Supreme Court of Appeals

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

Civil War skirmish at Bulltown Historic Area

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

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

Electorate ratified the new constitution by vote of 42,344 to 37,777

New constitution set the term of office at four years and prohibited a governor from succeeding himself

The new state constitution allowed delegates in the House of Delegates to serve 2-year terms

The repayment of Virginia state debt was indirectly included in the new constitution

Harrison Ash became chief of police at Thurmond

Baldwin-Felts Agency helped break a strike in the New River Field

Rosa Pelham was forced out of the castle by debt

Sam Black Church is built

Mother Blizzard's family was evicted from their home because of her support of the coal strike

Aaron Bloch succeeded his brother, Samuel, as president of Bloch Brothers Tobacco

Stephen B. Elkins purchased the Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad

James Callahan was appointed chairman of the Department of History and Political Science at WVU

Andrew Carnegie donated $33,000 to Lewisburg Female Institute to build Carnegie Hall

Cecil B. Highland became a stockholder of Clarksburg Exponent Telegram

The Coal & Coke Railway Company sold the Central & Pittsburgh

Watson-Fleming-Camden syndicate acquired the Somerset Coal Company

Voters amended the constitution making Secretary of State an elected office

The Mahan family quit farming the land

Edward Franzheim was probably the most successful architect in West Virginia

The Greenbrier Military Academy was bought by the Greenbrier Presbytery and renamed the Greenbrier Presbyterial School

The Homer Laughlin China Company purchased the Newell Farm and expanded across the Ohio into West Virginia

Nancy Hart died

The state called troops to mining strikes

The Hazel Atlas Glass Company was created

The UMWA organized about 7,000 miners in the Kanawha Valley

James H. Nash bought Holly Grove Mansion and made changes

Albert F. Holden and William H. Coolidge inspected 30,000 acres of land on Coppers Fork of Island Creek

Elmer Jacobs designed the parts of Seneca Glass Company building that had fallen to fire

A History of the Valley of Virginia was reprinted

The C&O Railroad was built along the Guyandotte River

Patients other than coal miners were charged $1.59/ day at McKendree Hospital

The West Virginia University School of Medicine was founded in Morgantown

Samuel Alexander McCoy and G. W McCauley bought the Hardy County News from Capt. J. J. Chipley

Matthew M. Neely opened a Fairmont law office

John Nugent came to West Virginia as a UMWA organizer

Oak Hill's first high school was established by Charles T. Jones and Albert G. Sevy

George Rashid migrated to the United States from Syria

The Pinch Reunion was established by Judge William W. Wertz

The Greenbrier Division of the C&O was completed to Durbin

Potomac State College began operation as the West Virginia Preparatory School

The Rending of Virginia was originally published in Chicago by Mayer & Miller

Frederick Rhead came to America

Charles Ritter married Mabel McClinock

Benjamin Rosenbloom played on the WVU football team

St. Lawrence Boom & Manufacturing Company at Ronceverte began to receive logs from Anthony's Creek by rail

Shannondale Springs was sold to H.C. Getzendanner

The New River Coal strike occurred

The Capitol City Lodge incorporated the Pythian Mutual Investment Fund

The Interurban streetcar line reached Vienna

Vienna opened West Virginia's first country club

Ward Engineering Works built the James Rumsey for the U.S. Engineering Corp

H. Rus Warne and Charles G. Rabenstein established an architect firm

Fairmont Coal Company operated 28 mines and employed 6,067

The community of Addison receives the postal name of Webster Springs

A narrow-gauge railroad arrived at Webster Springs

Davis sold the West Virginia Central & Pittsburg(h) Railroad to the Gould interests

The Medical Society of West Virginia name changed to West Virginia State Medical Association

A. James Manchin was elected secretary of state

Nick Joe Rahall was first elected into the U.S. House of Representatives in the 3rd Congressional District

Jay Rockefeller was elected governor, defeating Cecil Underwood by largest margin in state's history

Supreme Court of Appeals expanded a worker’s right to sue an employer for damages

Governor Rockefeller gave Roy Lee Harmon emeritus status s poet laureate

The Huntington Advertiser ceased publication and merged into the Herald-Dispatch

Boar hunting began in West Virginia

The Allegheny Indian Council and Cultural Center was founded in Phillipi

Maryat Lee wrote John Henry

The military program was discontinued at Linsly School

Jack Maurice became a contributing editor and columnist to the Charleston Daily Mail

