down in the Belpre area.
August 2023Flash FloodBelpre$3,500Businesses along Washington Boulevard next to Stone Road and Sycamore Street were flooded. Two homes flooded on Florence Street, with water rescues conducted to help trapped citizens. A Daycare facility also flooded with knee deep water, resulting in a water rescue of the staff and children.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindBelpre$2,000no account filed
June 2011Thunderstorm WindBelpre$1,000A few trees were blown down or uprooted.
April 2015Funnel CloudBelpre-The viewer observed the funnel looking toward the north.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBelpre-Trees were blown down.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindBelpre-Trees were blown down.
May 2014HailBelpre-no account filed
May 2014HailBelpre-no account filed
May 2003HailBelpre-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Washington County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Barclay Acres0.3 miles19
Rockland1.8 miles19
Blennerhassett View2.4 miles19
Porterfield4.4 miles17
Dunham5.1 miles17
Constitution5.2 miles19
Corner5.3 miles17
Redbush6.8 miles17

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on BelpreAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q816175The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1077518. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.