Charleston

Francis Asbury volunteered to come to America

Margaret Agnew Blennerhassett was born in England

Charles Clendenin settled in the Greenbrier Valley

George Clendenin's family settled in the Greenbrier Valley

Harmon Greathouse arrived in present Hancock County

Jesse Hughes married Grace Tanner

William Crawford made a survey for Washington in the Jackson County area

Simon Kenton began hunting and trapping in the Kanawha Valley

St. George's Chapel was constructed in Jefferson County

Joseph, Samuel, and James Tomlinson established the first settlement at what is now Moundsville

Burning Springs were included in a survey for Gens. George Washington and Andrew Lewis

Forks of Cheat Baptist Church organized at Stewartstown

First reference to current name of Droop Mountain

Indians burned down Fort Blair at Point Pleasant

Chief Cornstalk and other Ohio chiefs signed the Treaty of Pittsburgh

First detailed description of Grave Creek Mound by Nicholas Cresswell

The Morris family had settled and established a boat yard on the Kanawha River

William Morris claimed lands in Nicholas County

Gen. Charles Lee purchased the original log house of Prato Rio.

The Mequashake Shawnees led by Cornstalk adopted neutrality during the American Revolution

Thomas Walker served in the House of Burgesses

Col. George Clendenin was ordered to construct a military outpost in Lewisburg

Last time boundaries of Augusta County changed

Daniel Boone represented Kanawha County in General Assembly

General Arthur St. Clair led a disastrous foray into the Ohio country

The Old State Road was improved to the head of navigable water on the Kanawha River

Indian Raids in Monongalia County finally ended

Henry Morris moved to Nicholas County and built a cabin

The Shawnees defeated armies sent against their villages

Mad Anthony Wayne represented Georgia in the House of Representatives

Charles Prather petitioned Ohio County to incorporate Charlestown, now Wellsburg

The Whiskey Rebellion began

General Assembly designated 40-acres of George Clendenin's land, as Charlestown, later renamed Charleston

Franklin was officially established by the General Assembly

The town of Point Pleasant was chartered by the General Assembly

Jesse Bennet, wife, and daughter moved to Mason County

Buffington purchased the island, now Buffington Island

Book issued in Shepherdstown by P. Rootes and C. Blagrove

William Clendenin moved his family to Mason County

George Clendenin died in Marietta, Ohio

Salt furnaces in Kanawha County began

Jesse Bennet and family moved to Point Pleasant

Patrick Gass family located in Brooke County

The General Assembly created Brooke County from northern Ohio County

William Parson and Samuel Tanner settled in the Jackson County area

John J. Allen was born

Elisha Brooks built his salt furnace on land from Joseph Ruffner

Simon Kenton lost his wife in a fire

The Impartial Observer was founded in Shepherdstown

Pleasants County saw its first permanent settlers.

Anne Newport married William Royall

Lewis Ruffner was born

Walter Newman built a tavern at Point Pleasant

The William Little family settled Littleton

Wheeling became the county seat of Ohio County

Oceana was established

Blakeley was constructed by John A. Washington II

Bushrod Corbin Washington built Claymont Court

Reported 53 slaves lived and worked at Green Bottom

Population of Greenbrier County was 7,340 inhabitants

John H. Hall began working on interchangeable parts for breechloading rifle at Hall's Rifle Works

Virginia authorized the James River Company to undertake canal project

Steamboats became reliable enough to negotiate the shoals in the Kanawha

Simon Kenton was imprisoned for bad debts in Kentucky

The population of Mason County was 4,868

The Union Academy of Monroe County was established to teach a classical education

The Western Star began in Weston

The Kanawha Spectator was founded in Charleston

Wilson Cary Nicholas died

The North House was built by John A. North in Lewisburg

Settlement in Oak Hill began

A stone bathing house was built at Salt Sulphur Springs

The Shannondale Springs resort opened

Summersville was established

A brick courthouse for Monroe County was built

Lemuel Chenoweth had finished many bridges on Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike

Wills De Hass transferred the Grave Creek tablet and skull to the Smithsonian

Martin Delany finished medical school at Harvard Medical College

Fugitive Slave Act was passed

Western Virginia had 1,300 primary schools

Map showed Davidson's Ferry near mouth of Elk River and Goshorn's Ferry crossing the Kanawha River

The first courthouse was completed in Glenville

The First Baptist Church was organized in Greenville

Census reported three slaves in Hancock County

Nancy Hart and family were living in Boone County

The Virginia Constitutional Convention made changes that addressed the political sources of western discontent

Alexander Campbell supported the Fugitive Slave Law but felt runaway slaves should be provided food, shelter and clothing

