Wheeling West Virginia (pop. 34,882; met. area pop. 159,301) is an industrial city on the Ohio River in northern West Virginia. The city has an area of about 11 square miles (28 square kilometers). It includes Wheeling Island in the Ohio River. Wheeling West Virginia is the seat of Ohio County. The Wheeling West Virginia metropolitan area includes Belmont County in Ohio. Wheeling West Virginia lies on a level plain, which rises to steep hills, along the Ohio River. A scenic plaza was built in the heart of the business district. Two bridges connect Wheeling Island with the rest of the city, one being The Wheeling Suspension Bridge, which was the first bridge span across the Ohio River and is a registered National Historical Landmark Wheeling Downs Dog Race Track, which features dog races, occupies one end of the island. Wheeling has two principal parks, Oglebay Park and Wheeling Park Wheeling West Virginia has about 40 public schools. Other educational institutions include Wheeling Jesuit College; West Virginia Northern Community College; Wheeling Park High School, Mount de Chantal Academy ; Linsly School, West Liberty State College and Bethany College are nearby. Wheeling lies near West Virginia's great coal- and natural-gas-producing region, and these minerals furnish power for many of the city's industries. Wheeling's most important products include aluminum, bronze, chemical products, garments, glass, iron and steel, metal stampings, plastics, and tin plate. The city is also a coal shipping center. Tourism is the most important industry in Wheeling, which attracts visitors with its parks, historic sites, and local events. "Jamboree USA," a weekly country music show at Wheeling's Capitol Music Hall, is broadcast in the United States and Canada. A Winter Festival of Lights is held from early November to early January. Wheeling has two modern hospitals and is a medical center for the surrounding region. Colonel Ebenezer Zane and his brothers founded Wheeling in the winter of 1769-1770. They came from the south branch of the Potomac Valley in Virginia to settle a claim at the city's present site. Other settlers soon joined them, and in 1774 they erected Fort Fincastle. In 1776, they changed the fort's name to Fort Henry in honor of Patrick Henry. Wheeling was laid out in 1793, incorporated in 1806, and first chartered as a city in 1836. The National Road, now U.S. Highway 40, reached the Ohio River at Wheeling in 1818. During the Civil War (1861-1865), Wheeling was the headquarters of Virginians who opposed secession from the Union. Union supporters organized the state of West Virginia in Wheeling on June 20, 1863, and the city served as the state capital from 1863 to 1870 and from 1875 to 1885. Wheeling has a city-manager form of government.