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Geography
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1726
First settlement near Bunker Hill, present West Virginia
1742
Coal discovered on the Coal River in present Boone County by explorer John Peter Salling Other events that happened on or around 1742 Mad Anne Bailey born Anne Hennis in Liverpool First iron furnace in West Virginia was established by Thomas Mayberry at Bloomery near present Harpers Ferry; the Quaker William Vestal erected Vestal's Bloomery near the Shenandoah River in present Jefferson County; iron industry develops
1818
Commercial coal mining began Other events that happened on or around 1818 Bens Run earthworks described in the journal of Thom Nuttall Money was earmarked to pay tuition for poor white children to attend schools The National Road, the first major highway in the region, was completed to Wheeling James Madison Jackson was born Jonathan Jackson and wife Julia Neale moved to Clarksburg Bishop James Madison's maps appeared Mail service on the unfinished National Road began to Wheeling The ferry to present Winfield was established The Runnion family arrived in Spencer George Summers moved to Charleston to live with Lewis Summers
Jun 20, 1863
West Virginia entered the Union as the 35th state Other events that happened on or around June 20, 1863 Wheeling first became the state capital Arthur Boreman's inaugural address in Wheeling First West Virginia capitol in Linsly Institute building Fort Logan changed name to Fort Boreman Granville Davisson Hall was elected the first clerk of the House of Delegates The First West Virginia legislature met in Wheeling Legislature made plans to establish a federal land grant college under terms of Morrill Act in Monongalia County West Virginia became a state
1866
Jefferson and Berkeley confirmed as West Virginia by U.S. Congress Other events that happened on or around 1866 There were 250 churches in West Virginia Capt. John M. Burns established a sawmill at Burnsville Henry Gassaway Davis received charter to build the West Virginia Central and Pittsburgh Railway Dickinson-Shrewsbury partnership dissolved by the courts after partners died Private school for black children, in Parkersburg, was converted to a public school J. N. Boyd began publication of Vedette in Fairmont Three men were hanged on the "hanging tree" at Fort Boreman Freedmen's Bureau began operation in West Virginia Grantsville was laid out Grant County was formed from Hardy County Morris Harvey and brother-in-law received a land grant from West Virginia of 1,000 acres on the west side of New River The Radical-dominated legislature enacted the Voters' Registration Law John Joseph Kain was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Richmond The Buckhannon home of George Latham was purchased A new shop complex was built in Martinsburg, with roundhouse Elizabethtown and Moundsville were consolidated under Moundsville Free schools were established in Moundsville The multiflora rose was introduced to the eastern U.S. as rootstock for ornamental roses The North Bend superintendent's residence was built by Christopher Douglas Samuel Price became a director of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. George Lemon died Sumner School became West Virginia's earliest black public school H.M. Calhoun was born Samuel W. Starks was born in Charleston Sumner School became a part of the segregated public school system Ceredo was incorporated The West Virginia Central & Pittsburg Railway was chartered under the name of the Potomac & Piedmont Coal & Railroad Company Archibald Campbell left the Wheeling Intelligencer William H. Davis became a teacher for Malden’s Black children
1910
Number of farms in West Virginia stood at 97,000 Other events that happened on or around 1910 Appalachian Power Company began Daniel Willard became president of B&O Mannington, Fairmont, Clarksburg, and Grafton baseball teams formed the Class D West Virginia League Charleston entered professional baseball Beckley population rose to 2,161 Bluefield's population exceeded 10,000 U.S. Supreme Court established boundary between Preston County, West Virginia and Garrett County, Maryland Pearl Buck returned to the U.S. after living in China Pine Run School was built Annie G. Packette raised $50,000 to construct Charleston Opera House Charleston Mail sold to Samuel Dixon Men including John W. Davis published the Culpeper Exponent U.S. Bureau of Mines created after the Fairmont disaster of 1907 West Virginia coke production peaked at 4,217,381 tons Justus Collins opened Winding Gulf mine Danske Dandridge wrote Historic Shepherdstown Levi Dean began practicing architecture in Charleston The first deer hunting season was established West Virginia's approximate deer population was 1,000 Thurmond accounted for almost 20% of all revenue generated on C&O Railway Isaac Morris sold Easton Roller Mill to William Ley West Virginia schools had fallen behind national averages West Virginia had only 12 fully accredited high schools The Department of Education increased to five divisions