Clarksburg, West Virginia

Clarksburg is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 16,743 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Harrison County.

Since 1979 Clarksburg has hosted the annual West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival during Labor Day weekend. Each September since 1991 the city has been the site of the West Virginia Black Heritage Festival. The city is known as the "jewel of the hills."

History

Clarksburg was formed in 1785 in Virginia. The city is named for General George Rogers Clark. In 1824, Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was born in Clarksburg.

On October 11, 1996, seven men having connections with the Mountaineer Militia, a local anti-government paramilitary group, were arrested on charges of plotting to blow up the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Criminal Justice Information Services Division complex in Clarksburg. While members of the group had been assembling large quantities of explosives and blasting caps, militia leader Floyd Raymond Looker obtained blueprints of the FBI facility from a Clarksburg firefighter. 

Plastic explosives were confiscated by law enforcement officials at five locations in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Looker was taken into custody after arranging to sell the blueprints for $50,000 to an undercover FBI agent, whom he believed to be a representative of an international terrorist group. 

In 1998 Looker was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Two other defendants were sentenced on explosives charges, and the firefighter drew a year in prison for providing blueprints.

Economy and Industry

During most of the 20th century, Clarksburg was an industrial and manufacturing center, particularly in the glass industry. The coal industry also played a major role in the first half of the 20th century.

Since 1995 Clarksburg has been the location of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Criminal Justice Information Services Division, the largest division of the FBI. The Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, a national fingerprint and criminal history system, became operational in July 1999 at the division's complex. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, used to screen individuals attempting to receive a firearm, is operated from the facility.

Clarksburg is home to Eastpointe and Newpointe, the largest strip mall in West Virginia, straddling Interstate 79. Most of Clarksburg's retail has relocated to the strip malls and downtown is now home to many professional services.

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