New Cumberland, WV

New Cumberland is Hancock County's seat on the Ohio River in West Virginia's northern panhandle, north of Weirton and within the Weirton-Steubenville regional orbit. John Cuppy laid out the town in 1839, calling it Vernon; Cuppytown was another early name. A charter in 1849 established New Cumberland, and the city became the county seat in 1884. During the Civil War, Company I of the 12th West Virginia Infantry organized here, adding a military chapter to the river town's civic history.

County offices and the courthouse give New Cumberland a role that reaches beyond its population, while Swaney Memorial Library looks over the Ohio River and keeps a local gathering place above the water. A river pavilion and historic markers put the shoreline back into the town's daily view. Floods have repeatedly shaped life along this stretch of the Ohio, so river conditions remain part of local planning. Hancock County Schools serve the city's children, and roads north and south connect New Cumberland with Weirton, Steubenville, Wheeling, and the wider panhandle.