Aviation

A black man, Leroy Williams, was hung for the rape of a woman when evidence showed otherwise.

Four of Mary Atkeson's plays were published

R. D. Bailey moved to Pineville

Field of 64 high school basketball teams was broken into "A" and "B" divisions based on team strength

West Virginia was 35% forested

John Peale Bishop married

Izetta Brown was first woman south of the Mason-Dixon line to run for U.S. Senate

Cut-over land at present Calvin W. Price State Forest was sold by Maryland Lumber Company

Camp Caesar began

Brandon Hass purchased the old forest at present Cathedral State Park

A second series of treason trials of West Virginia Mine Wars was held in Charles Town

William E. "Ned" Chilton Jr. became president of the Daily Gazette Co.

Charleston Ordnance Center closed

Almost 80% of miners lived in company towns

John W. Davis became president of the American Bar association

Julia Davis received B.A. from Barnard College

Clarence Shirley Donnelly accepted the pastorate at Oak Hill Baptist Church

Capt. Annis Boggs was commissioned Ward Engineering of Charleston to build floating dance hall, the Edwards Moonlight

Morrow Hall began occupancy at Fairmont State

First steel fire tower was built on Backbone Mountain by Emory N. "Pop" Wriston

Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler died

Donald Gaudineer graduated from New York State Ranger College

Benjamin Gravely started his own business, The Gravely Motor Plow and Cultivator Company in Dunbar

East-west routes were assigned odd numbers and north-south routes were assigned even numbers

Bill Blizzard and others were tried for treason at the Jefferson County courthouse

No one was convicted of treason in the Blair Mountain trials

Frank Keeney agreed to temporary wage cuts for UMWA members

Charles Laws relocated to Hinton to replace a local doctor who had died

Hamlin High School was built in Hamlin

Minnie Lowther wrote Mount Vernon, Arlington and Woodlawn

A church was built for the Lebanese Christians in Wheeling

The Leadclad Wire Company was established by Wheeling Metal

John Matheus began teaching foreign languages at West Virginia State College

A disastrous fire completely destroyed the Mercer Healing Springs Hotel

The Mine Wars ended

The B&O absorbed the Morgantown & Kingwood

The Mount St. George mansion was acquired by the Catholic Knights of St. George

The Norwalk Motor Car Company closed

The State Industrial School for Colored Boys opened at Lakin, Mason County

William Revercomb relocated to Charleston to practice law

Leonard Riggleman earned a bachelor's degree at Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston)

Rev. Patrick J. Donahue died

John J. Swint became Bishop of Catholic Diocese

Catholic population in West Virginia was 63,000

Clint Thomas joined the Detroit Stars baseball team

There was a Washington exposition of Vitrolite

A hospital proved vital during an influenza epidemic

The Shott brothers made initial efforts at radio

Leased wildlife refuges on privately owned land were established

First large mine in Wyoming County was opened by Raleigh-Wyoming Coal Company

Gurnett “Cap” Ferguson built the 72-room Ferguson Hotel

Hack Wilson hit 30 homers and hit .362, leading the Class D Blue Ridge League in both categories.

Evangelist Billy Sunday stayed at Aracoma Hotel

Walter Barnes wrote New Democracy in the Teaching of English

The Beckley Register began publishing a Sunday issue

Son William H. and wife joined William J. Blenko in Milton at his first factory

Maurice Brooks graduated from WVU with a B.A.

