Wellston is a city in Jackson County, in southeastern Ohio, United States. Founded in 1873 as an iron and coal producing center, the town was named after founder Harvey Wells, a member of the Ohio Constitutional Convention. The city was incorporated in 1876. The population was 6,078 as of the 2000 census. Wellston is served by the Sylvester Memorial Public Library. In 2005, the library loaned more than 70,000 items to its 10,000 cardholders, and it had total holdings of over 31,000 volumes with over 90 periodical subscriptions.