Charleston WV – The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history. To read more, go to e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia at www.wvencyclopedia.org.
June 17, 1813: General Thomas Maley Harris was born at present Harrisville. He rose to prominence after the Civil War, when he served on the military commission that tried conspirators who acted with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln.
June 17, 1916: The West Virginia High School Athletic Association was organized at Charleston with 11 charter members. Its name was changed to the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission in 1955.
June 17, 1961: A Wayne County bridge was named in honor of TV newsman David Brinkley. The bridge’s condition had become a news item during the 1960 presidential primary; state officials closed the bridge, repaired it, and invited Brinkley to return for the ceremony officially naming it the “Brinkley Bridge.”
June 18, 1944: It’s Wheeling Steel aired its last program. A half-hour musical variety radio program that drew upon talented Wheeling Steel employees and families, the show ran eight years and was broadcast nationally.
June 19, 1905: Senator Rush Dew Holt was born in Weston. At 29, Holt was the youngest person ever elected to the U.S. Senate, earning him the nickname “Boy Senator.” Since the Constitution sets 30 as the minimum age for senators, Holt had to wait until his birthday in June 1935 to take his seat, nearly six months into the 74th Congress.
June 19, 1909: Oak Park, an amusement park in Preston County, opened. The park was an easy ride from Morgantown and helped fill up trains on weekends and holidays. On one summer day in 1909, 14 trains brought more than 4,000 people to the park.
June 20, 1861: Francis Pierpont was unanimously elected governor of the unionist Reorganized Government of Virginia, which sat at Wheeling until West Virginia entered the Union two years later.
June 20, 1863: West Virginia became the 35th state. Arthur Boreman was the state’s first governor.
June 20, 1932: The West Virginia capitol was officially dedicated. Construction had begun in 1924.
June 20, 1963: On the 100th birthday of West Virginia, President John F. Kennedy made his last appearance in West Virginia. Speaking at the state capitol in a pouring rain, he said, “The sun does not always shine in West Virginia, but the people do.”
June 20, 1970: The play Hatfields and McCoys opened at Grandview State Park amphitheater. Written by Billy Edd Wheeler with music by Ewel Cornett, the show joined Honey in the Rock as a regular summer offering.
June 20, 1974: The Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight statue was unveiled at the state capitol. Designed by Fairmont native Fred Torrey and sculpted by Bernie Wiepper of Charleston, it depicts Lincoln walking the halls of the White House on New Year’s Eve 1862, pondering whether to make West Virginia a state.
June 21, 1920: Wheeling Steel Corporation was organized when La Belle Iron Works, Whitaker-Glessner Company, and Wheeling Steel & Iron Works combined. In the 1920s, Wheeling Steel employed more than 17,000 workers and ranked as the nation’s third-largest steelmaker.
June 21, 1959: Musician Kathy Mattea was born in South Charleston but grew up in nearby Cross Lanes. She rose to country music stardom in the 1980s. Since 2021, she has hosted the Mountain Stage radio program.
June 22, 1926: Earl Olgebay died in Cleveland. He was one of West Virginia’s most successful industrialists and a generous benefactor.
June 22, 1949: Artist Paula Clendenin was born in Cedar Grove, Kanawha County. She has earned national acclaim for her paintings, richly colored, textured shapes that merge West Virginia’s mountain landscape with mystical and spiritual symbols.
June 23, 1944: A tornado struck Shinnston and surrounding areas, killing 103 people and injuring hundreds more.
June 23, 1952: The Toledo Mud Hens moved to West Virginia’s capital city, making the Charleston Senators part of the Class AAA American Association for the first time.
June 23, 2016: Eight inches of rain fell in a 12-hour period. The Meadow, Cherry and Elk rivers, as well as Howard Creek, flooded downtowns and The Greenbrier resort, killing a total of 23 people.
e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council. For more information contact the West Virginia Humanities Council, 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301; (304) 346-8500; or visit e-WV at www.wvencyclopedia.org.