West Virginia's first commercial radio station WRVC began broadcasting in the Huntington area

Thomas Carr retired from Carr China Company

First baccalaureate degrees were awarded at Concord State Normal School (now Concord University)

Phil Conley founded the West Virginia Publishing Company

The last Democratic majority until 1930

The beaver was extirpated for its fur

John Harrington Cox received his Ph.D. from Harvard

Julia Davis married William McMillan Adams

Rev. Robert Edward Lee Strider was consecrated bishop coadjutor of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Wheeling

Fairmont State was authorized for four-year program but must confine to training teachers

Cooperative agricultural marketing law was passed

U.S. Coal Commission report awarded Gary 90 out of 100 points for cleanliness, urban amenities and safety consideration

The current courthouse was completed in Glenville

School name was changed from Lewisburg Seminary to Greenbrier College for Women

Lost Creek was the largest cattle shipping point on the B&O system

The present Ritchie County courthouse was completed

Homer Holt received a law degree from Washington and Lee University

Construction of the large Itmann Company Store began

Ella Mae Turner published compilation Stories and Verses of West Virginia

Herman Kump left office as mayor of Elkins

The State Hospital for the Colored Insane and the State Industrial School for Colored boys were established in Lakin

Hu Maxwell wrote A Tree History of the United States

Margaret Montague published Deep Channel

Herbert Chester became publisher of the Morgantown Post

Huntington First (Church of the Nazarene) was established in the Charleston-Huntington corridor and is the oldest congregation in that area

Henry Ford built the world's largest incline tipple

Herschel Ogden bought the Martinsburg Journal

Okey Patteson married Lee Hawse.

Maceo Pinkard helped set up Duke Ellington's first recording session.

The first land for the Monongahala National Forest in Pocahontas County was acquired

Jennings Randolph was elected to Salem College's board of trustees.

The Wm. M. Ritter Lumber Company acquired the Red Jacket Consolidated Coal and Coal company

Walton High School was established

Thomas Reynolds built the Majestic showboat

Weirton Steel added another sheet plant

P. D. Strausbaugh became head of the department of botany at WVU

Festus Summers earned an A.B. at WVU

Howard Sutherland's term in the U.S. Senate ended

Clint Thomas began a stint with the Philadelphia Hillsdale Giants baseball team

W. W. Trent became editor of the West Virginia School Journal

The West Virginia State Wildlife Center was established at French Creek

Ralph Weinberg married Ida Effron

Wheeling Bank & Trust Company acquired the Bank of the Ohio Valley

The Northern Teachers' Association ended

The Game and Fish Commission purchased property in Upshur County

The West Virginian Hotel was built in Bluefield

Patty Willis exhibited her work at the Corcoran Gallery School of Art in Washington, DC

Lenna Yost represented the U.S. at international congresses against alcoholism in Denmark

Hack Wilson began playing for the New York Giants

Alderson Federal Prison Camp opened as the Federal Industrial Institution for Women

Mary Meek Atkeson wrote The Shining Hours

Fokker Aircraft of America opened in Glen Dale

Union Carbide company bought Blaine Island

Historical novel, The Scout of the Buckongehanon, was written by J. C. McWhorter

Charleston Daily Mail moved quarters to new building at 1001 Virginia Street East

The DuPont plant at Belle began making synthetic wood alcohol

Clarksburg's Exponent and Telegram newspapers merged under Clarksburg Publishing Company

North Central Association fully accredited the West Virginia Collegiate Institute (now West Virginia State University)

School constructed at Arthurdale based on progressive education

Morris Harvey College was moved to Charleston (now University of Charleston), under the leadership of Leonard Riggleman

Bluestone Dam authorized by FDR

William T. Brotherton Sr. started his first term in the House of Delegates

Pearl Buck divorced her husband

The Tick Ridge fire tower was completed at what is now Cabwaylingo State Forest.

State Department of Public Welfare established Camp Brock

Fannie Cobb Carter named director of adult education for Kanawha County schools

Frederick M. Staunton named publisher of the Charleston Daily Mail

Charleston National Bank and First Huntington National controlled a full 25% of the financial resources of all national banks in West Virginia

