Town file
Clarksburg, West Virginia
Clarksburg, West Virginia (Harrison County, West Virginia) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 387, "The Rantings Of A Serial Killer" (11 May 2023).
- Town
- Clarksburg
- County
- Harrison County
- State
- West Virginia
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 387
- Approximate location
- 39.270, -80.362
Episode 387 / 11 May 2023 / 165 min / full
The Rantings Of A Serial Killer
"We're going to Clarksburg, West Virginia ... it's in the northern part of West Virginia ... this is in Harrison County." about 0:03:39
The case: Murders of Carrie Lynn Baker and Carolyn Sauerween (2008 and 2009); Death of Cecil Ralph Hill (2004); Death of Kenneth Wiseman (before 2009). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- 16,085
- Median household income
- $40,068
- Median home value
- $93,500
- Religious
- 50-50
- Property crime
- ▲ almost double
- Violent crime
- ▲ slightly above average
History, in brief
- Settlers began arriving in 1772, claiming land around where Clarksburg is and building cabins. about 0:05:54
- The Virginia General Assembly authorised the town of Clarksburg in 1785. about 0:06:04
- It is named for General George Rogers Clark, who fought the British and Indians in the Indian Wars and the Revolution. about 0:06:10
- In 1786 George Washington proposed a road from Winchester, Virginia to Morgantown, and a branch of that road is how Clarksburg came to exist. about 0:06:25
- In the late 1800s Clarksburg was one of three cities from which West Virginia voters would choose the state capital. about 0:06:53
- Its industry was manufacturing, mainly glass and coal. about 0:07:12
- Clarksburg had the first telephone service in the state, beginning in the mid 1880s. about 0:07:27
- It was described at the time as a sleepy, moss-covered town. about 0:07:37
- By 1929 the population had reached 35,000. about 0:07:55
- The Farmers Bank closed in 1929 and the Bank of West Virginia failed in 1933, and the population has fallen since. about 0:08:03
- In 1996 seven men in a militia were arrested for plotting to blow up the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division complex in Clarksburg; they stockpiled explosives and bought blueprints from a firefighter for $50,000, and the firefighter got a year in prison. about 0:08:24
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Clarksburg is my home sweet home, in Harrison County, an everybody-knows-everybody town with a shopping plaza of chain restaurants, downtown small businesses, the courthouse and the DMV, two high schools, six elementary schools and two middle schools."about 0:09:05
5 stars
"I love the family relations that Clarksburg has, and although our crime on drugs we are battling with, it is a wonderful place."about 0:11:13
2 stars
"The only thing to like is that most everybody knows everyone; the public schools are less than average, there is literally nothing to do, drug use is a huge issue, the weather is poor, and the reviewer does not recommend living there."about 0:12:54
3 stars
"There isn't much to do and it has gone downhill fast; drug use has skyrocketed and the reviewer does not plan on living there forever."about 0:14:22
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Morgantown, West Virginia34 miles
- Gormania, West Virginia54 miles
- Webster Springs, West Virginia55 miles
- Bellaire, Ohio55 miles
- Elizabeth, West Virginia57 miles
- Wheeling, West Virginia58 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.