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Division of Highways
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1909
Legislature established the State Road Fund and the position of state commissioner of public roads Other events that happened on or around 1909 R. D. Bailey graduated from Valparaiso University in Indiana Waitman Barbe wrote Famous Poems Explained Broaddus Institute (now part of Alderson Broaddus University) moved from Clarksburg to Philippi Broaddus Institute (now Alderson-Broaddus College) moved from Clarksburg to Philippi Rosa Pelham returned to the castle The Birch Boom & Lumber Company built a sawmill near the mouth of Birch River West Virginia legislature created the Board of Control which consolidated management and fiscal control over West Virginia's institutions The Bluefield Daily Telegraph dubbed Bramwell the "Coalfield Capital" Sturdevant and Johnson's partnership ended, factory ceased operation and buildings torn down Camp Dawson was established Elegant seven-story Waldo Hotel opened West Virginia legislation prepared way for establishment of National Forest Reserve in Monongahela Legislature authorized the governor to appoint a Forest, Game and Fish Warden Consolidation Coal, Fairmont Coal and Somerset Coal companies combined into the Consolidation Coal Company Danske Dandridge wrote George Michael Bedinger, a Kentucky Pioneer Huntington annexed Central City Legislation called for forest protection and research and provided fines and imprisonment for owners who intentionally or carelessly set fires Sunday hunting and fishing was prohibited by legislature Michael Owens began his own company to manufacture bottles in Fairmont and Clarksburg Legislature appropriated funds to purchase Grave Creek Mound A receiving vault was built at Greenwood Cemetery Lincoln County destroyed by fire City of Weirton was founded by Weirton Steel Ernest T. Weir established Weirton Steel The broad-gauge Harrisville Southern Railroad began to run to Cornwallis The Herald-Dispatch began with the merger of the Herald and the Huntington Dispatch Only two county seats in West Virginia were connected by paved highways Timber production in West Virginia reached its long-time record of 1.5 billion board feet The Jackson Iron & Tin Company relocated to Holiday Cove in Hancock County Garland Wilson was born in Martinsburg Dr. Hugh G. Nicholson leased the Barber Sanatorium and added a nursing school James Kay opened mines on Campbells Creek Keystone was incorporated George Kossuth opened his own photography studio Howard B. Lee began to practice law in Bluefield The Morgantown Republican merged with the New Dominion-News The first congregation of the Church of the Nazarene in West Virginia appeared in Martinsburg Pardee & Curtin opened a double-band sawmill at Hominy Falls. Princeton was chartered as a city The Virginian Railway was completed, the last entry into West Virginia's coalfields. Ritchie Mines were abandoned A second sawmill for St. Lawrence was built for Neola The hotel in Shannondale Springs burned down again Thomas C. Miller became administrator of Shepherd College The Pope Dock Company built Goldenrod A stone sculpture of a frontiersman was dedicated in memory of the Battle of Point Pleasant A steel strike in Wheeling failed Ernest Weir expanded the Phillips Sheet and Tin Plate Company from Clarksburg West Virginia tobacco production peaked at 14,400,000 pounds Fred Torrey enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago T. C. Townsend first served as the state tax commissioner The name changed from Education Association of West Virginia to the State Education Association Byrd Prillerman became president of West Virginia Colored Institute (now West Virginia State University) The Western Maryland Railway company was organized White Sulphur Springs was incorporated as a town The Wirt County courthouse in Elizabeth burned down Completion of the Virginian Railway sparked an industrial boom in Mullens
1913
Legislature created the State Road Bureau Other events that happened on or around 1913 Commissioner assigned responsibility to regulate farm products The Allegheny Lodge was built Waitman Barbe wrote Great Poems Interpreted Walter Barnes wrote English in the Country School John Peale Bishop entered Princeton Charles F. Millspaugh wrote The Living Flora of West Virginia James Callahan wrote Semi-Centennial History of West Virginia Consolidated Manufactories pottery factory established by Merchants Association of Grafton John Harrington Cox collected his first folk song Henry Gassaway Davis was chairman of Semi-Centennial Commission Alston Dayton made the injunction from the Hitchman Coal & Coke v. John Mitchell case permanent Legislature passed act that provided for the employment of extension agents West Virginia appropriated