Central City
& St. Clouds

St. Clouds was established west of Huntington in 1874. The boundaries were from Fifth Street West to Eleventh Street West along Virginia and Washington Avenues. It was founded by Captain H. C. Parsons, an attorney, who came with C.P. Huntington to represent the C&O Railroad. D.E. Abbott (later a prominent businessman in Huntington) came with H. C. Parsons from Vermont. He later bought the Parsons Home (now a notable home in the area).

St. Clouds was not successful as an independent settlement and was later incorporated into Central City which was developed by the Huntington & Kenova Land Co. in 1891. Central City covered most of what is now West Huntington. There was also a neutral zone between Huntington and Central City from First Street to Third Street West called the Neutral Strip. This district had its own schools and businesses. Huntington absorbed all of this in 1909.