A view from Fort Boreman Hill prior to the Belpre-Parkersburg or Memorial Bridge construction. (Image Provided)

Before there was Facebook, Instagram and text messages to share the tidbits of your lives with others, there were postcards to get a quick message to distant friends and relatives.

In the United States, the first commercially produced post cards were mailed in 1861. Postal regulations required that one side only contains the address, so the “picture side” was blank except for a decorative border to allow a message to be written.

Postal regulations, changing technology, and cost always influenced the use of cards.

The first picture postcards started appearing in the 1880s. After the lowering of the postage rate on them to one cent in 1898 the use of the cards became very popular. Billions of the cards were mailed over the next few decades after regulations allowed a divided back where a message shared the space with the address. While the front contained a photo. Often black and white photos were printed after being hand colored. The vibrant cards gave a look that both look like a painting and photograph.

Many of the cards from that hand coloring era are featured on this page.

The Parkersburg City Building as it looked in 1915 at the corner of Market and Fifth streets. (Image Provided

“Much like today’s social media, postcards enabled people from all walks of life to quickly and affordably communicate. Some people could not write a long letter or did not have the money for higher priced postage. A simple message on a postcard allowed them to keep in touch with friends and relatives,” said to Linda Showalter, special collections associate at Marietta College’s Legacy Library.

Local collector Jeff Little has around 1,500 local post cards, many serving as a record of historical events. His first card that he purchased decades ago was of the 1913 flood. When the Quincy Hill takes burst in 1909 there were 50 different postcards produced, according to Little.

As telephone usage increased, the use of cards to get a quick message out dropped and cards began to focus more on scenic views. The modern Photochrom postcards that are still in use today began around 1939 and reached a peak in the 1950s.

Social media and rising postal costs caused a major drop in the use of the once common and popular media. People can share scenes from their travels with all their friends in seconds, instead of days.

A view down Market Street from around Eighth Street. (Image Provided)

St. Joseph Hospital in an early, colorized view. (Photo Provided)

A view of downtown from a card that identified the different buildings. 1 - Wood County Courthouse. 2 - City Building. 3 - St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. 4 - First Baptist Church. 5 - First Methodist Episcopal Church. 6 - Central Junior-Senior High School. 7 - W.Va. Route 2. 8 - Reservoir. 9 - Washington Junior High School.

Mountain State College in Parkersburg. The school closed in 2024. (Photo Provided)

Marietta, in a early view from the Williamstown Bridge. (Photo Provided)

A view up the 100 block of Putnam Street. (Photo Provided)

The entrance to Muskingum Park at Putnam and Front streets. (Photo Provided)

A view down Front Street. (Photo Provided)

A boat prepares to enter Lock 1 below the Putnam Steet Bridge. (Photo Provided)

Marietta College’s campus. (Photo Provided)

The Ohio and Muskingum rivers meet in Marietta. (Photo Provided)