The Paw Paw Tunnel opened on the C&O Canal

Reported number of slaves in Jefferson County was 3,960, 27% of the population

Mother Jones and family arrived in Boston

The new edition of A History of the Valley of Virginia was published

Malden had several hotels, a bank and saloons

Trustees offered Marshall Univ. to the Western Virginia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South

A reported 21 weeklies and 3 dailies were published in English or German in West Virginia

The C&O Canal was built to Cumberland

There were 200 residents at Federal Hill

Henry Ruffner stopped participating in the emancipation movement in Louisville

The last bridges were made on the Staunton Turnpike

George Summers was a member of the Constitutional Convention

A large seam of bituminous coal was found on Paint Creek

Parts of Fayette County were taken to create Raleigh County

The Beall-Air Mansion was built by Lewis William Washington

Wheeling had a hospital

Waitman Willey was a delegate to the VirginiaConstitutional Convention

West Virginia had 20,527 slaves

Kanawha Valley was hit by its worst flood

Convention changed the name to West Virginia and added five counties

Two large rooms on the second floor of the Atheneum Prison were rented by the government for use as winter quarters for secessionist prisoners held at Camp Carlile on Wheeling Island

There were six Baptists associations in West Virginia with almost 7,000 members

Jacob Blair was an ardent Unionist when the Civil War broke out

Navigational improvements made to the Coal River in the late 1850s were largely lost in the great flood

Some of first troop movements of the Civil War originated at Camp Carlile

Presidency Lincoln appointed Archibald Campbell postmaster of the Wheeling Post Office

Ceredo became Union stronghold

Nearly all parts of the present state were fully occupied by the filling out of the county settlement pattern

Martin Delany published Blake: or, The Huts of America

Bethany's Delta Tau Delta founding members graduated or left for service

William Dickinson Jr. came to Kanawha

John Echols was commissioned lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army

Daniel Farnsworth served in Second Wheeling Convention to create the Reorganized Government of Virginia

Charles Faulkner delivered his last report to Secretary of State William Seward

Granville Davisson Hall returned to record the proceedings of the Wheeling Convention

Hancock County voters rejected the Virginia secession ordinance

Harpers Ferry Armory and Arsenal was destroyed

Nancy Hart was captured as a rebel spy in Braxton County

Devil Anse Hatfield married Levicy Chafin

John Imboden commanded a light battery at the initial capture of Harpers Ferry

William Thomas Bland was born

John Jay Jackson Jr. took a strong stand for the Union in the decision over secession

Mudwall Jackson engaged the Wood County militia colonel in a fist-fight at Parkersburg's Jail House Riots

Stonewall Jackson sided with Virginia in secession

Job's temple was constructed

The Civil War came to Keyser with the building of Fort Fuller

George Latham's Company B. 2nd Virginia Infantry was ordered to stay in Grafton to vote against Virginia's Ordinance of Secession before leaving for battle

Joseph Lightburn went to Wheeling

A flood destroyed the locks and dams on the Guyandotte River

Daniel Lucas served Confederate Gen. Henry A Wise in the Kanawha Valley campaign

John McCausland organized and took command of the 36th Virginia when Virginia seceded

A group of Moccasin Rangers captured Ripley and looted the town

The Union Academy was closed

Allen Taylor Caperton first served as senator to the Confederate States of America

Anna Jarvis' home was headquarters for Union Gen. George B. McClellan

The first refinery was built in Parkersburg

Camp Carlisle became a major army recruiting and training center

Pocahontas County suddenly became part of the front line of the Civil War

Z. D. Ramsdell became captain of the 5th Virginia Regiment.

Randolph County voted in favor of secession when Virginia left the Union

Johnson Newlon Camden and John Jay Jackson Sr. brought in "The Eternal Center" well

Jesse Reno was called east to command a brigade.

William Starke Rosecrans drove Confederate forces from West Virginia

William Stevenson represented Wood County at the first constitutional convention

Peter Van Winkle served in the Second Wheeling Convention

Peter Van Winkle was a member of the Governor's Council of the Reorganized Government of Virginia

Peter Van Winkle represented Wood County in West Virginia's Constitutional Convention

James O. Watson served as a delegate to the Second Wheeling Convention

The constitutional convention for West Virginia met at the Wheeling Custom House.

Voters west of the Allegheny Mountains rejected Virginia's secession from the U.S.