fire protection funds The Glenville high school received its own building Nathan Goff served in the U.S. Senate The building of the central section of the Greenbrier Hotel and the Old White golf course were completed Annual coal production exceeded 28 million tons Ritter Park in Huntington was fashioned from land originally intended for a city incinerator Louis Johnson was admitted to the bar in Clarksburg Harriet Jones helped to establish Hopemont Sanitarium Teepi Kendrick became the state agent in charge of the corn clubs for boys and canning clubs for girls Keyser was incorporated Supreme Court decisions on State ex rel. Nance v. Mays, Ex parte Jones, and Hatfield v. Graham were decided during the labor rebellion and accorded vast power to the executive branch to use martial law Weston became the southern terminus of regional electric trolley car service The second courthouse in Madison was torn down Redress was allowed under the original workers compensation statue Course work was added to Marshall University to include the equivalent of freshman and sophomore years of college Walter Martens began working as a draftsman in Danville The title was changed from Evening Journal to Martinsburg West Virginia Evening Journal Hu Maxwell co-authored West Virginia and Its People Bill McKell completed his own branch railroad to connect with the Virginian Railway at Pax John McWhorter left office as judge of West Virginia's 12th judicial circuit John McWhorter drafted the Yost Law, providing for enforcement of state prohibition The Mennonites building was moved to Roaring Creek The Minter Homes Corporation was established in Huntington A major refinery was built at St. Marys by Quaker State United States Senate looked into Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike John Nugent was question by the U.S. Senate investigating committee for efforts to import strikebreakers to West Virginia John Nugent left West Virginia for Kentucky The Ohio Valley Trades and Labor Assembly fathered the state's first workers compensation bill The Ohio Valley Refining Company was established at St. Marys Livia Poffenbarger sold the State Gazette. Legislature passed the Yost law, under which prohibition was enforced, creating the Department of Prohibition The state's first tuberculosis sanitarium was founded at Hopemont in Preston County The Public Service Commission was created by the legislature Leonard Riggleman passed the uniform teachers exam The first high school opened in Ripley St. Francis Hospital was founded by Patrick J. Donahue The Sacred Heart Hospital opened The Salt Sulphur Springs resort was closed The Star House was acquired by W. B. and Ida Skaggs Flags were unofficially made for the semi-centennial celebration featured a new design Stony River Reservoir was completed by West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company P. D. Strausbaugh graduated from Wooster (Ohio) College P. D. Strausbaugh began teaching at Wooster (Ohio) College A streetcar line between Sistersville and Middlebourne was built Congress passed the 16th Amendment for a federal income tax on corporation The Indian Camp Normal School was established Clarence W. Watson finished his term in the U.S. Senate John S. Bonar graduated from West Liberty "The West Virginia Hills" was published in The West Virginia Singer Legislature changed the name to Weston State Hospital West Virginia House of Delegates passed a state women's suffrage amendment
1917
The State Road Bureau was replaced by the State Road Commission Other events that happened on or around 1917 Charles Ambler's last year teaching history and political science at Randolph-Macon College Hotel built by Harvey Ghiz in Logan West Virginia Folklore Society became inactive Louis Bennett Jr. graduated from Yale First book of poetry, Green Fruit,was published by John Bishop Florence Blanchfield enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps Pearl Sydenstricker married John Lossing Buck Louis Watson Chappell received his B.A. from Wake Forest William Edwin Chilton completed his term as U.S. Senate and became publisher U.S. government hired DuPont Company to build new nitrocellulose plant 89.4 million tons of coal produced in West Virginia The Shenandoah (George Washington) National Forest was created U.S. Supreme Court supported Alston Dayton's "yellow dog" contracts ruling Legislature established the West Virginia State Colored Tuberculosis Sanitarium Diamond Shoe and Garment Co. received full department store status Natural gas peaked at 309 billion cubic feet Marion County in the Making was published Study of German in schools dropped due to the entrance of America in WWI Henry Hatfield entered the army medical corps as Captain West Virginia launched a series of highway improvements with creation of the State