John McBride became an astronaut

Louise McNeill was appointed poet laureate by Governor Rockefeller

Arnold Miller resigned as president of UMWA

State Supreme Court ruled on Morningstar v. Black and Decker, which held that the court had the ability to create common law

State Supreme Court ruled on Bradley v. Appalachian Power Co., where the court abolished the comparative negligence rule

A second Mormon "stake" was organized in Fairmont

Deadly riots prompted Arthur Recht to place Moundsville Penitentiary under judicial control

The WVU Personal Rapid Transit system was completed

Jayne Anne Phillips published Black Tickets

Gov. Jay Rockefeller persuades legislature to gradually eliminate the 3% sales tax on food

Jim Sprouse was appointed a judge of the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals by President Jimmy Carter

Building C was added to the state police academy

Sam Church Jr. became president of UMWA

Marshall Buckalew was elected president of the West Virginia Historical Education Foundation

The West Virginia Historical Society ceased publication of West Virginia History

West Virginia Independence Hall was opened as a museum by the Department of Culture and History

The West Virginia Juried Exhibition was first held at the Cultural Center

Mack Samples began serving as festival president of the West Virginia State Folk Festival

The Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

Meredith Sue Willis wrote A Space Apart

Tom Wolfe published The Right Stuff, celebrating Chuck Yeager

State legislature passed and county residents endorsed Sunday racing at Mountaineer Race Track

A baccalaureate degree in Bible was added at Ohio Valley College (now University)

William Price McNeel became editor of the Pocahontas Times

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel began construction of continuous caster

Union Carbide headquarters moved to Danbury, Connecticut

The elecro-metallurgical plant at Alloy was sold to the Elkem Company

Legislature gave the governor the authority to appoint the director of the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey

Jim Comstock sold the West Virginia Hillbilly to South Charleston Publishing Company

Mike Shott became general manager of WHIS radio

Meredith Sue Willis wrote Higher Ground

Margaret Workman was appointed to an unexpired term on the Kanawha Circuit Court by Governor Rockefeller

WVMR began broadcasting on 1370 AM

New Mennonite Congregation started in Barbour County

The Minter Homes Corporation closed its doors

A third Mormon stake was organized, in Huntington

Don Nehlen's Mountaineers beat Oklahoma at Norman

The N&W and Southern Railway System merged and became the Norfolk Southern Corporation

The British Broadcasting Corporation filmed Sylvia O'Brien at her home

Paw Paw was the site of the first branch bank in West Virginia.

David Selby appeared in Falcon Crest

Mary Lee Settle wrote The Killing Ground

The Smoot Theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

The South Charleston Recreation Center opened

Richard Trumka became president of UMWA

Melvin Lentz became wood chopping champion

Branch banking was legalized in West Virginia

Don West published In a Land of Plenty: A Don West Reader

Thomas W. Cole became president of West Virginia State College (now University)

Thomas Acker S.J. became president of Wheeling College (now Wheeling Jesuit University)

Bill Withers won a Grammy for "Just The Two Of Us"

Arnout "Sonny" Hyde became editor of the Wonderful West Virginia

The Luther Elkins Petroglyph was claimed to be of Irish origin with ancient markings

Major renovations took place at Kanawha (now Yeager) Airport

Appalachian Regional Hospitals changed its name to Appalachian Regional Healthcare

Pinckney Benedict received B.A. from Princeton University

Jennings Boyd was president of the McDowell County Board of Education

The East Huntington Bridge connecting Huntington and Proctorville won the Federal Highway Administration's award for design excellence

Most of Union Carbide Institute plant sold to French company, Rhone-Poulenc

Clay Foundation was established

Stephen Coonts published Flight of the Intruder

Hazel Dickens released It's Hard to Tell the Singer from the Song

Electioneering was prohibited within 300 feet of the polls

Production of Fiestaware began again with white, pink (rose), black. Cobalt blue, and apricot were introduced

Fostoria Glass plant in Moundsville closed

Per capita personal income in West Virginia rose to 86% of national average

A study estimated that as many as 764 men died from silicosis from the Hawks Nest Tunnel