Golden era of glass production ended Aretas Fleming pushed to establish the U.S. Bureau of Mines A. B. Brooks compiled a report on West Virginia forests Thaddeus Fowler returned to West Virginia Glass factory employment totaled 7,500 workers The Meadow River Lumber Company was organized in Rainelle The C&O purchased the Greenbrier Resort and developed it into a major destination Rimfire Hamrick opened a jewelry, watch repair, and gunsmith shop in Webster Springs The High Gate mansion was built for James Edwin Watson Census reported 5,939 Hungarians in West Virginia Census showed 17 Irish families and 82 person occupying Irish Mountain Reported 17,000 Italian immigrants in West Virginia McDowell County reported the most Italian immigrants in West Virginia with 2,300 City of Ranson was established Reported most of the Kelly Axe Company's grinders were natives of Poland or Russia Harley Kilgore graduated from Mannington High School Sarah Ann Legg appealed her case for murder of Jay Legg and was acquitted of all charges Lincoln County had a population of 20,491 Signs bearing "Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco, Treat yourself to the Best" began appearing Akro Agate was founded in Ohio Marlinton had a tannery, two banks, two newspapers, 20 stores, a hospital, opera house, fire department, school, water system, & electric power Marlinton Opera House was built by J. C. Tilton John Matheus graduated from Western Reserve University (Case Western Reserve) in Cleveland, Ohio The original sawmill of the Meadow River Lumber Company was built The McKendree and Welch hospitals opened affiliated nursing schools Morgantown population rose to 9,150 Howard Sloan organized the first enduring work of the Church of the Nazarene in West Virginia The New York Central gained control of the Toledo & Ohio Central Niagara Movement failed to meet The O. Ames company arrived in Parkersburg 37 of the state's 55 counties were completely dry or allowed the prohibition of the sale of liquor under local option laws. The C&O and Virginian railroads had penetrated every section of Raleigh County A factory making buttons from river mussel shell opened in St. Marys Nathan Scott lost the Republican nomination The Raine brothers established the Meadow River Lumber Company Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes ruled that the Swan lands had been forfeited to the state because taxes had not been paid Thurmond had a population of 315 The B&O railroad penetrated the Trough Tucker County population peaked at 18,675 U.S. Coal & Coke built 12 individual company towns at Gary The steamboat Virginia went aground on a falling Ohio River and ended up in a cornfield at Ravenswood The Meyercord-Carter Company reorganized as the Vitrolite Company The Greenbrier, Cheat & Elk Railroad was incorporated T. Edward Hill joined the McDowell Times Ohio Valley Glass became Paul Wissmach Glass Company
1950
West Virginia population peaked at 2,005,552 Other events that happened on or around 1950 More than 19,000 black youth, grades 1-12, were provided education by the West Virginia public school system 123rd Fighter Group called to duty in Korean War and moved to Goodman Air Force Base Pastor Richard E. Shearer assumed presidency of Alderson-Broaddus College (now University) Ernest Bavely died The National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement was approved Sigus Olafson began publishing articles on petroglyphs, the painted trees, Gabriel Arthur and more A caretaker for Audra State Park was hired Walter Barnes helped revive the Folklore Society with help from Ruth Ann Musick Bear Rock Lakes area was opened to fishing Clair Bee wrote Hoop Crazy Raleigh Coal & Coke ceased operations About 25,000 people lived in Bluefield Everett Lilly appeared on classic bluegrass recordings Betsy Byars graduated from Queens College in Charlotte, NC Governor Patteson gave state funds to improve Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park Walter Eli Clark died Phil Conley ended his term as president of the West Virginia Publishing Company and founded West Virginia Education Foundation Name was shortened to West Virginia Council of Churches Virginia Ruth "Dagmar" Egnor was hired to be on NBC's Broadway Open House Julius DeGruyter wrote West Virginia: Its Charters and Municipal Affairs West Virginia's median age was below national average at 26.3 years Joanne Dru appeared in Wagon Master Ellis Dungan returned to Hollywood Fairmont population peaked at 29,346 Fayette County population peaked at 82,443 Floodwall in Parkersburg was completed Patrick Gainer organized the West Virginia State Folk Festival in Glenville Fostoria manufactured 8 million pieces of glass Statewide coal employment peaked at 127,000 The Veterans Administration Medical Center was built in Harrison County Dave Gideon died Mechanization and automation in coal mining reduced the number of miners and a decline in UMWA membership The gates to the Home for the Incurables (now Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital) were removed The Cedar Lakes Conference Center was established