Diss Debar

  As Doddridge County entered the 1890's, economic success was on the horizon. Things were pretty well settled down now. The Civil War was over, West Virginia was a state, West Union was one town now, on both sides of the creek, the Northwestern Turnpike and the B & O Railroad ran through the middle of the county, etc.; everything was in place for economic success.
  In the early 1890's, oil and gas companies started drilling wells in Doddridge County. Both were very successful. By 1906 there was an oil and gas boom in the county. The county experienced great economic times for the next 23 years, til the Great Depression hit in 1929, and brought everything to a screeching halt. Some of the companies that made a fortune there, prior to the Depression were Hope Gas, South Penn Oil, Carnegie Gas, etc. The stock market crash took a huge toll on the county for the next 30 years. It was the 1960's before the oil industry made a comeback. The oil and gas industry continues to play an important role in the county's economy, as we enter the 21st century.
  One of Doddridge county's famous natives was Joseph Diss Debar. Diss Debar was a great artist. He is mostly known as being the person who designed the official State Seal and the Coat of Arms for the State of West Virginia. Diss Debar was one of the first well-known artists in West Virginia. A lot of the old drawings in early history books have his signature on them.
  Diss Debar was a Frenchman, but he could speak seven languages. He fell in love with his future wife, Clara, while they both lived in France. Diss Debar was ten years older than Clara, so her dad did not approve of the courtship. To get Clara away from Diss Debar, Clara's dad moved his family to America, where they ended up settling in Parkersburg. But Debar was in love and before long, he headed for America to find his Clara. He found Clara in Parkersburg and the couple immediately went to Marietta, Ohio and were married. Diss Debar was twenty-seven and Clara seventeen when they tied the knot. The couple bought a house on 12th Street in Parkersburg. They soon had a son, but Clara died during the birth and was buried in the nearby Riverview Cemetery.
  Clara's family still didn't like Debar and they took the baby and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Following Clara's death, Diss Debar moved to Doddridge County. He bought a small tract of land in the Doddridge County hills and called the place Santa Clara, after his wife.
  Later, Diss Debar married again and had five kids with his second wife. Tragically, one of the children died when run over by a train.
  Diss Debar did a lot of work for Wets Virginia Government throughout his life. In his later years he moved to Pennsylvania where he died in 1906 at the age of 86 years. He is buried in Philadelphia.
  Have a good day,
   The kibmeister