John Jeremiah Jacob

Baptist-affiliated Rector College opened in Western Virginia

The Glen Ferris Inn was first used as an inn

The Ellicott brothers purchased the Jackson ironworks and the Henry Clay Furnace

The first museum at Grave Creek Mound opened

The town of New Cumberland was laid out by John Cuppy

Peter Tarr died

Sistersville was incorporated

James Stephenson was first elected to the House of Delegates

The Tomlinson mansion was built

Artist James E. Taylor was born in Cincinnati

Alfred Beckley was appointed a militia general

The Buffalo Academy was founded

Alexander Campbell elected president of the American Christian Missionary Society

Baltimore investors built Mountain House at Capon Springs

First national convention of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination

General Assembly authorized development of plans for improvements to make Coal River more navigable

John Gallaher was named auditor for the U.S. Treasury by President Zachary Taylor

Guyandotte was officially incorporated

City of New Cumberland received its charter from Virginia

Frank Hereford moved to California where he practiced law

John Jay Jackson Jr. served as prosecuting attorney of Ritchie County

Cummins Jackson died in California

The first Jewish community established a religious congregation in Wheeling

William C. Kelly was born

Construction on the B&O line Kingwood Tunnel began

George Latham moved to Taylor County

The Guyandotte Navigation Company was incorporated by the state of Virginia

The National Hotel was built in Martinsburg

Randolph McCoy married his cousin Sarah McCoy

Alexander Creel bought back land he had previously sold and established the city of St. Marys

Samuel Price was reelected to the House of Delegates.

William Miller died

Lydia Shepherd denied that Betty Zane made the famous gunpowder run to save Fort Henry, claiming it was Molly Scott

Patrick Donahue was born

The Wheeling tannery was founded by John G. Hoffman

Work began on the Weston & Gauley Bridge Turnpike

Wheeling had free public schools

Winfield was laid out

A brick courthouse was completed at Winfield

The Blackwater Chronicle was originally published

Mr. Boyd purchased land at the corner of Race and Spring, Martinsburg

Barrackville bridge built by Lemuel Chenoweth

Covington & Ohio Railroad was charted

Thomas English bought 27 coal leases and incorporated two coal companies

Hamlin was chartered by the General Assembly

Jedediah Hotchkiss married Sara Comfort

Nativists adhering to the Know Nothing party threatened a papal diplomat visiting Wheeling

John Jacob was appointed professor of political economy at the University of Missouri

Joseph Johnson's wife died

Kingwood was chartered by the General Assembly

Hamlin was established by the General Assembly

Two locks and dams were added to the Guyandotte and Ohio River

Logan was chartered as town of Aracoma by the General Assembly

Mining began in Clifton

The St. John's Chapel was built

David Strother was commissioned by Harper and Brothers to write and illustrate article about sporting expedition into the Canaan wilderness

A suspension bridge was constructed on the Weston & Gauley Bridge Turnpike at Sutton

The Fort Hill Farm brick house was built in Mineral County

Virginia's Chapel was built in Cedar Grove

Bishop Richard Whelan bought property for the Wheeling Hospital

Four-story building built as a warehouse for the Crescent Manufacturing Company in Wheeling

Psi Chapter of Beta Theta Pi was established

Archibald Campbell's paper The Intelligencer only paper in Virginia to endorse Abraham Lincoln's presidency

Archibald Campbell's paper The Intelligencer was the only paper in Virginia to endorse Abraham Lincoln's presidency

25 independent coal companies were organized

Bethany College was the only institution of higher education in Western Virginia

Allegheny College opened in Blue Sulphur Springs

Stephen Elkins graduated from University of Missouri

Daniel Farnsworth was elected to abortive term in House of Delegates of General Assembly

Fayette County population at 5,997

Another German newspaper was established in Wheeling

John Hale became the owner of a large salt works

Hancock County reported only 2 slaves in population of 4,445

First railroad in Hancock County received its charter

Nancy Hart and family moved to Roane County

Morris Harvey left his service as Fayette County sheriff

The Ices Ferry Ironworks closed due to lack of adequate transportation and the depletion of iron ore and fuel resources

Reported 28 charcoal iron furnaces had been constructed in West Virginia

Reported four Wheeling ironworks produced cut nails

Four short stone piers were placed under Jefferson Rock to stabilize it

Joseph Johnson served as a member of the electoral college

George Latham opened his practice in Grafton

McDowell County had a population of 1,533

The Monongalia Academy, Morgantown Female Academy and Woodburn Female Seminary educated white students

Summersville was incorporated

The Rathbone Well, West Virginia's first major oil well, was drilled.