as a state FFA-FHA camp Keystone's population was at 2,500 The National Labor Relation board recognized the Employees Security League as the legitimate bargaining agent for Weirton employees The Linger chair factory moved to Rock Cave The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers recorded for Cozy Records Louis Wohinc died Catherine Marshall published Mr. Jones, Meet The Master A new science building was constructed at Marshall College (now University) Jack Maurice became editor of the Charleston Daily Mail A fourth of McDowell population was black McDowell population peaked at 98,887 Mine mechanization led to widespread job loss Major coal companies formed the Bituminous Coal Operators Association The UMWA and Bituminous Coal Operators Association agreed that the union would not resist mechanization in exchange for a share of the proceeds Birth rate in West Virginia declined and pace of out-migration accelerated Traditional coal miners' vacation became formalized with the establishment of Bituminous Coal Operators Association Mingo County population peaked at 47,409 The National Hillbilly News switched to a smaller format Molly O'Day and Lynn Davis gave up show business to serve the Lord Port Amherst Ltd. was acquired by the Amherst Fuel Company Jack Rollins wrote "Frosty the Snow Man" Charleston's St. Francis Hospital had 130 beds Soupy Sales left Huntington The West Virginia Conference of Seventh-day Adventists consisted of 2,000 members Shepherd College was accredited by the North Central Association Jim Sprouse studied international law at the University of Bordeaux The Weirton Independent Union was declared a violation of federal labor law West Virginia steelworkers numbered 22,596 Joe Stydahar was named head coach of the L.A. Rams Leon Sullivan began ministry at Zion Baptist church in Philadelphia Hinton's population was 5,780 West Virginia tobacco production was at 4,000,000 pounds Richard Talbott stopped serving as state treasurer Riggleman Hall was constructed at Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston) Welch population peaked at 6,603 Walter Barnes, Patrick Gainer and Ruth Ann Musick revived the West Virginia Folklore Society Helen Thompson became the Charleston Symphony Orchestra's first full-time executive secretary Weston's population peaked at 8,945 An outpatient department was opened at Wheeling Hospital Wildlife biologist tried trapping wild turkeys in the eastern mountains and moving them into other counties Williamson population peaked at 8,624 Wyoming County population was 37,540 Mullens had a population of 3,544 Hurry-up Yost was inducted to the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Morgantown obtained the Tibbs Run Reservoir President Eisenhower appointed Helen Holt to a new program in the Federal Housing Administration
1997
3/4th of market value of agricultural products sold originated in Ridge and Valley counties Other events that happened on or around 1997 Allegheny Airlines changed its name to US Airways Bluestone Lake became a major supplier of public water Boundary dispute between West Virginia and Virginia involving Jefferson and Loudoun Counties was resolved Robert C. Byrd co-sponsored the resolution opposing the Kyoto Protocol Ernie Carpenter died Sam Hindman named publisher of the Charleston Daily Mail SCSM purchased by Mayflower Vehicle Systems Concord College received West Virginia's only true carillon Richard Currey published Lost Highway Trails and designated campsites at Dolly Sods were cleared of munitions left by the army Census of Agriculture noted 2,426 farms in West Virginia Bowden Fish Hatchery was taken over by the state Anna Marsh caught a 49-pound Muskie in Elk River Jack Fleming stopped anchoring sports radio at WVU Local historians asked the Wood County Commission for support in creating a park at Fort Boreman Coal production reached record of 182 million tons
2000
The U.S. Census reported the state's population at 1,808,350 Other events that happened on or around 2000 Ceredo had 1,675 residents Charleston population fell to 53,421 Clay Foundation assets at $67 million Reported 44 chapters of the state society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Northern Panhandle and southeastern part of the state had highest median ages Eastern Panhandle and southwestern part of the state had lowest median ages Doddridge population reached 7,403 Dunbar had a population of 8,154 Charleston ranked 167th out of 318 Metropolitan Statistical Areas West Virginia's official poverty rate sat at 17.9% Elizabeth's population was 994 Fairmont had population of 19,097 People 65+ represented 15.3% of population in West Virginia Follansbee's population reported at 3,115 Forestlands of West Virginia reported at 78% of states' area Franklin population reported at 797 Grafton population stood at 2,489 Population of Grant County rose to 11,299 Greenbrier County had a population of 34,453 people Reported population of 32,667 in Hancock County Hardy County reported a population of 12,669 Harpers Ferry was reported with a population of 307 Harrisville held a