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Hillbilly
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1900
The first time the word "hillbilly" was used in print, in a New York newspaper Other events that happened on or around 1900 West Virginia had 100,000 farms on 8.9 million acres Charles Ambler served as sheriff of Pleasants County for two years B&O added the Monongahela River Railroad (Fairmont to Clarksburg) There were 600 Baptist churches in West Virginia Raleigh County Republicans launched the Raleigh Herald Berkeley County population was 19,469 First women on the Bethany College board of trustees Jesse Bloch entered the family Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company Alonzo Brooks completed a business course at West Virginia Wesleyan College Capon Springs developer William H. Sale died Cass was founded by West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company West Virginia Pulp & Paper built paper mill at Covington, Virginia The Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) completed its Greenbrier Division into Pocahontas County to harvest red spruce on Cheat and Back Allegheny mountains Moses Donnally sold the Charleston Gazette Davis Child Shelter, an orphanage, was established in Charleston First sewer lines were installed in Clarksburg Coal production had doubled Little evidence of the Coal River locks and dams remained West Virginia chapter of the Colonial Dames of America was organized Only remnant populations of deer and turkey were noted West Virginia's median age was below national average at 20.3 Doddridge County population was 13,689 William Edwards wrote a book on the authorship of Shakespeare's plays Fairmont Times was first published by Gen. C. L. Smith and O. S. McKinney Thaddeus Fowler returned to West Virginia Garnet High School was founded with a class of 12 black students Howard Gore graduated from WVU with a degree in agriculture Harrison County held a population of 27,690 Nancy Hart and husband Joshua Douglas settled in Webster County Morris Harvey founded the Fayette National Bank William "Coin" Harvey moved to Arkansas to begin building a retreat and vacation resort The population of Helvetia reached 500 people Reported 1,062 native Hungarians in West Virginia Water power began being used for the production of electricity in West Virginia, at Kanawha Falls Census reported 2,458 Indians living in West Virginia There were 18 farms of the settlers on the Irish Tract Jackson County's population rose to 19,000 Don Redman was born in Piedmont The Kanawha Falls were augmented by a low dam Oil and natural gas in high quantities was found in Lewis County Cousin Abe Lilly received a law degree from the Southern Normal University, Tennessee Railroad replaces streams as the chief means of transporting logs to sawmills The Benwood Ironworks grew into a large steel mills James Miller ceased to be Summers County prosecuting attorney James Miller ran unsuccessfully for state auditor Steam and electric fans made larger mines possible The completion of the C&O Railway's Greenbrier Division to Marlinton put the Minnehaha Springs within reach of travelers Fairmont's first electric streetcar line built Morgantown population was at 1,895 The Morgantown Glass Works began production A developer began selling oceanfront lots for $25 in Myrtle Beach The anticlinal theory of oil and gas was applied along Sand Fork of the Little Kanawha The Toledo & Ohio Central gained control of the Kanawha & Michigan and the Kanawha & West Virginia Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad began purchasing the N&W stock E.M. Carney purchased the Pence Springs property Kanawha County had the largest population with 54,696 residents. The largest city in the state was Wheeling with a population of 38,878. The Lilly family began ownership of the Ruffner Hotel St. Joseph's Hospital was founded by Patrick J. Donahue Samuel and Violet Bryant got their first jobs on showboats James H. Brown's obelisk was erected at Spring Hill Cemetery Interurban railway operations began in Huntington Tyler County's oil and gas boom peaked Wayne County population was at 23,619 Wings were added to Woodburn Hall at WVU Weston had municipal water plant, sanitary and storm sewer systems and brick paved streets West Virginia Pulp & Paper began constructing a sawmill in Cass A nursing school was founded at Wheeling Hospital The Collins Colliery company store burned Matthew Whittico moved to Keystone Buffalo, elk, gray wolf and passenger pigeon had all disappeared from West Virginia The second courthouse at Winfield was built Wirt County's population peaked at 10,284 Carter G. Woodson became principal of Douglass High School The first record of the ballad "The Wreck on the C&O" came out
1915
