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New River
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1654
Abraham Wood supposedly discovered the New River
1671
Abraham Wood dispatched Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam to explore the Appalachian Mountains Other events that happened on or around 1671 First recorded discovery of the New River
1755
Mary Draper Ingles was taken captive by the Shawnee Other events that happened on or around 1755 Mary Ingles was captured and held by Shawnees Mary Draper Ingles was carried from Virginia into captivity in Ohio Fort Ashby was built on John Sellers' farm Settlers were killed by Indians along Patterson Creek Evan Watkins farm began serving as outpost and depot for Virginia Regiment Christopher Gist served as scout for the Virginia military commanded by Washington John Hale's great-grandmother escaped from the Shawnees Killbuck left the settlers in South Branch Valley with the commencement of hostilities Kyashuta replaced Half-King as the primary representative of the Six Nations Revised versions of the Fry-Jefferson maps appeared George Washington ordered a stockade and fort built in Mineral County The massacre at Baughman's Fort on the Greenbrier River occurred killing a schoolmaster The Senecas allied themselves with the French at the Battle of the Monongahela All settlements in Summers County area were erased during the French & Indian War Thomas Walker was at Braddock's defeat George Washington became colonel of the Virginia Regiment
1812
John Marshall boated the New River to asses its navigation potential Other events that happened on or around 1812 Gen. Elisha Boyd built the Martinsburg mansion Boydsville Sinnett Triplett first known white man to occupy present Clay County The first gristmill in Gilmer County was built in Glenville Wilson Cary Nicholas purchased Green Bottom and established an overseer slave plantation The Greenbrier College for Women was founded as the Lewisburg Academy by Dr. John McElhenney Industrial development, especially salt and iron, was stimulated by the War of 1812 The Ices Ferry Ironworks supplied iron for shot used in the Battle of New Orleans and shipped nails and plates for Admiral Perry's Lake Erie squadron The first Western Virginia rolling mill was in operation at Ices Ferry Ironworks Legislature appointed John George Jackson a brigadier general in the Virginia militia during the war John George Jackson emerged as one of the foremost businessmen of the upper Monongahela Valley Joseph Johnson became captain of the Harrison Riflemen Aaron Stockton settled at Kanawha Falls The Kanawha Valley salt industry boomed John Marshall led a 20 man survey party mapping the route across West Virginia between the James and Ohio Rivers Hawks Nest was named Marshall's Pillars Justice Joseph Story delivered the decision to reverse Virginia Court of Appeals in the David Hunter case after John Marshall recused himself from the case Robert Gorrell laid out town lots at present Middlebourne Organ Cave was mined for saltpeter to manufacture gunpowder Spencer was first settled by the Samuel Tanner and Jonathan Wolfe families Anne Royall moved to Charleston after death of Wm. Royall Henry Ruffner attended Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) John George Jackson began his salt works on the West Fork Salt production quadrupled on 52 furnaces to reach one million bushels Robert Simmons fought in the War of 1812 The "Big Cave" on Cave Mountain was a source of saltpeter for the production of gunpowder Samuel Tanner and Jonathan Wolfe moved into a cave near present Spencer Middle School Western Virginia militias took parts in the Northwest Campaign
1873
The C&O Railroad was completed opening the New River Gorge to the coal and timber industry Other events that happened on or around 1873 The Mountain Boy steamboat was destroyed by river ice at Cincinnati Joseph Beury shipped the first coal from the New River Coalfield The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway arrived on the south side of Kanawha River in Charleston 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 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
1889
An iron truss bridge was built over the New River Other events that happened on or around 1889 Sensational articles of the Hatfield-McCoy Feud by Theron C. Crawford published in New York B&O hauled 31% of nation's Tidewater-bound soft coal Bluefield incorporated as a town Bank of Bramwell opened Matthew Clair graduated from Morgan College in Baltimore Downtown streets of Clarksburg lit up by electricity Cribs and booms located to direct logs into Coal River's main channel Elkins was founded Jack Glasscock managed Indianapolis Hoosiers baseball team for part of the year The membership of Post No.1 of General Army of the Republic peaked at 3,161 The first major outbreak of the gypsy moth occurred The Weekly Advertiser became a daily publication as the Advertiser Harold Houston graduated from Charleston High School Kenova founded by L. T. Peck The West Virginia Bureau