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Kanawha County

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1674

Gabriel Arthur became first white man to see the Kanawha Valley, under Indian captivity

Other events that happened on or around 1674

1742

Coal discovered on the Coal River in present Boone County by explorer John Peter Salling

Other events that happened on or around 1742

1755

Mary Draper Ingles was taken captive by the Shawnee

Other events that happened on or around 1755

1771

Simon Kenton began hunting and trapping in the Kanawha Valley

Other events that happened on or around 1771

1773

Walter Kelly was credited as the first settlement despite being killed after a year

Other events that happened on or around 1773

1774

William Morris and others settled at Cedar Grove in Kanawha County

Other events that happened on or around 1774

Apr 01, 1788

George Clendenin, family and Greenbrier Rangers left Greenbrier for Kanawha

Nov 14, 1788

Kanawha County was created

Other events that happened on or around November 14, 1788

1797

Elisha Brooks built his salt furnace on land from Joseph Ruffner

Other events that happened on or around 1797

1817

Coal began being mined to fuel the salt works

Other events that happened on or around 1817

1829

Completion of the James River and Kanawha Turnpike to the Ohio River was authorized by the General Assembly

Other events that happened on or around 1829

1830

Charleston had 750 people

Other events that happened on or around 1830

1832

A branch of the Bank of Virginia was chartered in the Kanawha Valley

Other events that happened on or around 1832

1861

Union troops under Brig. Gen. Jacob Cox occupied the Kanawha Valley

Other events that happened on or around 1861

Sep 29, 1861

Kanawha Valley was hit by its worst flood

Other events that happened on or around September 29, 1861

1862

Jacob Cox and men were driven out of the Kanawha Valley by Confederate advance led by Brig. Gen William W. Loring

Other events that happened on or around 1862

1867

William Dickinson Jr., sons and others in the Kanawha Valley salt industry founded the Kanawha Valley Bank

1870

The capital was moved from Wheeling to Charleston

Other events that happened on or around 1870

1873

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway arrived on south side of Kanawha River

Other events that happened on or around 1873

1875

The capital was moved from Charleston to Wheeling

Other events that happened on or around 1875

1884

Charleston National Bank founded as a national bank

Other events that happened on or around 1884

1885

The capital moved permanently back to Charleston aboard the Chesapeake and Belle Prince

Other events that happened on or around 1885

1888

Kanawha County became the state's second largest coal producer

Other events that happened on or around 1888

1891

First bridge built across the Kanawha River, in Charleston

Other events that happened on or around 1891

1892

The first students enrolled at West Virginia Colored Institute (now West Virginia State University)

Other events that happened on or around 1892

1895

The Montgomery Preparatory School (West Virginia University Institute of Technology) was founded

Other events that happened on or around 1895

Apr 18, 1912

Miners along Paint Creek and Cabin Creek walked off their jobs beginning the Mine Wars

1916

Libbey-Owens-Ford built its large plate glass plant in Kanawha City

Other events that happened on or around 1916

1920

Union organizing led to confrontations at Matewan and Blair Mountain

Other events that happened on or around 1920

Jun 20, 1932

Capitol completed and dedicated on West Virginia day

Other events that happened on or around June 20, 1932

1935

Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston) moved to Charleston from Barboursville

Other events that happened on or around 1935

1947

Wertz Field in Institute received modern facilities at Kanawha (Yeager) Airport

Other events that happened on or around 1947

1960

Kanawha County peak population at 252,925

Other events that happened on or around 1960

Jan 01, 1972

Charleston Area Medical Center created

Other events that happened on or around January 01, 1972

2000

Kanawha County population was the largest in the state at 200,073

Other events that happened on or around 2000


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