Don't Lose Your Marbles

Middle Island is the largest island within the Ohio River Islands NWR.  Because of its large size and easy access (via bridge, for the past hundred years), it was heavily used for farming (corn, soybeans, hay, hogs and cattle).  Several oil wells could also be found on the island.  The large open spaces in the island interior are the vestige of these old farm fields.  The refuge ultimately plans to return the meadows to riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.

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forest, and a number of tree plantings are evident.  A small wetland has also been created near the middle of the backchannel side of the island.

The most significant and obvious feature for those visiting the island by car or foot is the rather steep old bridge over the backchannel.  The pitch doesn’t make sense at first, until one realizes this is merely the beginning of a much taller and longer bridge that once spanned the entire river at this location.  The bridge was an exact duplicate of “The Silver Bridge” at Point Pleasant, which collapsed in 1968, killing 40.  After this incident, the result of a design defect, the bridge at St. Marys was deliberately destroyed and the new bridge to Newport was built just downriver.  The ramp leading up to the failed bridge was left in place to allow farm equipment easy access to the island.  The WV state highway department refurbished the historic bridge and built a new ramp down to the island in 2019.

Those who explore the island thoroughly may also notice a grave marker.  The first settlers in the area, Isaac and Jacob LaRue, were given the island and adjacent land as payment for service in the Revolutionary War.  They arrived in 1790, farmed and ran a sawmill on Middle Island Creek, and would ultimately be buried on the island.  Though the exact location of their burial is no longer known, the contemporary grave marker is probably close.  The island would remain in this family for several generations.  (The town of St. Marys wouldn’t be established until 1849).

From 1910 until 1928, a large factory in St. Marys produced buttons made from mussel shells (the factory employed between 50 and 100 men, making it one of the town’s main industries).  The factory harvested millions of mussels from the Ohio River, undoubtedly impacting the local mussel population.  To this day, old mussel shells can be found in the river and at the old factory site with perfectly round holes cut into them.

Marbles are another curious artifact that can be found on and around the island.  They are the discarded product of two glass factories that operated in St. Marys.  Ally Agate began making marbles around 1936, and this operation was late eclipsed by Marble King, established in 1949, which was one of the nation’s leading marble producers – their factory burned down in 1958 and they moved to nearby Paden City.  Today, they are the only major marble factory left in the United States.  A thriving subculture of marble-hunting enthusiasts exists, scavenging for defective marbles discarded on the banks of the Ohio River.

Island Access:  Street access in St. Marys , WV , off SR 2 via George Street, St. Marys public access ramp at St. Marys off SR 2