of Labor was created by state legislature Daniel Lucas began serving as a justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals William MacCorkle left prosecuting attorney's office I.T. Mann had an apprenticeship at Greenbrier Valley Bank Alexander Martin left DePauw University Hu Maxwell wrote Idyls of the Golden Shore The first oil was discovered in Monongalia County Navigable slack water was extended to the Morgantown area Anticlinal theory of oil and gas location was developed by I. C. White of WVU The anticlinal theory of oil and gas location was first tested in Mannington Pennzoil was founded West Virginia apple production was at 4.5 million bushels William Nelson Page was president of Gauley Mountain Coal Charles Ritter moved to West Virginia Sheltering Arms Hospital saw its first patient All telephone exchanges in northern West Virginia were interconnected The legislature renamed the militia the West Virginia National Guard William Luke opened a pulp mill and incorporated the West Virginia Paper Company Albert White was appointed as internal revenue agent Emanuel Wilson advocated antitrust legislation and increased immigration into the state Major timbering began in Wyoming County Carrie Edwards married Abraham L. Williams
1949
The construction of Bluestone Dam on the New River was completed Other events that happened on or around 1949 Appalachian Electric Power provided electricity in 21 counties Clyde Beale pardoned by Governor Patteson Walter Barnes wrote The Teacher Speaks West Virginia Conservation Commission constructed Baker Lake The Berkeley Woolen Company closed its operations in Martinsburg Pearl S. Buck founded the international adoption agency, Welcome House, based in Pennsylvania Lew Burdette married Mary Ann Shelton The state's first television station WSAZ-TV went on air West Virginia chose electric chair over hanging for capital punishment Northern cardinal became the state bird William E. Davies published first full report on West Virginia caves The beginnings of the Cedar Lakes Conference Center originated in an act of the legislature B'nai Jacob congregation moved to new synagogue Little Jimmy Dickens joined the Grand Ole Opry at WSM Henry Hazelwood retired as principal The Booth family sold the Dreamland to group of Huntington businessmen Joanne Dru appeared in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon Bishop Strider announced his retirement Forestlands of West Virginia covered 60 % of state Major flood brought devastation to Grant County Capt. Mary B. Greene, wife of Capt. Gordon Greene, died Carroll High School in Hamlin was destroyed by fire Alberta Pierson Hannum's book Roseanna McCoy was released as a motion picture The Health Department shifted its emphasis from communicable diseases to chronic illnesses and other public health issues. Cam Henderson resigned as the Marshall football coach The Huntington Publishing Co. started WSAZ-TV Channel 3, first TV station in West Virginia and one of earliest in the country Rush Holt changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican William Flannery became speaker of the House of Delegates Hayes Picklesimer succeeded John L. Dickinson as president of Kanawha Valley Bank Kelly Axe and Tool Company changed its name to True Temper Larry Richardson and Bob Osborne joined the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers Berry Pink and Sellers Peltier founded the Marble King Company Clarence Meadows opened a law office in Charleston Morgantown annexed Suncrest and Sabraton West Virginia Mountain State Gospel Singers Corporation invited groups from Greenbrier and Fayette counties to participate in Nicholas County homecoming of Mount Nebo Gospel Sings Marble King Factory moved to St. Marys DuPont plant built at Washington Bottom Alfred Knobler created the Pilgrim Glass Corporation Mole Hill changed its name to Mountain Jack Rollins wrote the lyrics to "Peter Cottontail" Fred Schaus made All-American in basketball at WVU Union Carbide developed its technical center above its South Charleston plant Red Sovine began recording with MGM, Decca, and eventually Starday Marshal played in the Tangerine Bowl Buddy Starcher's "I'll Still Write Your Name in the Sand" became a hit Weldon Cook and Robert Livingston Russell formed the Cook-Russell Theater Corp The sugar maple became the state tree of West Virginia The West Virginia State Police Academy began operation Commercial television cable installation began operating at Piedmont and Cameron The second USS Huntington was decommissioned after three tours to the Mediterranean WAJR-AM in Morgantown became the flagship station for statewide network distribution of WVU football and basketball games Land was donated to the state for the Watters Smith Memorial State Park Wheeling Dollar Saving & Trust acquired National Exchange Bank The State Education Association changed its name to the West Virginia Education Association Riley Wilson became seriously ill at the inauguration of President Truman Virginia Mae Brown became executive secretary of the West Virginia Judicial Council Sam Jones signed with the Cleveland Indians Elizabeth Harden married Virgil Gilmore, a future two-term Charleston city councilman Toni Stone played for the San Francisco Sea Lions, then joined the New Orleans Creoles