Alexander Withers moved to Parkersburg

Federal forces were stationed in Wood County

An attempt was made by the Union forces to halt the rout at Charleston

Last real attempt by Confederates to secure Charleston

Confederate artillery and infantry under General Loring drove Union troops from Charleston

Confederate forces won temporary control of the Kanawha Valley forcing Joseph Lightburn's army out

State officials boarded the Mountain Boy to move capital from Wheeling to Charleston

The Mountain Boy steamboat was destroyed by river ice at Cincinnati

Joseph Beury shipped the first coal from the New River Coalfield

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway arrived on south side of Kanawha River

Charles B. Webb started the weekly Kanawha Chronicle

C&O forced into default from national depression

The legislative act to esbablish a "branch state normal school" in the Mercer County community of Concord was amended and stipulated that the school would be transferred to Princeton if arrangements for land and a building were not completed within one year

William Dawson moved to Kingwood

Marmaduke Dent received M.A. from WVU

Three acres of property was donated to the state and ready for use in the fall by Glenville State College

East Liverpool, Ohio, raised $5,000 for the Laughlins to start a pottery to make white ware

The House of Delegates had 65 delegates

Legislature exempted certain businesses from taxes because of the economic panic

German Jews arrived in Charleston and formed a congregation

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

Kanawha Valley Bank was the only bank in Charleston to survive the financial panic

The first West Virginia atlas appeared

The eastern and western section of the C&O main line were joined near Hawks Nest

A city waterworks was established in Martinsburg

Natural gas was put in many of downtown buildings in Martinsburg

The Martinsburg & Potomac railroad came to Martinsburg from Williamsport, MD

Sandy Mason was born in Charleston

The C&O Railroad was completed opening the New River Gorge to the coal and timber industry

The Pardee & Curtin Lumber Company was formed.

Daniel Purinton received a B.A. degree from WVU

An explosion caused the Ritchie Mines to be closed

The C&O was completed at Thurmond

William Thurmond was commissioned to survey land on the north side of New River

Isaiah Welch came to McDowell County to evaluate natural resources

Isaiah Welch surveyed the mineral reserves of the Pocahontas No. 3 coal seam

The Woodburn Seminary at WVU burned

The Western Maryland Railway extended to the C&O Canal

Separate rooms for black patients were added at Weston State Hospital

Archibald Campbell repurchased the Wheeling Intelligencer

Lilly Freer died in Nicaragua

Date of the first official burial at Spring Hill

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

B&O operated 1,700 miles of railroad

Joseph Beury and others opened Mill Creek Coal & Coke, first mine in Mercer County

Arthur Boreman organized a relief effort to assist victims of Ohio River flood

Belle Boyd divorced Swainston

W.E.R. Byrne was admitted to the bar

Moses W. Donnally bought the Chronicle

Charleston National Bank founded as a national bank

Sydenham Herford died

William and Tom Anderson stopped running the Easton Roller Mill

William Edwards published another volume in his three-volume work on butterflies, The Butterflies of North America

Stephen Elkins was elected executive chairman of the National Republican Committee

Glenville High School moved into a house

The Hampshire Review was started by C.F. Poland

The American Ancient Order of Hibernians had groups in Rowlesburg, Clarksburg, Parkersburg, Coal Valley and Charleston

The Quinnimont iron furnace was closed

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

James Kay returned to West Virginia

The Lincoln County Feud began when Paris Brumfield killed Boney Lucas

The first multistate gazetteer including West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware appeared

Hu Maxwell wrote a history of Tucker County

Mennonites erected their first meetinghouse in West Virginia in Pendleton County

James Miller left as superintendent of Summers County schools

James Miller became Summer County prosecuting attorney

C. F. Millspaugh published the first section of American Medicinal Plants

New Cumberland became the permanent county seat of Hancock County

Earl Oglebay started working in a Cleveland iron ore firm

Large flood occurred on the Ohio

Democrat Emanuel Willis Wilson mounted a populist campaign that challenged monopolies and railroads

Samuel and Violet Bryant came to America from England

The Ohio River Railway was built through Sistersville

The first golf club in America was organized at Oakhurst at White Sulphur Springs

Telephone switchboards were installed at Huntington

Telephone switchboards were installed at Moundsville

The West Virginia Central & Pittsburg was extended to Tucker County

The Ohio River Railroad reached Vienna

The first West Virginia Historical Society ceased

I.C. White began working for the U.S. Geological Survey

Emanuel Willis Wilson succeeded into the governorship

The Ohio River Railroad was completed

The Ohio River flooded at Wheeling

Parents of Walter Aegerter, Gottfried and Marianna Dubach Aegerter, moved to Helvetia

Sumner School in Parkersburg added high school courses to its curriculum for black students.

