Search Results

• Clarksburg Education Convention

  … did not provide for free schools, and the mother state was slow to address the problem. In 1829, the General Assembly authorized each county to establish district school systems and offered limited state aid for the building of schoolhouses. Monroe County …

• Tom Kromer

  Novelist and short story writer Thomas Michael Kromer (October 20, 1906-January 10, 1969) was born in Huntington to Grace Thornburg and Czech immigrant Albert Kromer, a coal miner and glass worker. The Kromers also lived at times in Fairmont, Kingwood, …

• Williams River

  … more settled parts of Pocahontas County. One of the families, the Stultings, moved to Hillsboro, where their most noted descendant, author "Pearl S. Buck":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/676, was born in 1892. The Hammons family settled on …

• Williamstown

  … a major Ohio River crossing point. One of Western Virginia’s important early roads terminated there, and in 1800 Isaac Williams was authorized to operate a ferry to carry traffic to the Ohio shore. Early ferry flats and canoes were succeeded by a steam …

• Emanuel Willis Wilson

  … "Aretas Brooks Fleming":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2193 was resolved in Fleming’s favor. After leaving office Wilson returned to the practice of law and authored a new election law in 1891. He was buried in Charleston.

• George Clendenin

  … known as "Fort Lee":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2048. Through Clendenin’s influence the Virginia Assembly authorized the formation of "Kanawha County":https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1103 from parts of Greenbrier and …

• Riley Wilson

  Born at Upper Falls in "Kanawha County":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1103, William Edwin ‘‘Riley’’ Wilson (November 10, 1882-October 6, 1952) became West Virginia’s best-known raconteur. He earned a law degree from Washington and Lee …

• Alexander Scott Withers

  Historian Alexander Scott Withers (October 12, 1792-January 23, 1865) was born at Green Meadows, Fauquier County, Virginia. He attended Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) and graduated from the law department of William and Mary …

• WJLS

  … Joe L. Smith Jr., son of Congressman Joe L. Smith, applied for a broadcast license in 1938. Several months later, Smith received his authorization and WJLS (for the initials of J. L. Smith) went on the air in the spring of 1939. The younger Smith served as …

• Women’s Lives

  … female seminaries and institutes that first developed during the 1830s in Western Virginia. In 1867, the West Virginia legislature authorized the establishment of normal schools to train teachers, including a school for African-Americans at Harpers Ferry. …

• Howard B. Lee

  Attorney General Howard Burton Lee (October 27, 1879-May 24, 1985) was born in Wirt County. Graduating from "Marshall College":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1529 (now University) in 1905, he became a teacher in Putnam County before …

• Maryat Lee

  Playwright Maryat Lee (May 26, 1923-September 18, 1989) was born Mary Attaway Lee in Covington, Kentucky. Lee graduated from Wellesley College in 1945 in religious studies, then studied at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary. In 1951, …

• Legislature

  … call extraordinary sessions, and only items listed in the chief executive’s proclamation may be considered. The legislature also has the authority to call itself into special session by a three-fifths petition, but since the agenda would be plenary or open …

• William Robinson Leigh

  … of Natural History. He subsequently organized exhibits and painted backdrops for the Museum’s African Hall. Leigh was also an author of short stories. Several months before his death, he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Design.

• Lewis and Clark Expedition

  … river. When he reached the army outposts on the lower Ohio (beyond the border of present West Virginia), Captain Lewis was authorized to enlist 12 men to join the expedition. Among them was Sergeant "Patrick Gass":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/ …

• Coal Mine Health and Safety Legislation

  … objections of coal operators, who contended that stricter regulations would make the industry uncompetitive, Congress empowered federal authorities to close unsafe mines. Inspection forces were beefed up and required to make unannounced inspections. Miners …

• WVU Extension Service

  … in part through the proceeds from the sale of public lands owned by the federal government. The land-grant institutions, first authorized by the 1862 Morrill Act, must meet certain service requirements. Since the 1914 Smith-Lever Act, these requirements …

• John L. Lewis

  … being neglected by the AFL. During World War II, Lewis incurred the enmity of President Roosevelt and many Americans by authorizing work stoppages designed to win benefits for miners. Following the war, he secured the first health and retirement plan …

• Virgil A. Lewis

  Historian Virgil Anson Lewis (July 6, 1848-December 5, 1912) was born in "Mason County":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1563, the son of George W. and Lucie Edwards Lewis. Though he would be remembered for his work in education and …

• Coal River Navigation Company

  … oily mineral could be refined into coal oil, which was used for illumination. In 1849, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the development of plans for slackwater improvements to make the "Coal River":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/ …

• ‘‘Life in the Iron Mills’’

  ‘‘Life in the Iron Mills’’ is a classic short story set in the factory world of 19th-century "Wheeling":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1168. The first published work of "Rebecca Harding Davis":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/ …

• Chuck Yeager

  … statue was unveiled, and he thrilled the town with a flyover and slow roll in an F-4 Phantom. In 2004, Congress voted to authorize the president to promote Yeager to the rank of major general. In 2005, President George W. Bush granted the promotion of both …

• Betty Zane

  … back to the fort. Betty Zane married and moved to Martins Ferry, Ohio, where she died, probably in 1823. Later the author Zane Grey, a collateral descendant, wrote the 1903 novel _Betty Zane_ based on the incident and related events. Some historians …

• Mothman

  Mothman is one of several legendary West Virginia monsters, along with "Bat Boy":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/401 and the "Flatwoods Monster":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2192. Persistent sightings began in November …

• Locks and Dams

  … /articles/484 marks the border between West Virginia and Kentucky from Fort Gay to the Ohio River. In 1874, the U.S. Congress authorized a survey of the Big Sandy, and its Tug and Levisa forks to determine the feasibility of building locks and dams. The …