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Posted: 5:12 PM Mar 3, 2003
Last Updated: 5:12 PM Mar 3, 2003
Reporter: Joyce Ancrile
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Vienna, West Virginia, lies almost mid-way between two metropolitan communities; Parkersburg, West Virginia, to the south and Marietta, Ohio, to the north. Vienna is mostly a residential community whose citizens primarily are concerned with traditional family values.
Yet Vienna is anything but a sleepy little town. It has a history of visionary leadership. Vienna’s founder, Dr. Joseph Spencer, applied for a city charter in 1795 to incorporate 100 acres of his property into a city. He believed that that a new county was about to be created that would need a county seat. He hoped his new city would be selected as the seat of county government. On December 1, of that same year, the General Assembly of Virginia granted him a charter.
Indeed, a new county was created named after Governor Wood of Virginia, but its county seat became Parkersburg, not Vienna. Dr. Spencer’s vision of a city was well ahead of his time. With growth centered in Parkersburg, the new town of Vienna soon fell into disrepair. Then, in the early Twentieth Century, the spacious flatlands north of the County Seat began to emerge as a desirable residential area.
The growth of Vienna caught up with Dr. Spencer’s vision and the city was incorporated again on May 27, 1935.
Today, Vienna boasts a thriving commercial district, which includes an indoor mall, retail outlets, restaurants and groceries. Yet the city still retains its residential core with an emphasis on family living. It sports several recreational facilities including a wildlife refuge, playgrounds, tennis courts, swimming pool, several ball fields, an eighteen hole and par three golf courses.
Vienna is protected by a police force and volunteer fire department. A mayor and city council govern it. It boasts several elementary schools and a junior high school. Vienna is located within an easy commute to institutions of higher learning.
Dr. Spencer would be proud of the city he envisioned over 200 years ago.
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