Flora of West Virginia

Raleigh County Memorial Airport built

Charleston baseball joined the American Association, class AAA

Henry Lake Dickason retired as president of Bluefield State Teachers College (now University)

The Lilly Brothers of Raleigh County relocated to Boston

Widen was scene of fatal labor confrontation

Consolidated Bus Lines traveled 5,873,468 miles

Virginia Ruth "Dagmar" Egnor began own variety show, Dagmar's Canteen

John W. Davis argued for the continuation of racial segregation in South Carolina before the U.S. Supreme Court Briggs v. Elliot, later Brown v. Board of Education

John Warren Davis accepted a U.S. government appointment in Liberia

A wing to the Denmar Hospital building was completed

Fairmont State College president George W. Hand lost his position by refusing to fire Luella Raab Mundell

Ann Kathryn Flagg resigned her teaching position at Dunbar High School in Fairmont and became director of Children's Theater in Cleveland

U.S. Forest Service published reports on West Virginia Forests

Report stated that 64% of the state was forested

Gunner Gatski earned All-Pro honors in football

The Health and Physical Education Building at Glenville State College was dedicated

Original Mound Museum opened at Grave Creek Mound

K. K. Hall became circuit judge of West Virginia's 25th Judicial Circuit

Joseph Hodges was made an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Richmond

Johnnie Johnson moved to St. Louis and hired Chuck Berry to be in the Johnnie Johnson Trio

The 167th Fighter Squadron returned to West Virginia

The current number of members was established for the House of Delegates

The Wheeling Downs racetrack and other assets of Big Bill Lias were seized by the federal government

Library service was improved with creation of regional library systems

Hobert Skidmore wrote The Years Are Even

Lock No. 1 on the Big Sandy was closed

Walter Martens became a fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a distinctive honor

The Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad was merged into the New York Central System

Walter Reuther was elected president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations

Jack Rollins wrote "Smokey the Bear"

WVU's Mark Workman became All-American in basketball

Jim Sprouse began serving with the Central Intelligence Agency

Spruce Knob Lake was constructed as a fishing lake

Planning for Sutton Dam was suspended because of Korean War

WSAZ-TV in Huntington became channel 3

S. A. Abram began redevelopment of the old seminary grounds at Hilltop, near Oak Hill in Fayette County

The Bluestone Dam and Lake was completed

A strike at Widen occurred

Virginia Mae Brown was named West Virginia’s first woman assistant attorney general

Pearl Buck founded the Pearl S. Buck Foundation

French Carpenter record, Old-Time Songs and Tunes from Clay County, West Virginia, released

Ted Cassidy secured television role on The Addams Family

Maryland Pimlico Race Course installed lighting to compete with newer tracks

C&O acquired the Western Maryland Railroad

Swimming pool at Chief Logan State Park opened

Congress passed the Civil Rights Act

Roy B. Clarkson published Tumult on the Mountains: Lumbering in West Virginia, 1770-1920

Legislature enacted law that authorized election of delegates to a state constitutional convention

Work began at Parkersburg to make U.S. 50 a four-lane highway

Ellis Dungan married Elaine Runner

North Hall was completed at Fairmont State College

The Food Stamp Act was passed, making the program permanent

U.S. Forest Service published reports on West Virginia forests, stating that 74% of the state was forested

Harry B. Heflin retired as president of Glenville State College

An addition to the Pioneer Center at Glenville State College was completed

The Hazel Atlas Corporate Headquarters in Wheeling was donated to the West Liberty State College

Homer Hickam graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a B.S. in industrial engineering

Ella Holroyd was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music by Concord College

Sam Huff began his career with the Washington Redskins

Schools in West Virginia were considered fully desegregated

The Better Roads Amendment was voted on in the general election to provided money for the "building and construction of state roads and highways"

Don Redman died

A radiocarbon date estimated the Kanawha Madonna to be around 350 years old

Elizabeth Kee retired from Congress

John Knowles wrote Double Vision: American Thoughts Abroad

Supreme Court ruling State ex rel. Smith v. Gore required equal apportionment in the election of delegates to a constitutional convention and derailed a move to draft a new state constitution

The number of state senators was set at 34

The U.S. Library Services Act was amended to provide funds for library education and library construction

Hartman Hall was built at Beckley College (now Mountain State University)

The National Bank of Commerce purchased the old Kanawha County library property in Charleston

The N&W acquired the Nickel Plate in a merger that included the Wabash Railroad, the Wheeling & Lake Erie, the Akron, Canton & Youngstown and the Pittsburgh & West Virginia

John Norman joined the surgical team at Boston City Hospital

Oscar Mairs and Hillis Youse recorded the Luther Elkins petroglyph site.

Joe Powell became state director of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO.

Leonard Riggleman retired as president of Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston)

Chuck Ripper quit Standard Printing & Publishing Co to be full-time freelance artist

The Rock Lake Pool remained racially segregated after the Civil Rights Act

Jay Rockefeller came to West Virginia as a poverty volunteer with Action for Appalachian Youth

The West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey first began extensive excavation on the St. Albans archeological site

The Soupy Sales Show weekday morning show debuted in New York

Lawmakers created a 17th state senate district in Kanawha County

Bill Campbell beat Ed Tutwiller in golf in the U.S. Amateur Championship Final

Miles Stanley organized the AFL-CIO Appalachian Council

Western Pocahontas Corporation and Pocahontas Land Corporation donated land for Twin Falls State Park

Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston) began offering an associate degree in nursing

The Valley Falls State Park area was acquired by the state

Cyrus Vance became deputy secretary of defense under Robert McNamara

The federal Economic Opportunity Act was signed into law

Wheeling Dollar Saving & Trust acquired South Wheeling Bank and Trust

The state purchased the old Wheeling Custom House and leased it to the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation.

Charles Gabor became conductor of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra

Henry Aaron left Wheeling

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

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

The last coke-making operation in the New River Gorge closed at Sewell

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

Buffington Island preservation became a part of the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge

Gaston Caperton said "how can we expect our children to value schooling when it's obvious we don't value our schools?"

Curly Ray Cline retired from fiddling

Stephen Coonts wrote The Red Horseman

New records set of estimated lumber production exceeded 1.5 billion board feet

Owens-Illinois Glass Company's Huntington plant closed

Nathan Goff Jr.'s house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places at time of demolition

The carriage house of the High Gate mansion underwent rehabilitation

T. D. Jakes moved his church to a larger building in Cross Lanes

The Kimball War Memorial was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

Melvin Lentz cut through a 34-inch ponderosa pine log in 4.85 seconds using a modified chain saw

The name of the Martinsburg paper was changed from Morning Journal to the Journal

Irene McKinney was appointed poet laureate by Governor Gaston Caperton