Reported 174 baptisms at St. John's Chapel, Monroe County

Rezin Davis Shepherd built a building for Shepherdstown's use

Traveller took top prizes at the Lewisburg fair

Census counted 1,428 residents in Tucker County

Virginia chartered six new western turnpikes

Webster County population was 1,555

The first permanent settler of Webster Springs was Polly Arthur

Wheeling had 14,083 people

Samuel D. Karnes leased an acre from the Rathbones

Virginia legislature repealed laws consenting to the admission of Berkeley and Jefferson counties to West Virginia

Storer College in Harpers Ferry, begun by the Freewill Baptist Church, to educate black teachers

Ratification of 13th Amendment by West Virginia

John Appleton moved to Kanawha County

13 Banks had become national banks

The Baptist General Association of West Virginia (West Virginia Baptist Convention) formed

Rosser's Raid occurred on Beverly

Belle Boyd wrote Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison in London

Waitman T. Willey senate term as first West Virginia senator ended

Provision included in Constitution of 1851 calling for the General Assembly to reapportion representation in both houses

John Dickinson came to Kanawha County

Anne Dudley arrived in West Virginia to teach freed blacks

Fairmont State University was formed as West Virginia's first private normal school

Aretas Fleming married Carrie M. Watson

Joseph Diss Debar appointed an agent in southern Germany

Nathan Goff married Laura E. Despard

Grafton National Cemetery was established for Civil War dead

The Easton Roller Mill replaced overshot water wheel

Reckart's Mill was built in Preston county

Visitor stated about Harpers Ferry, "all about the town are rubbish, filth, and stench."

Chester Hubbard began serving in the U.S. House of Representatives

George Latham served as congressman for the Second District of West Virginia

Joseph Lightburn returned to duty after being wounded in Sherman's advance on Atlanta

The Logan Wildcats were active in the Shenandoah Valley campaign

The city of Boone Court House changed its name to Madison

Booker T. Washington arrived in Malden with his family to work in the salt industry and local coal mines

Two additional dams were built on the Monongahela River

The army recruiting and training center at Camp Carlisle ceased

The Campbell's Creek Coal Company began shipping coal down the Kanawha River from Port Amherst

Samuel Price was appointed circuit judge in Lewisburg but declined to take office

A narrow-gauge railroad was built to Ritchie Mines

Ritchie Mines was bought

Union authorities moved Jefferson County seat from Charles Town to Shepherdstown

The Wheeling interurban system began operation

The National Banking Act was amended to allow state banks to become national banks

Jim Vance was suspected in the murder of Harmon McCoy

The formal organizing of Webster County took place

The state superintendent called a state convention of teachers to meet in Fairmont, founding the West Virginia Education Association

W. H. H. Flick reelected to House of Delegates

Former Confederates and sympathizers elected a Democratic-Conservative legislature and governor

John Jay Jackson Jr. appointed federal commissioners to supervise election in West Virginia opening the vote to ex-Confederates

Romeo Freer elected prosecuting attorney for Kanawha County

Legislature passed West Virginia's first general banking law

The present building of Malden's African Zion Baptist Church began after contributions of land, money and materials by Gen. Lewis Ruffner

West Virginia's new constitution continued the education of black children in segregation

Blacks began forming groups in response to inequality.

Commissioners in McDowell County ordered a new courthouse be constructed out of logs

Joseph Beury and wife moved to New River

Alexander Boteler ran unsuccessfully for Congress

Brickyard Bend (New Cumberland) shipped 11 million bricks via Ohio River

West Virginia's new constitution abandons the township system and reverts back to the Virginia county government system

Democrats gained political supremacy after voting restrictions on former Confederates ceased

Joseph Diss Debar supported the Liberal Republicans to come to terms with the ex-Confederates

Anne Dudley toured New England with Harpers Ferry Singers to raise funds for Myrtle Hall

New constitution expanded support of public education

New constitution changed elections to two-year cycle

Secretary of State was made an appointed office

Provisions of the Flick Amendment was added to the state constitution

John P. Hale purchased Fort Lee's original lot and blockhouse in Charleston

Glenville State College began as branch of the State Normal School

Noah Speer started the Hancock Works

The second courthouse was completed in Glenville

Vote by citizens brought the Grant County seat permanently to Petersburg

John Hale built the Hale House hotel in Charleston

West Virginia Legislature grew to 89 persons

Weston's first public school building was erected

The McDowell County seat was located at Peeryville (now English)

The town of Milton was laid out

The hamlet of Mud in Lincoln County, an unincorporated community, said to have been founded

Construction began on more refineries in Parkersburg

Normal schools were established in Glenville, Athens, and Shepherdstown

Pence Springs was developed as a resort.

In Charleston, the Presbyterian Church (Southern) and the Kanawha Presbyterian Church (Northern) split.

Voters in Greenbrier Country elected Samuel Price as their representative to the West Virginia constitutional convention.

