Brilliant

History

Brilliant was laid out in 1819 by western Virginia statesman Philip Doddridge under the name "Philipsburgh". The location was considered significant to commerce as it was the convergence of many roads in close proximity to the Ohio River and parallel to the Wellsburg wharf. A new addition was laid out in 1836 named "La Grange", a name also adopted by the railway station in 1856. In 1880, the Brilliant Glass Company was established and a glass factory was built at La Grange. The town later adopted the name of the glass company and was incorporated as "Brilliant", changing the titles of the railway station and post office. The Cardinal Power Plant is located south of Brilliant. It commenced operations in 1967.

Geography

Brilliant is in northeastern Wells Township, along the Ohio River south of Steubenville. Ohio State Route 7, a four-lane freeway, passes through the southeast side of the community, leading north (upriver) to Steubenville and south to Bridgeport, across the river from Wheeling, West Virginia. According to the 2010 census, the Brilliant CDP has a total area of , of which (or 98.87%) are land and (or 0.56%) are water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,639
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,842
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,767
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  3,717
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,528
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  3,506
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,381
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,329

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2025-05-09
  3 km S of Pleasant City, Ohio
• M 2.8 — 2025-04-29
  1 km SE of Pleasant City, Ohio
• M 3.1 — 2025-04-24
  3 km S of Pleasant City, Ohio
• M 3.1 — 2025-04-22
  3 km ESE of Buffalo, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2024-09-11
  4 km WNW of Claysville, Pennsylvania
• M 3 — 2024-03-30
  2 km SSW of Maple Ridge, Ohio