I am delighted to hear about the Best Western, I had to stay at Parkersburg last summer. As for Rt. 800, I loved it, my wife was scared silly. For some reason I have always liked this route. Don Eisebarth I stayed at the Caldwell Best Western Hotel located just East of the Rte 78 exit off I-77. It is 26 miles north of Marietta, OH and about 21 miles south of I-70. The 30 mile ride to Woodsfield on Rte 78 is an easy and scenic drive. Courthouse fires in 1840 and 1867 destroyed many records, but there are still many useful records in existence. Many Monroe County records are available on LDS Microfilms. > -----Original Message----- > From: James T. Simmons [mailto:jtsimmons@prodigy.net] > Sent: Monday, March 01, 1999 6:38 AM > To: OHMONROE-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: RE: [OHMONROE-L] Monroe County Visit > > > > Re: Don Castella's message: > > I still have family in "the County" so I visit quite regularly, > and I second > Don's evaluation. Be careful relying too much on the courthouse records, > however, as lots of them were destroyed in what I believe were two fires, > one in the 1890s, and again in the 1910s (before the current > courthouse was > built.) > > If anyone else is considering visiting, I recommend coming in > from Caldwell > to the west, off I-70. That route (state route 78) is much more > gentle than > coming in from Barnsville to the north off of I-77. Route 800 (from > Barnsville through Woodsfield) is a challenging, winding hilly/mountain > road, with some deceptively steep and sharp curves. I still > consider route > 800 a challenge, and I've been riding it since I was born, and driving it > 3-6 time a year for 20 years. ______________________________