Congress passed Wheeler-Rayburn Bill becoming Public Utility Holding Company Act

Eleanor Roosevelt stayed at the Aracoma Hotel in Logan

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

Charleston's Municipal Auditorium was built

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

Dolores Dowling joined the Army Nurse Corps

United Mine Workers of America established a Welfare and Retirement Fund

Ashford General Hospital closed

Greater Cumberland Regional Airport, at Wiley Ford, built

The Bailes Brothers moved to KWKH Shreveport

Bluefield joined the Appalachian Rookie League in baseball

Van Bittner directed the abortive drive to organize southern industrial workers

Everett Ferguson sold Browns Island to Weirton Ice and Coal Supply Company

Lew Burdette signed his first professional contract with the New York Yankees

Col. E. G. Via died

Camden Park was sold to James P. Boylin

Jim Comstock founded the Richwood News Leader

Samuel Cooper attended the World Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland

Bruce Crawford founded the West Virginia Advertising Company

Phyllis Curtin appeared at Tanglewood Music Center

Davis & Elkins College received full accreditation

Dolores Dowling left the Army Nurse Corps as a first lieutenant

Joanne Dru starred in her first film, Abie's Irish Rose

Proposed amendment to make the Board of Education a constitutional body

First consulting forester in West Virginia began work

Patrick Gainer became professor of English at WVU

Joseph C. Gluck, eventually dean of students, vice president for student affairs and special counselor to students, began work at WVU

The third floor of the Governor's Mansion was added

Alberta Pierson Hannum's book Spin a Silver Dollar was released as a radio play

Governor Meadows reappointed Roy Lee Harmon as poet laureate of West Virginia

Hawkshaw Hawkins began working on the Wheeling Jamboree broadcast from WWVA

Johnnie Johnson began performing in Chicago

The village of Lilly was razed due to construction of the Bluestone Dam

Pare Lorentz was awarded the Legion of Merit

A new dining hall was constructed at Marshall College (now University)

Jack Maurice returned to the Charleston Daily Mail

Arnold Miller returned home from WWII

The UMWA Health and Retirement Funds were created

Ruth Ann Musick began teaching mathematics and English at Fairmont State College (Fairmont State University)

Eldora Nuzum was made managing editor of the Grafton Sentinel

Molly O'Day was signed to Columbia Records contract by Fred Rose

American Cyanamid established plant at Willow Island

The West Virginia Broadcasters Association was organized

Louis Jordan made "Salt Pork, West Virginia" a best-selling recording

The Secondary Schools Activities Commission appointed a full-time executive secretary to the board

Raymond Hayes made a trip to Fayette County

Meredith Sue Willis was born

Sam Snead won the British Open

Buddy Starcher cut his first recordings on Four Star

An appropriation of $60,000 was obtained for the West Virginia State Police Academy during the legislative session

Storer College was accredited as a baccalaureate institution

A constitutional amendment providing educational reforms was defeated

Joe Stydahar won another championship with the Chicago Bears

Festus Summers became a full-time professor at WVU

The rubber plant at Institute was closed

DuPont's Belle Works ceased production of nylon

Frank Thomas built Fayette Airport

The United Brethren merged with the Evangelical Association forming the Evangelical United Brethren Church

There were 261 United Brethren churches in West Virginia

Hobert Skidmore died

The current West Virginia Historical Society was incorporated

The West Virginia Review was sold again

There were 6,000 students enrolled in WVU

Irvin Stewart became president of WVU

George Smith died

WJLS added an FM affiliate

American neurologist Walter Freeman adapted a variation of the surgery called the transorbital lobotomy

Artist Helen Chilton was born in Pennsylvania

Federal government sold Arthurdale homes and community building to the homesteaders

Florence Blanchfield retired

Jesse Bloch's son, Thomas, became president of Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company

Bluefield State College (now University) was fully accredited by the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education

Business affairs for WVU and state colleges was transferred to WVU Board of Governors and State Board of Education