Legislature designated Shepherd as one of the state's normal schools

Robert Simmons was a delegate to the Republican national convention

The cave at Sinks of Gandy was described by David Hunter Strother

The Universalist Meeting House at Fork Ridge in Marshall County erected an additional larger building

Charles Ward began operating his own pipe and fittings business

The Western Maryland Railway extended to Hagerstown

I.C. White earned an undergraduate degree at Agricultural College of West Virginia (WVU)

Waitman Willey spoke eloquently for suffrage for African-Americans

The name of the Winchester Female Institute was changed to Broaddus Female College (now part of Alderson Broaddus University)

Johnson Camden and his partners quietly sold to Rockefeller's Standard Oil

Marmaduke Dent was admitted to the bar

Stephen Elkins married Hallie Davis Elkins

Aretas Fleming left the House of Delegates

Remains from the Foreman party were transferred to Mount Roase Cemetery

Oil was first struck in Glenville

The Grange had 20,000 lodges and 800,000 members in the country

The Lewisburg Academy reopened after closing during the Civil War

Courthouse in Hamlin was constructed

The Pennsboro & Harrisville Railroad was built

The House of Delegates impeached Treasurer John Burdett

The American Ancient Order of Hibernians started a division in Wheeling

Harriet Jones graduated from the Women's Medical College of Baltimore

Other mills were destroyed by floods on the Jug of the Middle Island Creek

James Kay married Julia Ballintyne

Wheeling became known as the Nail City because of La Belle Ironworks

The legislature was required to met biennially

President Alexander Martin left WVU

A bill providing for better ventilation in the mines had been first introduced in legislature

The Morrow family moved to Pittsburgh

Johnson Newlon Camden joined John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust

The Sentinel was founded as the Parkersburg Weekly Sentinel by Robert Hornor.

Reported 14 baptisms at St. John's Chapel

The first band sawmill began operation in West Virginia

Nathan Scott moved to Wheeling

Alexander Wade was elected Monongalia County school superintendent

Booker T. Washington graduated from Hampton Institute

Cassville was chartered

Ernest T. Weir was born

I.C. White earned a masters degree at WVU

Woodlawn Cemetery began as a private family burial ground

Booker T. Washington married his first wife, Fannie Smith, at the African Zion Baptist Church

West Virginia contracted with Storer College in educating African-American teachers

Congress gave $5,000 to Smithsonian to conduct excavations relating to prehistoric Mound Builders

George Atkinson wrote After the Moonshiners

West Virginia's first general banking law repealed

Legislature elected Johnson N. Camden to the U.S. Senate

Nathan Goff Jr. served as secretary of navy under President Hayes

The West Virginia Board of Health was established

West Virginia Board of Health was established

George Imboden became the president of the Fayette County Commission

Jacob Beeson Jackson began service as governor

The lock and dam on the Elk River was removed

Joseph Long moved to Wheeling

William MacCorkle married Belle Goshorn

Henry Mathews returned to Lewisburg

C.F. Millspaugh received a medical degree from the New York Homeopathic Medical College

The Norfolk & Western Railway was a result of a merger between the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad and Shenandoah Valley Railroad

Daniel Purinton became vice-president and acting president of West Virginia University.

William Rosecrans served in Congress from California

Johann Stifel died

Frederick Douglass spoke on the campus of Storer College

The current Monroe County courthouse was built in Union

Alexander Wade published A Graduating System for Country Schools

West Union was incorporated

The first West Virginia State Fair was held at Wheeling Island

Albert White moved to Parkersburg

Emanuel Wilson finished his service in the House of Delegates

Thomas Davis moved with his family to Huntington

Waitman Barbe wrote "The Song of the Centuries," his first important poem

Arthur Boreman was elected to a circuit judgeship again

Bramwell was incorporated as a town

Sheltering Arms Hospital opened

Kanawha Gazette began regular daily publication

Danske Dandridge wrote Joy and Other Poems

Henry Gassaway Davis supported Benjamin Harrison for president

Fayette County became West Virginia leading coal producing county

Salem College was founded

Devil Anse Hatfield moved his family from Tug Valley to Main Island Creek

Hamilton Hatter received a bachelor's degree from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine

Frank Hereford served as presidential elector

The town of Hurricane was incorporated

Harriet Jones became assistant superintendent of the state hospital in Weston

Kanawha County became the state's second largest coal producer

The Logan Banner was founded by Henry Clay Ragland

Roger Saad became the first Lebanese immigrant to settle in Wheeling

The Martinsburg & Potomac railroad was extended to Frederick County, Virginia

The Kanawha & Ohio Railway completed a line from Charleston to Point Pleasant

The Elkhorn Tunnel through Flat Top Mountain was completed

Oakhurst Links was the home of the first regularly played golf tournament in the U.S.

The Fetterman Mill was destroyed by a flood.

Christopher Payne became first African American elected to represent West Virginia at the Republican national convention.

Graham Hamrick preserved two female corpses as Phillipi mummies

Livia Poffenbarger demanded the right to speak in support of a candidate at the state Democratic convention.

Electricity generate from natural gas brought streetlights to Parkersburg

Nathan Scott became a member of the Republican National Committee

Senate president Robert Carr tried to assert the right to become governor after a disputed election

Thomas J. Reynolds was born at Point Pleasant

Callie Leach French became the first woman to obtain a pilot's license

The Monongahela River flooded

William Luke founded the Piedmont Pulp & Paper Company, later Westvaco

H. C. Ogden came to Wheeling as a reporter for the Wheeling News

H.C. Ogden came to Wheeling as a reporter for the News

Albert White served as president of the National Editorial Association

Mountain State Business College was established

William H. Davis was nominated as an independent candidate for governor