The word "hillbilly" appeared in the title of a Harper's Monthly travel article, "Hobnobbing with Hillbillies" Other events that happened on or around 1915 Harry Stansbury contacted high schools across the state to participate The Belle Alkali Company started a plant near Belle The Warner-Klipstein Chemical Company started A Clarksburg newspaper became the Exponent-American First land for the Monongahela National Forest acquired Legislation gave authority to Forest, Game and Fish Warden to establish refuges for protection of wild game and birds Reinforced concrete began with C.A.P Turner Monument erected at Fort Lee site to mark the beginnings of Charleston Fostoria Glass's popular "American" pattern was fist designed and patented West Virginia Bureau of Mines reported 1,479 hand-loading miners employed at Gary The Mother's Pension Law was enacted The Board of Health was replaced by the Department of Health Local timbering brought a narrow-gauge railroad to Helvetia A 5-acre tract of land at Jackson's Mill was purchased by the Monongahela Power Company William "Keg" Purnell was born in Charleston Ann Baker was born Mother Jones testified before another congressional committee The New River & Pocahontas Consolidated Coal Company operated a series of drift mines at Layland, Fayette County Legislature passed bill to empower cities and towns to levy taxes for public libraries and reading rooms A monument to General Joseph Lightburn was placed at Vicksburg National Battlefield Park The Marcus family relocated to Farmington Marietta Manufacturing Company began operation in Point Pleasant The Concrete Steel Bridge Company built the Alderson bridge across the Greenbrier River Legislation called for provision for preventing underground mine fires and requiring foremen and fire bosses to pass state examination and receive state certification Margaret Montague published Closed Doors Ephraim Morgan was appointed to the Public Service Commission by Governor Hatfield Descendents of Hunter John Myers left the Sleepy Creek Mountain area A member of the Church of Nazarene moved to Mannington and started a church in his house Greasy Neale graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College Greasy Neale played with the Canton (Ohio) Bulldogs Herschel C. Ogden became the owner of the Parkersburg News The legislature removed Workmen's Compensation from the Public Service Commision Dr. Burke offered the state of West Virginia property for use as a tuberculosis sanatorium Frederick Rhead received a gold medal at the San Diego Exposition for his design of mirror black pottery glaze Rat Rodgers lettered in football Benjamin Rosenbloom served as state senator from Wheeling The state legislature passed a primary law that made it difficult for third parties to be on the ballot The West Virginia legislature first imposed the corporate excise tax Charles Ward died H. Rus Warne designed the West Virginia Building at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco H. Rus Warne designed a Masonic Temple Building Walter B "Watt" Powell moved to Charleston The West Virginia Coal Association was formed Legislation changed the name of West Virginia Colored Institute to West Virginia Collegiate Institute (now West Virginia State university) State women's suffrage amendment was reintroduced Carter G. Woodson published The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861 Lenna Yost became the state legislative chair of the West Virginia Federation of Women's Clubs Thomas Davis resigned from National Guard Vernon Johnson was elected the youngest Speaker of the House of Delegates
1970
James Dickey's novel, Deliverance, made the term "hillbilly" sinister Other events that happened on or around 1970 Muriel Dressler published "Appalachia" Easton Roller Mill was willed to the Monongalia Historical Society Ann Flagg died in Illinois Jack Fleming became sports director of WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh Jack Fleming became announcer for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association Ruth Ann Musick published Green Hills of Magic Fort Ashby was listed on the National Register of Historic Places Population of Grant County was at 8,607 Alberta Pierson Hannum's book Spin a Silver Dollar radio play was published as The Blue House by U.S. Information Agency The National Park Service opened the Harpers Ferry Center, to serve National Park units nationwide Frank Haymond received the American Bar Association's ABA Medal Henry Clay Furnace was added to the National Register of Historic Places Every Ohio River county except Jackson had at least one chemical plant Sam Huff ran unsuccessfully for Congress Alice Moore was elected to the Kanawha County Board of Education as an opponent of sex education Kanawha Records stopped recording Kenova population peaked at 5,000 Maryat Lee moved to Powley Creek Everett Lilly moved back to Raleigh County following son's death Alex Mahood died Joe Manchin graduated from WVU with a bachelor's in business administration The tannery in Marlinton closed Paul Marshall became a registered architect Irene McKinney received her master's from WVU The Meadow River Lumber Company was sold to Georgia-Pacific Arnold Miller was forced to retire from mining by black lung disease and arthritis Alan Mollohan began a Fairmont law firm Ona presented four NASCAR