Harrisville, first known as Solus, predates the county's formation. When Ritchie County was established, it became the seat of justice. In 1941 writers for the WPA guide reminded readers of Harrisville's oil-boom days, describing it as “a residential town with time to dream of its brief period of activity when speculators and drillers crowded into the surrounding gas and oil fields.” The guide appreciated “its mapleshaded brick streets, lined with comfortable houses and spacious lawns, [and] the courthouse cupola and three church steeples” looming above the foliage. Not much seems to have changed since 1941.
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