Tony Boyle was brought to Washington as assistant to UMW President John L. Lewis

Harry Brawley won an award for the "School of the Air" series

Carter Coal Company sold to Youngstown Sheet & Tube

Western Maryland Railroad took possession of the Cheat Mountain Club

American Cyanamid built plant near Willow Island

Levi Johnson Dean had 139 architectural commissions

Coal production peaked with 174 million tons

Jack Fleming began announcing for WVU sports

Harry B. Heflin became the third president of Glenville State College

"Biggie" Goldberg led the Chicago Cardinals to the NFL Championship

The Greene Line acquired the Delta Queen

Louis W. Chappell recorded Edden Hammons at Richwood Hotel

Voters approved a city charter for the Weirton

Alberta Pierson Hannum wrote Roseanna McCoy

Ken Hechler began teaching at Princeton University

Marshall won the NAIB national basketball tournament in Kansas City

Homer Holt became general counsel for the Union Carbide company in New York City

The Huttonsville Correctional Center became a separate institution from the state penitentiary at Moundsville

The West Virginia Conservation Commission constructed a dam and bridge at the Jug of Middle Island Creek, restoring water to the original channel

Wertz Field in Institute received modern facilities at Kanawha (Yeager) Airport

Supreme Court ruling West Virginia-Pittsburgh Coal Company v. Strong limited surface mining

The West Virginia League of Women Voters was recognized by the national office

Operation of all locks and dams except Lock and Dam No 1 on the Big Sandy was discontinued

Elli Mannette had perfected a steel drum with two octaves of a diatonic scale

Jacob Rader Marcus established the American Jewish Archives

Dan Maroney became a bus driver for the Charleston Transit Company

Mildred Mitchell married William L. Bateman

Mildred Mitchell-Bateman was accepted a position as staff physician at Lakin State Hospital

Morgantown annexed part of Evansdale

The Pence Springs property containing the original spring, hotel and fields were purchased by the state of West Virginia for use as a state prison for women

Women prisoners from Moundsville Penitentiary were transferred to women's penitentiary in Pence Springs

The Nazarene Camp and Conference ground was established at Summersville

WPDX Clarksburg began competing with WMMN Fairmont for country music audience

Alex Schoenbaum opened the Parkette Drive-In and Bowling Alley in the west side of Charleston

Oliver S. Ikenberry became president of Shepherd College

Hulett Smith began serving on the state Aeronautics Commission.

Marshall College (now University) won the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball Championship

Miles Stanley became the president of his steelworkers union local

An additional appropriation of $60,000 to build the State Police Academy was obtained from legislature

Edward W. Stifel Sr. died

The Co-operative Transit Company ceased streetcar operations in Wheeling area

City Lines of West Virginia ceased streetcar operations in north-central West Virginia

Surface mining production reached 18.4 million tons

Union Carbide purchased the Institute butadiene, styrene and support facilities to convert to chemical plants

Reported 14,510 people were employed in textile-related jobs in West Virginia

The University of Hard Knocks was conceived by Jim Comstock

Andre Van Damme and family moved to America

Vitrolite ceased production

Enrollment at West Virginia State College was 1,785 students

The West Virginia Turnpike Commission was created by legislature

The Nickel Plate Railroad purchased a majority of the Wheeling & Lake Erie

Henry Mazer became conductor of the Wheeling Symphony

Doc Williams had a major hit, "Beyond the Sunset"

Florence Blanchfield ceased as superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps

Sam Jones joined the Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro American League

Buck Harless became part owner of a lumber company

Toni Stone played for the semi-pro Twin Cities Colored Giants

Ida Reed died

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

P. D. Strausbaugh published Part One of Flora of West Virginia

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

West Virginia Air National Guard's 167th was reorganized

Appalachian Bible Institute graduated 6 students in its first class

All American Aviation changed its name to Allegheny Airlines

Michael Benedum spent $1.5 million to build the Bridgeport Methodist Church

Mercury Coal & Coke Company purchased the Bretz property

Calvin W. Price State Forest was created

Huntington's Memorial Field House hosted the state boys basketball tournament

Bluestone State Park joined state park system

Clarksburg constructed Buffalo Lake

Legislature considered declaring TV cable companies to be public utilities subject to regulation by Public Service Commission

Sutton Dam completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Cedar Creek State Park joined state park system

