WHEELING — Citing declining interest, the Wheeling Area Genealogical Society has disbanded after 54 years in operation. The executive board of the nonprofit organization, devoted to researching recording and preserving local family history, voted to disband.

The society’s final act was presenting the Ohio County Public Library with a check for residual assets for use in continued genealogical and archival work related to Wheeling. Even though the organization is no longer, the Wheeling Room of the Ohio County Public Library will continue to house donated genealogy collections and the society’s publications, and a staff member will continue to provide support to those interested in researching their ancestral heritage.

The Wheeling Area Genealogical Society was formed on Sept. 22, 1970, after 13 people – the majority having taken the Oglebay Institute class “How to Climb Your Family Tree” – came together to create it. The first major project undertaken by the society was in 1973, when members helped pack and transport books in the West Virginia Room of the Ohio County Public Library on Market Street to the Library’s new building on 16th Street.

Over the years, local memberships grew along with numerous other memberships outside the county and state. The society held free-and-open-to-all monthly meetings, provided guest speakers, sent out newsletters, conducted workshops, organized field trips, built a website, and assisted with research.

Through the years, a huge number of old records have been located, transcribed, and compiled by society members.