Civil War

Lewis William Washington became John Brown's hostage at Harpers Ferry

Arthur Boreman left General Assembly due to Virginia's secession

George Imboden enlisted in the Confederate army

Virginia Convention delegates voted 85 to 55 in favor of secession.

Virginia Secession Convention voted 88-55 to submit an Ordinance of Secession to the state’s voters

Virginia passed an Ordinance of Secession

Retreating Confederate soldiers burned the Harpers Ferry arsenal buildings

John Jay Jackson Sr. voted against secession in the secession convention

Rebecca Davis' "Life in the Iron Mills: A Story of Today" was published in the Atlantic Monthly

John Imboden fought as Captain at the Battle of First Manassas

Stonewall Jackson received the nickname Stonewall at the Battle of First Manassas

The Jenkins raiders attacked and occupied Buckhannon

Albert Jenkins was appointed brigadier general

Union troops burned and destroyed Mercer Salt works

Stonewall Jackson accepted the surrender of more than 12,500 federal troops at Harpers Ferry

Wheeling first became the state capital

Arthur Boreman's inaugural address in Wheeling

First West Virginia capitol in Linsly Institute building

Fort Logan changed name to Fort Boreman

Granville Davisson Hall was elected the first clerk of the House of Delegates

The First West Virginia legislature met in Wheeling

Legislature made plans to establish a federal land grant college under terms of Morrill Act in Monongalia County

West Virginia became a state

The Battle of Droop Mountain gave Union forces control over most of the territory in Western Virginia

John Echols commanded Confederate forces at the Battle of Droop Mountain

The first West Virginia legislature proposed to educate "free colored children," the proposal was left unfunded.

The decision to have Attorney General elected by popular vote was made

B&O Railroad's management influenced people to support West Virginia statehood

Union troops shelled the town of Beckley, killing a little girl

Virginia's land and water boundaries given to West Virginia

River pirate John Lockwood arrest and tried for murder

Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley were commissioned first lieutenants at Camp Piatt

Melodrama East Lynne written

West Virginia experimented with New England modified township system

West Virginia constitution established public free school system

William Edwards opened mines at Coalburg

West Virginia's first election was conducted

Stephen Elkins left the army

Constitution stated that the "executive department shall consist of a governor, secretary of state, superintendent of free schools, auditor, treasurer and attorney general."

Construction of Fort Boreman began

Frederick County citizens voted not to become part of West Virginia

John Hale organized the Bank of the West

Harrison County was first in West Virginia in the production of beef cattle

Devil Anse Hatfield deserted the regular Virginia infantry in the Civil War

The state constitution stated that Delegates of the House of Delegates served one-year terms

Chester Hubbard became a member of the first West Virginia senate

John Jay Jackson Sr supported the move for the creation of a separate state but opposed the abolition of slavery

Mudwall Jackson led troops against Union Gen. Thomas Harris

The presence of the B&O influenced the decision to include Jefferson County in the new state

The state constitution adopted Virginia common law and statutes as the law of West Virginia

Daniel Lamb was a member of the first West Virginia legislature

West Virginia state government resumed the project for Weston Hospital

The Marshall College property was sold at public auction to Salina Hite Mason

The Methodist Church claimed the largest number of congregation in West Virginia

Reported 250 newspapers had been established

Editors changed their mastheads to reflect the name of the new state

Hiram Clay first settled in what is know Pineville.

Samuel Price was elected lieutenant governor of Confederate Virginia.

Beckley was bombarded by federal artillery.

The first period of Republican dominance began

Mrs. Henry Woods wrote East Lynne

The first free school opened in Ripley

Lewis Ruffner was appointed a major general of militia for West Virginia

Nathan Scott enlisted in the Union army in Ohio

The Supreme Court of Appeals sat at Wheeling with three justices

Thurmond's Rangers became 44th Virginia Cavalry Battalion

Campbell Tarr became West Virginia's first state treasurer

The repayment to the state of Virginia was included in the West Virginia constitution

Legislature gave official sanction to teachers organization

All turnpikes in West Virginia were turned over to the counties through which they ran

The name was changed to West Virginia Hospital for the Insane

Kellian Whaley was reelected to Congress from West Virginia

Confederate forces reoccupied Lewisburg

Waitman Willey began serving as U.S. Senator from West Virginia

Wirt County was divided into 7 districts

Fort Boreman was constructed in Wood County

Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan removed Averell from command for performance during Shenandoah Valley Campaign

Old Virginia banks transformed into national banks under federal banking legislation

First National Bank of Parkersburg became first national bank in West Virginia

Union troops burned down the resort buildings at Blue Sulphur Springs

Arthur Boreman married Laurane Tanner Bullock

Alexander Boteler's house burned on orders of Union Gen. David Hunter

Belle Boyd married Samuel Wylde Hardinge Jr.

Nathan Brackett graduated from Dartmouth College

Battle of Charles Town

John Dickinson was captured and kept prisoner at Fort Delaware

Joseph Diss Debar began serving in the legislature from Doddridge County

Joseph Diss Debar was named the first West Virginia commissioner of immigration

Construction of the Easton Roller Mill began

Allegheny College was burned by Union troops

William Ryland White was named first state superintendent of free schools

Stephen Elkins was admitted to the Missouri bar

Fort Moore was built for Capt. W. T. Wiant's home guards

Natural gas was used to produce carbon black for printing ink

John Imboden contracted typhoid fever and was relieved of command

Jacob Jackson returned to Parkersburg

Mudwall Jackson was promoted to brigadier general to command the forces at the Battle of Droop Mountain

The Logan Wildcats were active in the Shenandoah Valley campaign

The Richardson's map was the first map of the new state of West Virginia

The Morgantown Weekly Post was established by Henry M. Morgan and Nimrod Nelson Hoffman

Governor Boreman ordered convicted felons in West Virginia be imprisoned in the Ohio County Jail

Bazel Childers developed a system for fracturing the oil bearing rock to increase production.

Henry Ragland was captured by Union troops near Lurray, Virginia.

The first newspaper in Ripley, the Jackson Democrat was established

Volcano became an oil boom town

The Volcanic Oil & Gas Company was formed

Kellian Whaley was a delegate to the Republican National Convention

Laura Jackson Arnold wrote to Abraham Lincoln strongly expressing her support of the Union