James River & Kanawha Canal

Francis Asbury named the first superintendent of American Methodists

Virginia ceded its claim to the Northwest Territory to the U.S.

George Washington visited the Cheat River

People settled in Monongalia County and Pennsylvania after the Revolutionary War

Clarksburg became the county seat of the new Harrison County

Fort Harmar was established in Marietta, Ohio, as a frontier fort

The Rehoboth Methodist Church was established in Monroe County

William Haymond surveyed streets and lots in Morgantown

George Washington visited Zackquill Morgan to discuss possible locations of roads

Yohogania County was dissolved when the Virginia-Pennsylvania border dispute was settled

George Washington and others formed the Potowmack Company

Senecas began allying themselves with the Shawnee

The Mason-Dixon line survey was completed

Governor Benjamin Harrison granted land to Washington in present Dunbar and St. Albans, and also in present Marshall County

Rehoboth Church was built in Monroe County, first church west of Alleghenies

Mad Anne Bailey married John Bailey

American troops ended John Amberson's attempts to establish a government for local settlers on present Buffington Island

Clarksburg was chartered

Virginia Assembly abolished the Fairfax proprietary

Capt James Neal settled at Parkersburg

Nonhelema, "Grenadier Squaw," petitioned Congress for a grant of land near her Ohio home

Virginia authorized construction of the Old State Road, now U.S. 60

The Jefferson Rock was named for Thomas Jefferson

The word moonshine first entered the English language due to brandy smuggling on coasts of Kent and Sussex

Alexander Parker bought land from Thornton in present Parkersburg

Virginia (and consequently West Virginia) gained water rights from Maryland.

Levi Shinn established a local gristmill in present Shinnston

Blakeley was constructed by John A. Washington II

Bushrod Corbin Washington built Claymont Court

Reported 53 slaves lived and worked at Green Bottom

Population of Greenbrier County was 7,340 inhabitants

John H. Hall began working on interchangeable parts for breechloading rifle at Hall's Rifle Works

Steamboats became reliable enough to negotiate the shoals in the Kanawha River

Steamboats became reliable enough to negotiate the shoals in the Kanawha

Simon Kenton was imprisoned for bad debts in Kentucky

The population of Mason County was 4,868

The Union Academy of Monroe County was established to teach a classical education

The Western Star began in Weston

The Kanawha Spectator was founded in Charleston

Wilson Cary Nicholas died

The North House was built by John A. North in Lewisburg

Settlement in Oak Hill began

A stone bathing house was built at Salt Sulphur Springs

The Shannondale Springs resort opened

Summersville was established

A brick courthouse for Monroe County was built

There were four associations of Baptist churches in West Virginia

Alfred Beckley gained a clear title to 56,679 acres in Raleigh County

William Jenkins built the Green Bottom mansion

The Greenbrier County courthouse was built in Lewisburg

William Barton Roger conducted a geological survey of Virginia

The McCoy mill was acquired by the nephew of Gen. William McCoy, William McCoy

John Myers is believed to have died

Francis Pierpont entered Allegheny College

There were 15 sawmills in West Virginia

Johann Ludwig established the J. L. Stifel & Sons textile manufacturing

Settlers found the skeletons of William Strange and his dog undisturbed under a sycamore tree

The village of Suttonville (present Sutton) was laid out

The Bower cabin was built

The Universalist Meeting House in Marshall County was built

D.C. Topping established the Virginia Mission in Cabell County of the United Brethren

Peter Van Winkle moved to Parkersburg

Richard Whelan left Mount St. Mary's

Laura Jackson was sent to live with her uncle near Parkersburg

Management at Sweet Springs opened a new hostelry

Gordon Battelle received a B.A. from Marietta Collegiate Institute (Marietta College)

John Carlile was admitted to the bar

Castlerock community began

90 furnaces produced a million bushels of salt annually

Eli Moore graduated from Jefferson College

William Howe given patent for the Howe truss system

G. W. Hammond demolished Ferdinando Fairfax's plantation, Shannon Hill, and built the present dwelling in Jefferson County

Fayette County's first census recorded 3,924 residents

Two communion cups from this year are among the antiques of the Forks-of-Cheat Baptist Church

John Hale moved to the Kanawha Valley

Mill Island was built as a private house

John H. Hall invented the first working interchangeable firearms manufacturing system for breechloading rifle at Hall's Rifle Works

Chester Hubbard graduated as valedictorian from Wesleyan University of Connecticut

The first church was built in the Jackson County area

Jackson County's population was 4,890

Joseph Lightburn moved to Lewis County

Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church was constructed

Mifflin Marsh began selling stogies to steamboat crews and passengers for four for a penny

John Chapman erected the first house in New Cumberland

All bridges on the Northwestern Virginia Turnpike were completed

William P. Rathbone and his sons purchased 12,000 acres at Burning Springs Run in Wirt County.

