In 1797, the Proctorville area has its first settlers, the Jesse Baldwin family. During its first years, the village was known as Quaker Bottom and Grant Town.
In 1834, the village was named Proctor’s Landing after Mr. Proctor.
In 1837, the name changed again to Proctorville. This time the name stayed the same. The village was named for Jacob Proctor, Jr.
In 1852, the land in the Proctorville area sold for $4.00 per acre. By 1864, the area had enough residents to found the village.
G. T. Shirkey, a junior surveyor, surveyed and laid out much of the village of Proctorville, Ohio.
In 1870, the first school was established in Proctorville. In 1879, the first school building was built.
In 1877, Proctorville residents applied for incorporation.
In 1887, the first officials were elected. J. F. Parker was elected the first mayor. I. H. Lloyd was elected the first marshall.
In 1893, the first students graduated from the Proctorville schools. There were only three graduates, Emma Eaton, Maude Wilgus, and Ernest Suiter.
From the 1800’s to the early 1900’s, wharf boats were the only source of supplies to the village.
In 1900, tragedy struck the village. A fire destroyed most of the business district. Many of the businesses did not rebuild.
In 1913, Dick Cassidy installed the first phone service. Eva Mannon was one of the early phone operators.
The village of Proctorville boasted two newspapers in its early days. The Ohio Valley News published its first paper on May 17, 1888. D. W. Custer was the publisher. G. R. McIntosh, was the publisher of the Proctorville Gazette, a weekly newspaper.