Grand National races Mylan Pharmaceuticals incorporated in Pennsylvania as Mylan Laboratories Justin B. Roberts became president of Ohio Valley College (now University) Squire Parsons graduated from West Virginia Institute of Technology The Penn Central Railroad corporation entered bankruptcy Frank Beyer purchased the Philippi mummies The first VHF non-commercial station in the state, WSWP-TV, started in Grandview Rock Springs Park shut down and was purchased by the Department of Highways. The first indication of Jay Rockefeller's intention to run for governor came when he spoke out against strip mining The Ruffner Hotel closed and was demolished for a parking lot David Selby earned a doctorate in drama from Southern Illinois University The Meadow River Lumber Company closed Jim Comstock republished Hubert Skidmore's Hawks Nest Ada "Bricktop" Smith recorded her only recording, "So Long, Baby," with Cy Colemen The South Charleston Mound was placed on the National Register of Historic Places State Police department headquarters relocated to new facilities Jerry West led the NBA in scoring The Folklore Society met at WVU The Highlands Conservancy worked to make cranberry backcountry a federal wilderness area Federal Highway Act passed allowing tolls to be retained Bob Wise received a B.A. from Duke University Bill Withers moved to Los Angeles WSAZ changed to WGNT An addition was added to the Kanawha (now Yeager) Airport
1972
Deliverance was made into a movie, furthering hillbilly stereotypes Other events that happened on or around 1972 Patrick Gainer retired as professor at WVU Glenville State College celebrated its centennial The Greenbrier Military Academy closed Perry Gresham wrote Campbell and the Colleges William Hoffman wrote A Walk to the River S. L. Jones' work was discovered at Pipestem State Park by folk art collector Herbert Wade Hemphill Jr. Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital was completed in Lewis County Harold Harvey and others began work to promote a state Libertarian Party Reported 80% of states population had some sort of library service Frederic J. Glazer became executive secretary of the West Virginia Library Commission Little Beaver State Park was established The Louie Glass Company was sold by Margaret Wohinc Arden Cogar Sr. cut a 10x10 vertical white pine in 14.45 seconds Louise McNeill published her second collection of poems M. Blane Michael was appointed special U.S. assistant attorney, Northern District of West Virginia A $30 state clothing allowance reached about 44,000 welfare children Agnes Reeves Greer died The Coty American Fashion Critics' Award recognized Mountain Artisans as helping to spur the American crafts movement The Mountain Institute was founded as the Woodlands Institute O'Dell Hall was built at Beckley College (now Mountain State University) The Mountaineer mascot figure was first used in commerce Milan Puskar left Mylan Pharmaceuticals The Mystery Hole became a Fayette County roadside attraction John Norman went to the Texas Heart Institute Logging in Otter Creek ceased when an effort began to have the area designated a wilderness area A state highway marker was erected to commemorate the Pinch Reunion Aerial tramway began operation at Pipestem Resort State Park Former Attorney General C. Donald Robertson pleads guilty to charges involving kickbacks on federal housing assistance Pricketts Fort was listed on the National Register of Historic Places Announcer Jack Fleming first referred to the West Virginia University marching band as the "Pride of West Virginia" during the Peach Bowl broadcast Legislation authorized the state Department of Education to create Regional Education Service Agencies (RESAs) The Shenandoah Corporation bought the Charles Town Race Track Title 9 federal legislation mandated school and college athletic programs for girls and women Stonecoal Lake was built Mel Street recorded "Borrowed Angel" The Wells Hotel building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places Cecil Underwood was named president of Bethany College Grand Central Mall, West Virginia's first shopping mall, was built at Vienna Uncle Homer Walker was featured in the documentary film Morris Family Old-Time Music Festival Jerry West was named most valuable player in NBA all-star game Jerry West played in the NBA championship West Liberty lost its Wheeling and Weirton branch campuses The West Liberty branch campus in Wheeling became West Virginia Northern Community College Warren S. Lewis led the major updating of the old seminary grounds at Hilltop Baptist Center A new hospital opened in Weston Charles L. Currie S.J. became president of Wheeling College (now Wheeling University) Robert Kreis left Wheeling Symphony leading way to guest conductors Bob Wise became involved in community redevelopment from the Buffalo Creek disaster Bill Withers won a Grammy for "Ain't No Sunshine" Carol Miller graduated from Columbia College View Articles by Existing Key Dates or Specify Your Own Date Range |
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