Ebenezer Zane established the first permanent European settlement in 1769 when he girdled trees to claim land at the confluence of Wheeling Creek and the Ohio River. He returned with his wife Elizabeth and brothers Jonathan and Silas to begin the community known as Zanesburg.
The name likely comes from a Lenni-Lenape phrase meaning place of the head or place of the skull referring to either a scalped white settler or a Native American prisoner whose severed head was displayed at that river junction. This historical account appears in Jack M. Weatherford's 1991 book Native Roots alongside earlier sources suggesting different origins for the name.
Wheeling hosted two conventions in 1861 that reversed Virginia's Ordinance of Secession leading to the creation of West Virginia admitted to the Union in 1863. The city served as provisional capital for the Restored Government of Virginia from 1861 to 1863 before becoming the first capital of new West Virginia until 1865.
The 2020 census recorded 27,062 people living within Wheeling city limits making it the fifth most populous city in West Virginia and largest in the northern panhandle. The metropolitan area contained 139,513 residents that same year while population peaked at 61,659 during the 1930 census before declining sharply after World War II.
Centre Market consists of two buildings constructed in 1853 and 1890 now serving retail shops and restaurants. It stands alongside other historic structures like the Capitol Theatre which opened in 1928 holding over 2,500 seats making it West Virginia's largest theater.
Current mayor Denny Magruder took office the 1st of July 2024 following elections held May 14 that year. City operates under Manager-Mayor Plan with six council members elected from geographic wards serving four-year terms while Robert Herron serves as city manager chief executive administrative officer role.