1965
The last coke-making operation in the New River Gorge closed at Sewell Other events that happened on or around 1965 Development of West Virginia's Appalachian Corridor highways began Appalachian Regional Commission established by Congress President Johnson's War on Poverty began Charleston joins Morgantown and Huntington as alternating site of state high school basketball tournament George Hodel became president of Beckley Newspapers Bens Run Earthworks officially recorded by the Archeology Section of the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey W. E. Blackhurst published Of Men and A Mighty Mountain E. J. Scrafford became interim president of Bluefield State College (now University) Weldon Boone wrote A History of Botany in West Virginia Maurice Brooks published The Appalachians Harry F. Byrd retired from the Senate Governor Smith signed bill to end death penalty in West Virginia Franklin Cleckley earned a J.D. from Indiana University Arden Cogar exhibited his wood chopping at New York World's Fair Diamond Department Store built a $1 million addition to its Charleston building Pete Everest became brigadier general African-American State Farm and Homemakers Council voted to join the West Virginia Homemakers Council Gertrude Humphrey left WVU Extension work One-volume edition of Flora of West Virginia was published Ruth Ann Musick published The Telltale Lilac Bush Ruel Foster wrote Jesse Stuart Per capita personal income in West Virginia was 76% of national average The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation made its first discretionary grant, to Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston) State Route 150, the Highland Scenic Highway, began construction The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) was established Hope Natural Gas Company and New York State Natural Gas Corporation merged to form Consolidated Gas Supply Corporation Hopemont Sanitarium became a personal care center Blasingame Report recommending improved library service was completed The West Virginia Library Commission launched an ambitious library construction project A joint committee was created to study and survey matters of government, finance, and claims against the state and make recommendations to the full legislature The Logan Banner was sold to a Tennessee publishing company Marco mascot first began showing up at Marshall University events Dan Maroney was elected a vice president in the Amalgamated Transit Union Paul Marshall stopped working at Libbey-Owens-Ford in Kanawha City Morgantown Glassware Guild was purchased by Fostoria Glass Mount Storm Lake was built to supply water for steam generation at coal-fired power plant Mylan Pharmaceuticals moved to Morgantown Delf Norona became the first recipient of the Sigfus Olafson Award for his outstanding contributions to the West Virginia archeology E. Lewis Case became president of Ohio Valley College (now Ohio Valley University) Ohio Valley College (now University) was accredited by the state of West Virginia Congress created the 100,000 acre Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area. Jack Rollins moved to Cincinnati The Soupy Sales Show first debuted nationally Burl Sawyers resigned as state roads commissioner under indictment Charles Town Race Track installed lighting Smoke Hole became part of the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area Red Sovine wrote "Giddyup Go" Miles Stanley was selected as personal assistant to AFL-CIO President George Meany Fred Torrey made a bust of John F. Kennedy U.S. combat troops first deployed in the Vietnam War The War on Poverty was scaled back due to the escalation of the Vietnam War Don West came to West Virginia and established the Appalachian South Folklife Center Charles Schiff became conductor of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra
1998
An historic iron truss bridge was rebuilt over the New River Other events that happened on or around 1998 Randy Moss led the NFL in touchdown catches The Catholic Knights of America purchased Mount St. George College of West Virginia (now Mountain State University) purchased the former Beckley Junior High School campus The Caperton Indoor Facility was completed at Mountaineer Field Joe Lovett filed a case in federal district court charging state and federal laws prohibited dumping the tops of mountains into streams Walter Dean Myers received the Caldecott Honor Book Award for Harlem Walter Dean Myers received the Coretta Scott King Award for Harlem John Nash's biography was published, A Beautiful Mind Additional business degrees in accounting, management, human resource management and marketing were approved at Ohio Valley College (now University) View Articles by Existing Key Dates or Specify Your Own Date Range |
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