Census provided numerical proof that the white population of the Trans-Allegheny exceeded that of the rest of the state

Benjamin Stickley was licensed as a United Brethren evangelist

German members of the United Brethren in Baltimore migrated to Braxton County

The Rathbones purchased land at Burning Springs

Female Academy in Union (Monroe County) started

Locust Hill was built by Lucy Elizabeth Washington

The Wine family first settled in Braxton County

Philip Pendleton Kennedy wrote an account of his visit to the Blackwater area, Blackwater Chronicle

"Winchester" span of Harpers Ferry bridge was constructed to carry Winchester & Potomac Railroad

Wills De Hass published History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of Western Virginia

Daniel Farnsworth became one of early magistrates in new Upshur County

Morris Harvey served as county jailer

John Jay Jackson Jr. began serving the General Assembly of Virginia as a Whig

Stonewall Jackson left the army to teach at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington

City of Harpers Ferry was established

Benjamin Kelley became freight agent for the B&O Railroad

Joseph Lightburn left the army at rank of sergeant

Wills De Hass wrote History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of Western Virginia

Mountain Cove Spiritualist Community was founded by James L. Scott

The Virginia legislature approved the charter for railroad to run from the B&O mainline to Parkersburg

William S. Miller planted his first orchard in Gerrardstown

George Summers was the Whig candidate for the first popularly elected governor of Virginia

Virginius Island was absorbed into the corporate boundaries of Harpers Ferry

Bushrod Corbin Washington died

Celebration staged in Parkersburg after ratification of the 15th Amendment

Railroad magnate Collis P. Huntington located the western terminus of Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad in present Huntington

Cheat River declared a public highway

Claymont Court mansion (Jefferson County) was advertised for sale by Bushrod Corbin Washington's grandson

Henry Gassaway Davis helped lead the Democrats in for their control over the state

Marmaduke Dent received B.A from WVU

Joseph Diss Debar produced The West Virginia Hand-Book and Immigrant's Guide

Alexander Donaghho came to Parkersburg

Fayetteville population jumped to 6,647

Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler began his map-making trips

Camp Straton United Confederate Veterans began controlling Logan County polices

German immigration increased during the Franco-Prussian War

John Hale started the first steam ferry at Charleston

John Hale was a leader in having the state capital moved to Charleston

Literary Hall was built in Romney

The West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind was established in Romney

John Henry began working as a steel driver during the construction of the Big Bend (Great Bend) Tunnel

The state was reported to have 2,270 schools

Investment in manufacturing began increasing

Immigrants from Switzerland settled in the area of Holly River

George Imboden moved to Fayette County

Jacob Jackson became Wood County's prosecuting attorney

The capital was moved from Wheeling to Charleston

Henry Clay Dickinson became president of Kanawha Valley Bank

James Kay arrived in Charleston

John Kenna was admitted to the bar

Crosscut saws replaced the ax as the preferred tool for felling trees

Marshall College added a new brick addition at the west end of the existing building

John Nuttall bought coal lands on New River

The Flick Amendment was introduced

Petersburg became the county seat of Grant County

Henry Ragland moved to Wayne County.

Alexander Reynolds began serving in Egypt

Literary Hall was built by the Literary Society in Romney

Cecil Clay of Philadelphia began timber purchases in Greenbrier Valley

William Stevenson was defeated for second term as governor

There were 178 tanneries in West Virginia

The Daily Sentinel became the Taylor County newspaper

The town of Volcano was founded

Wayne County population was at 7,852

WesBanco was founded as German Bank

Legislature voted for additional buildings at Weston State Hospital

The Potomac River flooded

The Shenandoah River flooded