Road Commission The U.S. Supreme Court sustained the lower court ruling prohibiting UMWA from seeking to influence workers from breaking yellowdog contracts The House of Delegates grew to 94 delegates Itmann began mining the Pocahontas No. 3 coal seam in Wyoming County Billy Moore was born in Parkersburg Fanny Johnson and Vincent Costello moved back to Charleston Fanny Johnson's story "The Strange Looking Man" was included in a best short stories collection Mother Jones returned to West Virginia to hold meetings and seek union recognition in the Fairmont and Winding Gulf coalfield Frank Keeney became president of UMWA District 17 Harley Kilgore was commissioned a second lieutenant The town of Nitro was established by the U.S. War Department for the manufacture of munitions for WWI Fred Mooney became secretary-treasurer of UMWA District 17 Regents began to abolish high school courses in normal schools The U.S. government acquired the majority of land on Otter Creek for Monongahela National Forest The Owens Bottle Company opened a plant in the upper end of Kanawha City William Nelson Page moved to Washington. Pruntytown Correctional Center, near Grafton, offered eight years of education, providing a full grade-school education Denmar Sanitarium for black tuberculosis patients was established in Pocahontas County. The Division of Vital Statistics was established by the West Virginia Legislature. Short lines, including the Coal & Coke Railway, became part of the B&O. The Reymann Memorial Farm was donated to WVU as two separate farms Rat Rodgers was named to the All-American teams Samuel Craig Shaw became editor of the Moundsville Daily Echo Capt. Thomas J. Reynolds built his first real showboat and named it America Five companies merged to form the Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation The USS Huntington was equipped for early experiments in naval aviation Commercial mining had started in Webster County The Montgomery Preparatory School was renamed the West Virginia Trades School (now WVU Institute of Technology) Lenna Yost became the president of the West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association Mordecai Johnson became pastor of Charleston’s First Baptist Church
1920
Voters approved the Good Roads amendment Other events that happened on or around 1920 Women received the right to vote State apple-packing plant in Inwood was established Walter Barnes wrote Types of Children's Literature 14 West Virginia cities and towns had professional baseball Braxton's population peaked at 23,973 Alonzo Brooks published West Virginia Trees Izetta Brown was first woman to second a presidential nominee, John W. Davis Chauncey H. Browning graduated from Logan High School City Hospital was moved to Camden mansion on Garfield Avenue in Parkersburg Don Chafin was reelected as sheriff Louis Watson Chappell received his M.A. from University of Virginia The Union Carbide Company bought small refinery near Clendenin Matthew Wesley Clair, Sr. was elected bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church Fayette County population jumped to 60,377 Caroline Gentry released The Key to Power, a movie The Glen Ferris Inn was sold to a subsidiary of Union Carbide Grafton reached its peak population of 8,517 H. B. Moore and his brothers purchased the school and reorganized it as the Greenbrier Military School Harrison County population rose to 74,783 Sid Hatfield assisted a United Mine Workers campaign to organize Tug Fork miners The Clarksburg factory of the Hazel Atlas Glass Company had 15 acres of floor space, employed 1,200 people and shipped all over the world Chemical firms in the Kanawha Valley began expanding rapidly Census reported 6,260 Hungarians in West Virginia Union organizing led to confrontations at Matewan and Blair Mountain La Belle Ironworks merged with Wheeling Iron and Steel and Whitaker-Glessner Company to form Wheeling Steel Corporation Ann Johnson Gates became the first woman member of the West Virginia legislature The legislator salary was set at $500 High school at Walkersville was constructed John L. Lewis became the president of the UMWA Big Bill Lias started a career in the illegal sale and distribution of liquor Minnie Lowther moved to Washington Jacob Marcus attained his rabbinical ordination William Marsh stopped serving as president of the M. Marsh and Son company Marshall became a four-year college The name was changed from Martinsburg West Virginia Evening Journal to Martinsburg Journal McDowell was the third most populous county in the state Willow Glen mansion, known in the Wheeling area as McKinley's Palace, was completed James Miller ran unsuccessfully for secretary of state James Miller left as judge Additional land for Monongahela National Forest was purchased The B&O leased the Morgantown & Kingwood The National Bank of Commerce moved to Charleston and was renamed the State Street Bank The Parkersburg Daily Sentinel ceased publication. Monongahela National Forest was created. Jennings Randolph graduated from Salem Academy. The buildings at Red Sulphur Springs were dismantled and the resort ceased operation. Red Ribble moved to Mount Hope The third courthouse at Ripley was built There were 398 sawmills operating in West Virginia The United Daughters of the Confederacy and Sons of Confederate Veterans decided to erect a memorial to Heyward Shepherd W. H. S White became president of Shepherd College Matthew Holt was the Socialist candidate for governor James Weldon Johnson was responsible for publishing Anne Spencer's " Before the Feast at Shushan" P. D. Strausbaugh received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago Howard Sutherland made a bid for presidency of United States Union Carbide purchased a small refinery at Clendenin C. W. Ferguson III was born Webster County population was 11,000 Weirton population was at 8,000 Welch population was at 3,232 West Liberty's first dorms were built Riley Wilson ran unsuccessfully for Congress Carter G. Woodson left Howard University Carter G. Woodson began Dean of the West Virginia Collegiate Institution (now West Virginia State University)
1929
The State Bridge Commission was created by the legislature Other events that happened on or around 1929 The legislature changed the name of Bluefield Colored Institute to Bluefield Institute (now Bluefield State University) Legislature created the West Virginia Library Commission The legislature added forestry back to the agency, creating the West Virginia Game, Fish and Forestry Commission
1932
Legislature abolished the State Bridge Commission Other events that happened on or around 1932 William "Coin" Harvey was nominated for president by the Liberty Party The construction of the Hawks Nest Tunnel, diverting waters of the New River, showed the dangers of underground work outside the coal industry Ella Holroyd was asked by the president of Concord College to create a music department Frank Hutchison moved to Ohio Howard B. Lee first wrote The Story of the Constitution Vitro Agate began operation Herschel Ogden led the state's tax reform Okey Patteson lost his feet in a hunting accident The Shenandoah National Forest was renamed the George Washington National Forest A group called Save the Children began sending food and other necessities to children of miners in West Virginia Cole Porter performed at Bricktop's club Grace Martin Taylor was the president of the Allied Artists of West Virginia Charles Ward Engineering closed Cassville's name changed to Fort Gay President FDR's New Deal favored the growth of the labor movement Hack Wilson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers
1988
The state's original interstate system was completed Other events that happened on or around 1988 South Charleston Stamping and Manufacturing Company took over the VW plant at Charleston Ordnance Center Stephen Coonts wrote Final Flight Ken Joseph of Ashland, Kentucky bought the Edwards Moonlight to renovate it as a restaurant Daniel Boyd released the movie Chillers The Stonewall Jackson Dam was completed A report stated that 78% of the state was forested Henry Louis Gates wrote The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of Afro-American Literary Criticism Mrs. Ailes retired as assistant editor of the Hampshire Review The first woman, Bessie Horn, was admitted to the He-Man Club The state budget was $3.3 billion William Hoffman wrote By Land By Sea Kaiser Aluminum plant was sold to Ravenswood Aluminum Corporation Girls were again admitted to Linsly school Lee Maynard published the novel Crum Louise McNeill published The Milkweed Ladies Louise McNeill published TheMilkweed Ladies Richard Osborne was promoted to publisher of the Logan Banner West Virginia became a charter member of the multi-state "Lotto America" game Irene McKinney published a collection of poetry, Quick Fire and Slow Fire The section of the Midland Trail from White Sulphur Springs to Charleston was designated as West Virginia's first state scenic highway
2005
Governor Manchin appointed Paul Mattox as the Commissioner of the Division of Highways Other events that happened on or around 2005 The Flying Eagles from Woodrow Wilson of Beckley had won 15 state basketball titles Robert C. Byrd published his autobiography U.S. News & World Report ranked Concord in top 3 comprehensive, bachelor's, public colleges in south Another five sections were opened on the Hatfield-McCoy Trail William Hoffman published Lies BB&T was West Virginia's largest banking institution View Articles by Existing Key Dates or Specify Your Own Date Range |
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