Petersburg fish hatchery noticed different color trout in hatchery's rainbow trout

Judge Ben Moore ruled against racial discrimination at Sky Chief Restaurant at Kanawha (now Yeager) Airport

The black bear became the state animal

Croatian Cultural Club founded in Benwood

Mutation of normal-colored rainbow trout was discovered

Lester Hayes Jr. caught a 52.5 inch, 43 pound muskie in the Elk River

Gunner Gatski earned All-Pro honors in football

The Night of the Hunter was adapted to film

Elizabeth Hallanan became a member of the State Board of Education

Storer College was closed

William Hoffman wrote his first novel, The Trumpet Unblown

All institutions of higher learning in West Virginia except Glenville State had enrolled African-American students

Coach Cam Henderson left Marshall College (now University)

Bernard McDonough bought the O. Ames Company in Parkersburg

Logan County surpassed McDowell County as the leading coal producing county in the nation

Mildred Mitchell-Bateman was invited to return to Lakin State Hospital after leaving to further studies

Green Bank was chosen for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Pardee & Curtin built the first all-electric single-band sawmill in the state at Curtin, Webster County.

Otis Rice served as president of the West Virginia Historical Society

Leonard Riggleman became the Charleston Gazette's West Virginia Man of the Year

West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission adopted its current name

West Virginia State and Bluefield State integrated the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Sumner School closed after the Brown v. Board of Education decision

William P. Tams retired

Theatre West Virginia was founded as the West Virginia Historical Drama Association

Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston) built its first dormitory

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations combined as AFL-CIO

Billy Edd Wheeler received a B.A. in English from Berea College

Lawrence R. McHugh, S.J. became president of Wheeling College (now Wheeling University)

George Wolfe was discharged from the army

The 130th Troop Carrier Squadron (130th Airlift Squadron) was formed

The West Virginia Lobotomy Project ended

The Sugar Grove site was selected for a radio telescope

Tunney Hunsaker moved to Fayetteville

Small group of miners at Montgomery formed the Black Lung Association

Alderson-Broaddus College (now University) established the first baccalaureate physician assistant program in the country

Work began at Hungington Museum of Art on a wing designed by Walter Gropius

Another 36 acres was added to Bear Rock Lakes

Interstate 81 was completed

UMWA President Tommy Boyle supported a campaign for black lung recognition at the state level

A bombing rocked the physical education building and administration at Bluefield State College (now University), briefly closing the school

Ivor Boiarsky was elected speaker of the House of Delegates

J. Lawrence Smith wrote The Potomac Naturalist

Connie Smith began concentrating on gospel music

Burnsville Dam placed in operation

Old Main Hall at Alderson-Broaddus College (now University) was destroyed by fire

The board changed the name to Appalachian Bible College

Appalachian Regional Hospitals closing of Man hospital

Beech Fork Lake was opened to the public

General Cigar and Tobacco Company became a division of Culbro

William H. Brothers became president of Bluefield State College (now University)

The Johnson Mountain Boys bluegrass band was founded

Gale Catlett became head coach at WVU

Bluestone Lake became a major supplier of public water

Boundary dispute between West Virginia and Virginia involving Jefferson and Loudoun Counties was resolved

Robert C. Byrd co-sponsored the resolution opposing the Kyoto Protocol

Ernie Carpenter died

Sam Hindman named publisher of the Charleston Daily Mail

SCSM purchased by Mayflower Vehicle Systems

Concord College received West Virginia's only true carillon

Richard Currey published Lost Highway

Trails and designated campsites at Dolly Sods were cleared of munitions left by the army

Census of Agriculture noted 2,426 farms in West Virginia

Bowden Fish Hatchery was taken over by the state

Anna Marsh caught a 49-pound Muskie in Elk River

Jack Fleming stopped anchoring sports radio at WVU

Local historians asked the Wood County Commission for support in creating a park at Fort Boreman

3/4th of market value of agricultural products sold originated in Ridge and Valley counties

Coal production reached record of 182 million tons