Ott-Hart-Burt House, 1 Echo Point Circle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morgan L. Ott and his daughter Mary and son-in-law Charles Burdette Hart jointly built their home on Lot 1 of Echo Point Circle, just off Heiskell Avenue. Ott (1828 – 1919) was born in Woodstock, Virginia, the son of Samuel and Sydney Heiskell Ott. The family moved to Wheeling when Morgan was 4 years old, and his father established a hardware business with Joseph Pollock, later known as the Ott-Heiskell Company. In addition to working at that firm, Morgan Ott also served as a director of the Laughlin Nail Company.

 

Hart was managing editor of the Wheeling Intelligencer in the late 1800s and was known for his “short, pungent editorials” and “unerring nose for news.” He served as president of the West Virginia Board of Immigration and Development, an organization that encouraged immigration and the development of the state’s natural resources. In 1897, President William McKinley appointed him Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Colombia. He served in that position until the signing of the Panama Canal Treaty.

 

After the death of Ott, the house was sold to David Alan Burt, (1876 – 1948), a prominent Wheeling industrialist, financier, investment banker, broker, and leader in community and state affairs. He was affiliated with Whitaker-Glessner Steel, Wheeling Steel and Iron Company, and LaBelle Iron Works. When these companies merged to form Wheeling Steel Corporation, he was named vice president and treasurer. He left the steel industry in 1923 and formed a partnership with H.C. Hazlett under the name Hazlett and Burt, investment bankers and brokers. He later served as chairman of the West Virginia State Tax Commission and was involved with studying the state’s tax system.

 

 

 

The home was demolished in 2007; an empty lot remains.

 

Written by Jeanne Finstein