Clarksburg

Jewel of the Hills may be the name by which Clarksburg, West Virginia, is best known. The city of approximately 18,000 people is spread across the hills and valleys of north-central West Virginia. Clarksburg, the seat of Harrison County, is also well known as the birthplace of Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson, a general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. A plaque on the outside wall of a store on West Main Street marks the site of his birthplace. In 1882, the city's corporate limits are said to have begun at the Goff Plaza Bridge to the east. They extended to the West End Bridge, where Elk Creek flows into the West Fork of the Monongahela River. Each year, Clarksburg hosts the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival, the Black Heritage Festival, and the Ethnic Festival; this exemplifies the diverse cultures brought together by this friendly community. Today, Clarksburg is the home of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services.