Annie Bartlett married Leonidas Bartlett

Belle Boyd married her third husband Nathaniel High

Flat Top Coal Company established its headquarters in Bramwell

The state song "The West Virginia Hills" written by Ellen Ruddell was put to music by Henry Everett Engle

The Hale House burned down in Charleston

The move of the capital to Charleston occurred

Jacob Beeson Jackson left office as governor of West Virginia

Frances Benjamin Johnston ended her studies in Paris at the Academie Julian

One of the state's earliest telephone systems was installed in Weston

John H. Lilly planted two or three oak trees that are still standing today

John McGraw left as Taylor County prosecuting attorney

The Berkeley Castle was built as a summer cottage

The former state capital was used for the Ohio County Courthouse

Ohio Valley Trades and Labor Assembly moved its offices to Wheeling

Christopher Payne established the West Virginia Enterprise.

A new owner resumed mining at Ritchie Mines

The Ruffner Hotel was built in Charleston

The "West Virginia Mission" was organized under the Ohio conference

Morris Shawkey entered business college

I.C. White wrote an article in Science asserting his rediscovery of the anticlinal theory in the location of oil and gas

Woodlawn was incorporated as a public cemetery

State capitol destroyed by fire

WCHS of Charleston went on the air as WOBU with 50 watts

The capitol was dedicated on West Virginia Day

Capitol completed and dedicated on West Virginia day

The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert as the Charleston Civic Orchestra

Eleanor Roosevelt stayed at the Aracoma Hotel in Logan

Morgantown Municipal Airport opened

Small airplane took off from Latrobe and landed in Morgantown in rural airmail experiment

Annie Bartlett's works were exhibited at the New York World's Fair

Tournament was moved to Mountaineer Field House in Morgantown

Ordnance Center reopened in South Charleston

Oliver Chitwood published John Tyler, Champion of the Old South

Elsie Clapp wrote Community Schools in Action

John Harrington Cox published more folk songs, Traditional Ballads Mainly from West Virginia and Folk-Songs Mainly from West Virginia

Gov. Clarence Meadows dedicated Charleston's Kanawha Airport (now Yeager Airport)

The baseball field Watt Powell Park opened in Charleston

Watt Powell Park had about 8,000 people on opening night

Citizens in Grafton formed the International Mother's Day Shrine Commission.

C&O and B&O merger continues

John Hodel became editor of the Beckley Register

Clair Bee wrote Comeback Cagers, the last of the Chip Hilton series

Betsy Byars published her first book, Clementine

Fannie Cobb Carter returned to Charleston

West Virginia purchased 11 miles of logging railroad and established Cass Scenic Railroad State Park

Franklin Cleckley earned B.A. from Anderson College

James Dent began writing the Charleston Gazette's "Gazetteer" column

Duncan Yo-Yo Company hit its peak sales with 18 million yo-yos

The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation was organized

Construction of the government bunker and the simultaneous addition of a new hotel wing were completed at the Greenbrier

Davis Grubb wrote Voices of Glory

Hawkshaw Hawkins returned to King Records and recorded "Lonesome 7-7203"

The state purchased and planned restoration of the former logging town of Cass

Joseph Hodges succeeded John Swint as the fifth bishop of the diocese of Wheeling

William Hoffman wrote A Place For My Head

Interwoven Mills ownership changed

Kaymoor mine closed

The original Kingwood Tunnel was closed and sealed

John Knowles wrote Morning in Antibes

William Marland took a job as a Chicago taxi driver to "compose his character"

A new dormitory was constructed at Marshall University

West Virginia Archeological Society members Delf Norona, Oscar Mairs and Bob White described the May Moore Mound as the third largest in West Virginia

J. Kemp McLaughlin was appointed assistant adjutant general with promotion to brigadier general

J. Kemp McLaughlin served as Kanawha County commissioner

Mildred Mitchell-Bateman was appointed the director of the Department of Mental Health by Governor Barron

Plum Orchard Lake was constructed

Donald Rasmussen came to West Virginia as associate chief of internal medicine at Miners Memorial Hospital in Beckley

Nat Reese was hired as a photographic silk-screen printer at Rockwell International's aviation plant in Princeton

Eleanor Roosevelt stopped serving as U.S. representative to the United Nations

The C. Z. Ruth Memorial Annex at St. Joseph's Hospital in Parkersburg was built to accommodate major services

The Sheriff's Succession Amendment was first rejected by legislation

WVU Rod Thorn became All-American in basketball

Catholic population in West Virginia was 110,000

There were 100 Catholic churches, a new cathedral five hospitals 43 elementary and secondary schools, one college and a preparatory seminary in West Virginia

