e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia is the comprehensive reference resource for the Mountain State of West Virginia. Based on the best-selling West Virginia Encyclopedia, e-WV offers thousands of articles on West Virginia’s people and places, history, arts, science and culture.
e-WV is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council.
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Hatfield’s death On August 1, 1921, Sid Hatfield and his friend, Ed Chambers, were killed by Baldwin-Felts detectives on the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse. Their deaths sparked outrage among miners and led to the Miners’ March on Logan. Read More »
Musical lineup West Virginia’s banjo tradition may have arrived with black railroad workers in the 19th century. Banjo playing received new attention during the folk revival of the late 1960s and ’70s. Read More »
Wildlife Refuge August 11, 1994, Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge became the 500th refuge in the National Wildlife Refuge system Read More »
Niagara Movement August 15, 1906: The Niagara Movement began a five-day meeting at Storer College in Harpers Ferry Read More »
West Virginia State Fair The fair was founded by cattlemen as the Greenbrier Valley Fair in 1921. This year’s fair features livestock competitions, midway rides, and big-name entertainment. Read More »
Astronomy August 25, 2000: The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope, was dedicated. Read More »
NASA "computer" NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson was born August 26, 1918. Her work was crucial to the Mercury and Apollo space programs, and she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. Read More »
West Virginia Turnpike On August 29, 1952, a groundbreaking ceremony marked the beginning of construction on the West Virginia Turnpike Read More »
This Date in HistoryAugust 18, 1862: Confederate Gen. William W. Loring began planning an attack into the Kanawha region 
On August 11, 1862, the federal government directed that 5,000 soldiers stationed in and near Charleston be brought to Washington, to be used in the more active eastern theater of war. This reduction of federal strength in the Kanawha Valley did not pass unnoticed. On August 18, Confederate Gen. William Wing Loring began planning an attack into the region. Loring sent his cavalry on an extensive sweep through the area north of the Kanawha Valley. |
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