Homer Laughlin China Company revived Fiestaware

A complete restructuring of the prison system was required by the Crain v. Bordenkircher court decision

Kanawha Valley Memorial Hospital merged with Charleston Area Medical Center

John Knowles wrote The Private Life of Axie Reed

Louie Glass shipped $24 million worth of glass and employed 525 people

The pygmy shrew was first reported in Canaan Valley

Kathy Mattea's song "Walk the Way the Wind Blows" became her first major hit

McCoy's Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Congressman Alan Mollohan was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee

Mount St. George was added to the National Register of Historic Places

Regular national broadcasts of Mountain Stage began on National Public Radio

Zebra mussels were introduced from Europe to the Great Lakes by commercial barge traffic

Henry Payne was runner up for the Pulitzer Prize.

The Peter Tarr furnace was partially restored.

A new division was created within the PSC to provide assistance to public water and wastewater providers.

Otis Rice became vice chairman of the Kanawha County Bicentennial Commission

The Smoot Theater stopped serving as a movie theater

United National Bank joined with Intermountain Bankshares and Kanawha Banking and Trust

The Education Foundation changed its name to West Virginia Historical Education Foundation

Pence Springs Resort property was purchased and renovated as a hotel

Thomas W. Cole left as president of West Virginia State College (now University)

Roomier pens making use of natural features were installed at the West Virginia State Wildlife Center at French Creek

The West Virginia Turnpike accommodated about 5 million cars

WVU Mountaineer Field football stadium expanded to 63,175 seats

A master's degree in business administration was first offered at West Virginia Wesleyan College

Rachael Worby became music director of Wheeling Symphony

The Henderson Hall historic district was added to the National Register

Robert C. Gillespie became president of West Virginia Institute of Technology

Charlotte Pritt campaigned for state Senate and won

Gaston Caperton defeated incumbent Governor Arch A. Moore Jr.

Joe Manchin was reelected to the West Virginia Senate

Margaret Workman was elected first woman on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and first woman elected to statewide office in West Virginia

Thomas Miller led the ticket in both the primary and general elections in State Supreme Court race

Ken Hechler was reelected as West Virginia's secretary of state

Darrell McGraw failed to gain reelection to the State Supreme Court

Walt Helmick elected to the House of Delegates

George Balsama became president of Beckley College (now Mountain State University)

The Islamic Center of West Virginia opened in Charleston

The WVU Mountaineers finished the regular football season unbeaten for first time

The school of nursing at Ohio Valley Medical Center closed

Nat Reese received the John Henry Award

Otis Rice became a member of the board of advisers at the WVU Library

Melvin Lentz became wood chopping champion

Henry Payne became the first editorial cartoonist to make his work available via computer

Cecil Roberts played a key role in the UMWA successful strike against Pittston Company

Bernard W. Schmitt became bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston

The Harrison Rural Electrification Association had 4,713 customers

The Smoot Theater was rescued by a citizen group headed by Felice Jorgeson

The Jewell v. Manard case required legislature to redesign the system for compensating court-appointed attorneys

Union Carbide and Indian government reached a settlement for the Bhopal plant incident

The Ohio Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation built a church near Wheeling

The Pittston Company tried to abrogate commitments to the UMWA welfare and retirement fund

Weirton Steel stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange

The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra celebrated 50 years

Ruby Memorial Hospital was designated the state's first level one trauma center

Construction of a Ronald McDonald House began in Morgantown

New owners led Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel out of bankruptcy

WVU at Parkersburg was re-affiliated with WVU

Simon McClure ran as the Libertarian candidate for governor

Joe Manchin was elected governor

Darrell McGraw was reelected state attorney general

Shelley Moore Capito was reelected to Congress

Betty Ireland became the first woman ever elected as secretary of state

Betty Ireland became the first woman ever elected as secretary of state and the first woman elected to the executive branch of government

Benjamin defeated Warren McGraw for Supreme Court seat

John McCain, the Republican candidate for president, won the state

Gus R. Douglass was reelected to a four-year term as commissioner of agriculture

Natalie Tennant was elected secretary of state

Joe Manchin was reelected governor

Menis Ketchum elected to Supreme Court of Appeals

Natalie Tennant elected Secretary of State.