Cyrus Vance became secretary of the army

Jerry West set the record for guards with 63 points in one game

Dr. Herbert Warden performed the first open-heart surgery in West Virginia

A fire ended racing at Wheeling Downs

Wheeling College (now Wheeling University) received national accreditation

Chuck Yeager became commander of the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base

Billy Cox moved to Nashville and formed the King Kasuals with Jimi Hendrix

Charleston Area Medical Center created

Governor Moore dedicated the Culture Center

Ceredo had 1,675 residents

Clay Foundation assets at $67 million

Reported 44 chapters of the state society of the Daughters of the American Revolution

Northern Panhandle and southeastern part of the state had highest median ages

Eastern Panhandle and southwestern part of the state had lowest median ages

Doddridge population reached 7,403

Dunbar had a population of 8,154

Charleston ranked 167th out of 318 Metropolitan Statistical Areas

West Virginia's official poverty rate sat at 17.9%

Elizabeth's population was 994

Fairmont had population of 19,097

People 65+ represented 15.3% of population in West Virginia

Follansbee's population reported at 3,115

Forestlands of West Virginia reported at 78% of states' area

Franklin population reported at 797

Grafton population stood at 2,489

Population of Grant County rose to 11,299

Greenbrier County had a population of 34,453 people

Reported population of 32,667 in Hancock County

Hardy County reported a population of 12,669

Harpers Ferry was reported with a population of 307

Harrisville held a population of 1,842

The U.S. Census reported the state's population at 1,808,350

The population of Hurricane was reported at 5,222

Census reported 3,606 Indians living in West Virginia

Jackson County's population was 28,000

Ripley's population stood at 3,263

Ravenswood's population stood at 4,301

Kanawha County population was the largest in the state at 200,073

Kenova population remained the largest in Wayne County at 3,485

Keyser's population was 5,303

Keystone's population had fallen to 453

City of Logan population was 1,630

Logan County population reported at 37,710

Population of Madison was 2,677

Mannington population was 2,124

Reported 142,728 manufactured homes in West Virginia

West Virginia had the third-highest home-ownership rates in the U.S. at 75.2%

Marion County population stood at 56,598

Population of Marlinton was 1,204

Marshall County's population was 35,519

Martinsburg population was 75,905

The population of Mason county was 25,957

Census reported African-Americans were 11.9% of McDowell's population

Population of McDowell County was 27,329

West Virginia had the country's highest median age at 38.9 years

Mercer County population was 62,980

Reported 125,336 members of 1,341 United Methodist churches in West Virginia

Middlebourne's population was 870

Milton's population was 2,206

Monongalia County had a population of 81,866

Monroe county had a population of 14,583

Morgan County had a population of 14,943

Morgantown population was 26,809

Moundsville had a population of 9,978

Population of New Cumberland was 1,099

Nicholas County had a population of 26,562

Census reports 141,060 people living in the Northern Panhandle

Oak Hill population was 7,589

Population of Ohio County was 47,427

Eleven Orthodox Christian churches were listed in a church survey with 4,310 adherents

Paden City's population was 2,860

Parkersburg's population was 33,099

The population of Paw Paw was 524

Franklin had 797 residents

The population of Petersburg was 2,423

The population of Philippi was 2,870

Piedmont's population was 1,014

The population of Pineville was 715

The population of Pleasants County was 7,514

The population of Pocahontas County was 9,131

Richwood had a population of 2,477

Ritchie County's population was 10,343

Roane County population was 15,446

Reported 100,000 Catholics in West Virginia

Romney had a population of 1,940

The population of St. Albans was 11,567

St. Marys population was at 2,017

Reported 3,060 second homes in Pocahontas County

Shinnston's population was 2,295

South Charleston had a population of 13,390

Spencer had a population of 2,352

Sternwheel Regatta festivities were scaled back to an extended weekend

Hinton's population was 2,880

Summersville population was 3,294

Sutton had a population 1,011

Taylor County population was 16,089

Tucker County population was 7,321

Union had a population of 548

Upshur County population was 23,404

Vienna had a population of 10.861

Wayne had a population of 1,105

Wayne County population was 42, 903

Webster County population was 9,719

Webster Springs had a population of 808

Weirton population was 20,411

Welch population was 2,683

Wellsburg population was 2,891

West Union had a population of 806

Weston's population was 4,317

Westover had a population of 3,941

Wetzel County had a population of 17,693

Wheeling population was 31,419

Population of White Sulphur Springs was 2,315

Williamson population was 3,414

Winfield population was 1,858

Wirt County had a population of 5,873

Wood County had a population of 87,986

The Sunrise Museum moved to the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences

The museum at Sunrise moved to the Clay Center and the house and grounds were sold into private hands