Editing Clarksburg, West Virginia (section)

==Economy==
[[File:PostcardClarksburgWVMainStLookingEast1904.jpg|thumbnail|Postcard of Main Street in Clarksburg, looking east (1904)]]
The availability of natural resources, coupled with easy access to railroad facilities, attracted industry and manufacturing to Clarksburg, including chemical plants, brickworks, potteries, foundries and machine shops, hardwood and casket companies, glass factories (including the Akro-Agate marble company), and the Jackson (later Phillips) Sheet and Tin Plate Company, the forerunner of Weirton Steel. Economic development brought successive waves of immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries, including [[Irish people|Irish]], [[Italians]], [[Greeks]], [[French people|French]], [[Belgians]], and [[Spanish people|Spanish]].<ref name="wvencyclopedia.org"/>

Early 20th century Clarksburg boasted eight banks, three hospitals, and several fine hotels, including the elegant seven-story Waldo, which opened in 1909. The seven-story Empire Bank building went up in 1907, the nine-story Goff Building in 1911, and the 10-story Union Bank in 1912.

By 1929, Clarksburg had reached its peak population of 35,115. During the Depression the city lost industry and population, but during World War II the railroad again made it a central clearinghouse. New development came with the construction in the 1970s of Interstate 79 and the new four-lane U.S. 50 Appalachian Corridor D connecting I-79 to I-77, but plant closings in the 1980s had a negative impact. New expansion in the government and technology sectors began in the 1990s, including the relocation of the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Center to Clarksburg and construction of a new federal building and a new building to house Fairmont State University's Clarksburg branch.<ref name="wvencyclopedia.org"/>
[[File:The Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library in Clarksburg, West Virginia LCCN2015631632.tif|thumb|Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library]]
* In 1975, Clarksburg opened a new public library designed by [[Marcel Breuer]], adding another distinctive element to its architecturally rich downtown.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/272 |title=e-WV - Architects and Architecture |access-date=June 22, 2015 |archive-date=June 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622203528/http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/272 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The city has a daily newspaper, [[The Exponent-Telegram]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1248 |title=e-WV - Clarksburg Exponent Telegram |access-date=June 22, 2015 |archive-date=July 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709015520/http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1248 |url-status=live }}</ref> three local television stations, and six radio stations.
* Clarksburg is home to Eastpointe and Newpointe, the largest strip mall in West Virginia, adjacent to Interstate 79. Most of Clarksburg's retail has relocated to the strip malls, and downtown is now home to many professional services.[18]

===Akro Agate Company===
The [[Akro Agate Company]] of Clarksburg was a world leader in manufacturing glass [[marbles]]. Organized in [[Akron, Ohio]], in 1911 the firm relocated to Clarksburg in 1914 because of the availability of glass sand and cheap natural gas for fuel. The [[Chinese checkers]] craze of the 1930s and '40s helped make the marbles very profitable, with more than 2,000,000 made per week. Beginning in the 1930s a line of pressed glass vases, floral ware, and colorful glass containers was produced. Miniature glass children's dishes, including tea pots, cups, saucers, and other pieces, were sold as inexpensively boxed sets when [[World War II]] limited the availability of metal for toys. The marbles and multicolored pressed articles in similar hues are sought by collectors today. Pressed products can sometimes be identified by the trademark of the letter ''A'' with a crow flying through it. The firm, located off South Chestnut Street, ceased production in 1951.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/180 |title=e-WV - Akro Agate Company |access-date=June 22, 2015 |archive-date=June 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622200009/http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/180 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=History of Akro Agate |url=http://www.akroagate.com/index2.htm |website=Akro Agate |publisher=Akro Agate.com |access-date=October 15, 2018 |archive-date=October 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019233051/http://www.akroagate.com/index2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Hazel-Atlas Glass Company===
[[Hazel-Atlas Glass Company]], the glassmaking giant in a state known for glass production, was created in 1902 by the merger of four earlier companies. The largest glass company in the United States from the 1930s until the 1950s, Hazel Atlas was a major producer of inexpensive ''[[Great Depression in the United States|depression]] glass'' table sets of pink, green, blue, colorless, and black glass. Hundreds of thousands of glass premiums given away in oats, coffee, and other products were made by Hazel Atlas.

Hazel Atlas glass plants in West Virginia included one along the [[Tygart River]] in [[Grafton, West Virginia|Grafton]] (1916–60) that largely produced wide-mouth canning jars, and the world's largest tumbler factory in Clarksburg (1902–87). By 1920, the Clarksburg factory had 15 acres of floor space, employed 1,200 people, and shipped all over the world. The company's metal factories in Wheeling made lids and closures for glass containers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/343 |title=e-WV - Hazel Atlas Glass Company |access-date=June 22, 2015 |archive-date=June 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622201719/http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/343 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Rolland Glass Company===
The Rolland Glass Plant was a glass manufacturing company founded in 1921 by Albert Rolland in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The company specialized in producing high-quality tableware and stemware, and its products were sold throughout the United States.

The Rolland Glass Plant was a major employer in Clarksburg, and it played an important role in the city's economy. At its peak, the plant employed over 1,000 workers. However, the company began to struggle in the late 1960s due to increased foreign competition and rising production costs.

In 1970, the Rolland Glass Plant was acquired by the Fourco Glass Company, which continued to operate the plant until 1979. The plant was then sold to the Hordus Glass Company, which operated it until 1985. The plant was closed permanently in 1985, and the buildings were demolished in 1987.

Today, the site of the Rolland Glass Plant is occupied by the Rolland Glass Museum, which is dedicated to preserving the history of the company and the glass industry in Clarksburg. The museum houses a collection of Rolland Glass products, as well as photographs, documents, and other artifacts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=West Virginia History OnView {{!}} WVU Libraries |url=https://wvhistoryonview.org/ |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=wvhistoryonview.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Clarksburg |url=https://www.earlyusglassfactories.com/listings |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=glassfactories |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hazel Atlas Glass History {{!}} Alumni {{!}} WVNCC {{!}} West Virginia Northern Community College {{!}} Accounting Degree {{!}} Business Administration Degree {{!}} Education Degree {{!}} Nursing Degree {{!}} Radiography Degree {{!}} Medical Assistant Degree {{!}} Criminal Justice Degree {{!}} Manufacturing Degree {{!}} Construction Degree {{!}} Logistics Degree {{!}} Welding Degree {{!}} Chemical Operator Degree {{!}} Petroleum Technology Degree {{!}} Cyber Security Degree {{!}} Computer Information Degree {{!}} Liberal Arts Degree {{!}} Art Degree {{!}} History Degree {{!}} English Degree {{!}} Tourism and Hospitality Degree {{!}} Culinary Degree {{!}} Wheeling WV {{!}} Weirton WV {{!}} New Martinsville WV |url=https://www.wvncc.edu/ |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=www.wvncc.edu |language=en}}</ref>

===Other notable glass companies===
* Clarksburg Glass Company (1893–1921)
* National Bottle Company (1903–1919)
* Diamond Glass Company (1920–1930s)
* West Virginia Glass Specialty Company (1940s–1950s).

===Federal Bureau of Investigation===
In July 1995, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] completed construction on its Criminal Justice Information Services Division complex in Clarksburg. The $200 million complex, located on {{convert|986|acres}}, is the national repository for the FBI's law enforcement records. The project came about through the efforts of Senator [[Robert C. Byrd]]. In 1990, in Byrd's second year as head of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the senator worked to fund the center and get it built in West Virginia, not Washington.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2247 |title=e-WV - FBI Center |access-date=June 22, 2015 |archive-date=June 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622205519/http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2247 |url-status=live }}</ref>