population of 1,842 The population of Hurricane was reported at 5,222 Census reported 3,606 Indians living in West Virginia Jackson County's population was 28,000 Ripley's population stood at 3,263 Ravenswood's population stood at 4,301 Kanawha County population was the largest in the state at 200,073 Kenova population remained the largest in Wayne County at 3,485 Keyser's population was 5,303 Keystone's population had fallen to 453 City of Logan population was 1,630 Logan County population reported at 37,710 Population of Madison was 2,677 Mannington population was 2,124 Reported 142,728 manufactured homes in West Virginia West Virginia had the third-highest home-ownership rates in the U.S. at 75.2% Marion County population stood at 56,598 Population of Marlinton was 1,204 Marshall County's population was 35,519 Martinsburg population was 75,905 The population of Mason county was 25,957 Census reported African-Americans were 11.9% of McDowell's population Population of McDowell County was 27,329 West Virginia had the country's highest median age at 38.9 years Mercer County population was 62,980 Reported 125,336 members of 1,341 United Methodist churches in West Virginia Middlebourne's population was 870 Milton's population was 2,206 Monongalia County had a population of 81,866 Monroe county had a population of 14,583 Morgan County had a population of 14,943 Morgantown population was 26,809 Moundsville had a population of 9,978 Population of New Cumberland was 1,099 Nicholas County had a population of 26,562 Census reports 141,060 people living in the Northern Panhandle Oak Hill population was 7,589 Population of Ohio County was 47,427 Eleven Orthodox Christian churches were listed in a church survey with 4,310 adherents Paden City's population was 2,860 Parkersburg's population was 33,099 The population of Paw Paw was 524 Franklin had 797 residents The population of Petersburg was 2,423 The population of Philippi was 2,870 Piedmont's population was 1,014 The population of Pineville was 715 The population of Pleasants County was 7,514 The population of Pocahontas County was 9,131 Richwood had a population of 2,477 Ritchie County's population was 10,343 Roane County population was 15,446 Reported 100,000 Catholics in West Virginia Romney had a population of 1,940 The population of St. Albans was 11,567 St. Marys population was at 2,017 Reported 3,060 second homes in Pocahontas County Shinnston's population was 2,295 South Charleston had a population of 13,390 Spencer had a population of 2,352 Sternwheel Regatta festivities were scaled back to an extended weekend Hinton's population was 2,880 Summersville population was 3,294 Sutton had a population 1,011 Taylor County population was 16,089 Tucker County population was 7,321 Union had a population of 548 Upshur County population was 23,404 Vienna had a population of 10.861 Wayne had a population of 1,105 Wayne County population was 42, 903 Webster County population was 9,719 Webster Springs had a population of 808 Weirton population was 20,411 Welch population was 2,683 Wellsburg population was 2,891 West Union had a population of 806 Weston's population was 4,317 Westover had a population of 3,941 Wetzel County had a population of 17,693 Wheeling population was 31,419 Population of White Sulphur Springs was 2,315 Williamson population was 3,414 Winfield population was 1,858 Wirt County had a population of 5,873 Wood County had a population of 87,986
2004
Number of farms in West Virginia decreased to 20,800 Other events that happened on or around 2004 West Virginia crime rate ranked 7th lowest Reported 60% of West Virginia crimes are larceny-theft West Virginia prisoner population had the 6th highest growth rate Unionized labor at 14.2% of the work force Circulation of the Hampshire Review was 6,950 Dominion Hope provided natural gas to 439 communities in West Virginia in 32 West Virginia counties The state Supreme Court heard 2,449 cases and issued 159 opinions and 434 orders There were about 100 employees in the Division of Labor The West Virginia Department of Natural Resources listed 17 public fishing lakes and ponds in the state Video lottery sales represented more than 70% of the lottery's total revenue The Department of Mines had 110 employees, including 74 inspectors Circulation of the Dominion Post was 20,454 on weekdays and 24,192 on Sundays Total circulation of West Virginia newspapers was 781,753 There were 161 commercial sawmills in West Virginia Michael Smith had 29 number-one songs, five platinum records and 13 gold records Reported enrollment at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College was 2,580 The student population at West Liberty was 2,375 There were 2,837 students enrolled at West Virginia Northern Community College West Virginia State University had 2,482 students enrolled There were 2,183 lottery machines at Wheeling Downs There were 1,356 students at Wheeling Jesuit University Circulation of the Wonderful West Virginia was 40,000 View Articles by Existing Key Dates or Specify Your Own Date Range |
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