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• Slavery On February 3, 1865, Governor Arthur I. Boreman signed a bill banning slavery in West Virginia, a little more than 19 months after the state's founding. Read More »

• Ice Mountain During the winter, water freezes to such an extent in the boulders and rock debris on Ice Mountain in Hampshire County that the ice is still present as late in the year as September. Read More »

• Anne Spencer Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer was born on February 6, 1882, in Virginia. In 1886, she and her mother moved to Bramwell, Mercer County, where she spent most of her childhood and adolescent years. Two of her poems were included in the Library of America’s anthology of 20th Century American poetry. Read More »

• West Virginia University On February 7, 1867, the West Virginia Legislature founded the Agricultural College of West Virginia, now West Virginia University. Read More »

• Tygart Valley Homesteads On February 11, 1935, the first houses in the Tygart Valley Homesteads were ready for occupancy. It was one of three projects in West Virginia intended to provide a new start for unemployed farmers, miners, and timber workers. Read More »

• Rocket man On February 13, 1923, Chuck Yeager was born at Myra, Lincoln County. In 1947, he became the first person to break the sound barrier by flying a Bell X-1 rocket airplane 700 miles per hour Read More »

• "Uncle Homer" Walker John Homer "Uncle Homer" Walker was born February 15, 1898, in Mercer County. He was among the last in a long tradition of Black Appalachian banjo players. Read More »

• Winter Weather The coldest day on record in West Virginia was December 30, 1917. The thermometer dropped to 37 degrees below zero at Lewisburg. Read More »