Editing Clarksburg, West Virginia (section)

===Postwar industrialization===
In 1877, Clarksburg became one of three cities from which West Virginia voters would select their new state capital. Despite its relatively central location and an early lead, it came in second; [[Charleston, West Virginia]] became and remains the state capital.<ref>Clarksburg Downtown Historic District NRIS, item 8, p. 3 available at http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/harrison/82004794.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204002627/http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/harrison/82004794.pdf |date=February 4, 2021 }}</ref>

Around that time Clarksburg gained some industry and manufacturing, particularly involving glass and coal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clarksburgvisitorswv.com/history.aspx |title=Clarksburg Visitors Bureau |website=www.clarksburgvisitorswv.com |access-date=July 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327070152/http://www.clarksburgvisitorswv.com/history.aspx |archive-date=March 27, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The city grew slowly but steadily, and services increased apace. The still-functional Despard Building was built in 1870. Telephone service, the first in the state, began in Clarksburg in the mid-1880s. Native son [[Edwin Maxwell (attorney general)|Edwin Maxwell]] was the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Governor of West Virginia]] in the [[1884 West Virginia gubernatorial election|1884 election]], though he lost narrowly to [[Emanuel Willis Wilson]]. In 1887, Clarksburg laid its first six miles of water lines; downtown streets were lit by electricity in 1889. Nonetheless, in the late 1890s, a visitor called Clarksburg a "sleepy, moss-covered town."<ref>NRIS item 8 p. 3</ref>

Clarksburg's boom years began around the turn of the century, as coal and glass production increased. The population grew from 4,050 in 1900 to 27,869 in 1920, partly because in 1917 it annexed the previously independent surrounding communities of Adamston, Stealey, North View and Broad Oaks. The population may have reached 35,000 in 1929, before the [[Great Depression]].<ref name="auto">NRIS</ref>

[[File:Crescent Glass Works, Clarksburg , W. Va. At the Rolling Machine. LOC cph.3b10367.jpg|thumb|left|[[Child labor]] at the Crescent Glass Works, 1908]]
In 1894, the Traders' Hotel was constructed, the grandest structure to date. Many buildings in the [[Clarksburg Downtown Historic District]] date from that era. In 1900, the first sewer lines were installed, and Main and Pike streets were paved with brick. In 1901, the city's first trolley opened for business (it would cease operating in 1947). Merchants Smith, Brown and Company built an early department store beginning in 1890. The Northwestern Academy was razed in 1894 and the Towers School erected (which became the city's high school). Merchants National Bank built a building in 1894 which later became the Community Bank. Clarksburg's oldest bank, the Empire National Bank, built a seven-story headquarters in 1907. Other significant buildings include the Goff Building (1911), Municipal Building (1888), the Waldo Hotel (1901–1904), Robinson Grand (1912, 1940), Harrison County Courthouse (1931–1932), U.S. Post Office (1932), Masonic Temple (1911–1914), First United Presbyterian Church (1894), and First Methodist Church (1909, 1956).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clarksburgvisitorswv.com/historicbuildings.aspx |title=Clarksburg Visitors Bureau |website=www.clarksburgvisitorswv.com |access-date=July 17, 2017 |archive-date=November 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130210246/http://clarksburgvisitorswv.com/historicbuildings.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto"/>

An automobile had reached Clarksburg in 1902, and that technology fostered further development. In 1928, [[U.S. Route 50]] was paved through Clarksburg. U.S. [[Interstate 79]] would open in 1979 and connect Clarksburg with Charleston as well as Pennsylvania. In 1924, Clarksburg hosted a parade for its "native son", [[John W. Davis]], who had become the "dark horse" Democratic presidential candidate (but lost) to Republican incumbent [[Calvin Coolidge]]. The following year, Republican and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture [[Howard M. Gore]], became Governor of West Virginia. During the 1920s, Clarksburg's [[Melville Davisson Post]] (1869–1930) may have been the country's highest paid author, writing 17 novels including the characters of Randolph Mason and [[Uncle Abner]].<ref name="auto"/>

As the [[Great Depression]] began, the Farmers Bank closed in 1929, and the Bank of West Virginia (which had opened in 1869) failed in 1933. Clarksburg's population dropped to 30,579 by 1940, and further as the decade progressed. Former Gov. Gore served as state agricultural commissioner (1931–33) and later as Public Service Commissioner (1941–47).<ref>NRIS item 8 p. 4</ref>

However, Clarksburg managed to avoid urban blight and preserved much of the architecture it had gained during the "boom years". It is now West Virginia's tenth largest city. The West Virginia Preservation Alliance, the state's first, was created in Clarksburg in 1981.<ref name="auto"/>