Onie, West Virginia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Onie
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 Onie
Location in West Virginia
Onie
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Wetzel |
| Elevation | 902 ft (275 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| GNIS ID | 1717809 |
Onie was a small, unincorporated community in Wetzel County, West Virginia. An unincorporated community is a place that doesn't have its own local government. It was also sometimes called Unie.
What Was Onie?
Onie was a community that appeared on maps for only a short time. It was located in West Virginia, near a place called Wileyville. Onie was right where a small stream called Honey Run flows into Little Fishing Creek.
Local people remember Onie as a busy little place. It had a few important buildings. These included a bar, a blacksmith shop, and a hotel. These places served the people living there and visitors.
Onie's Short Life
Around the year 1900, Onie became an important place. This was because of the discovery of oil nearby. It quickly grew into what is known as an oil boom town. This means many people moved there hoping to find work in the oil industry.
West Virginia was a big oil producer at this time. In fact, by 1900, the state was second in the entire country for oil production. Onie's success was tied to this oil boom.
However, after 1900, oil production in the area started to slow down. As the oil wells produced less, Onie also began to decline. The town eventually disappeared from maps and from daily life.
Even though Onie vanished, some oil activity continued. As recently as 2008, a company called East Resources still had an office and some oil wells in the area. But for a long time, the land where Onie once stood was used for growing hay, not for drilling oil.
