Sistersville, WV

Sistersville is a Tyler County city on the Ohio River's Long Reach, the unusual straight stretch that forms a long river frontage. Charles Wells settled the site around 1800, his daughters laid out lots around 1815, and the city took its name from them. The Ohio River Railway arrived in 1884, then oil discoveries transformed the town into an Ohio Valley boom center. Wells Inn, the old oil buildings, and the Sistersville Historic District keep that era visible.

Today the river still does real work. Sistersville Ferry is the last operating ferry between West Virginia and Ohio and crosses to Fly, Ohio, carrying people, vehicles, and local business across a stretch without a bridge. State Route 2 and Route 18 meet in town, while City Hall and downtown buildings sit inside the historic district. The ferry runs as a self-sustaining operation owned by the city, giving Sistersville a daily piece of river history that still moves people across the water. Sistersville is a West Virginia river city where oil wealth, historic streets, and a working ferry share the same landing.