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 24, 1842: Author Ambrose Bierce was born. Bierce found the setting for some of his famous short stories in the mountains of Civil War-era West Virginia.
June 25, 1811: Bridge builder Lemuel Chenoweth was born near Beverly, Randolph County. His many works included the earliest covered bridge at Beverly and the famous Philippi covered bridge.
June 25, 1950: The Korean War began when the armies of Communist North Korea pushed across the 38th parallel into South Korea. Army private Kenneth Shadrick of Wyoming County was among the first U.S. servicemen killed in action, on July 5, 1950.
June 26, 1887: Sheriff Don Chafin was born in Logan County. Chafin was a bitter foe of union organizers and, with financial support from coal companies, used his many deputies to keep labor organizers out of Logan County, most notably during the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain.
June 26, 1892: Pearl Buck was born in Hillsboro in the home of her maternal grandparents. She received the Pulitzer Prize for The Good Earth and was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
June 26, 1936: Basketball star Hal Greer was born in Huntington. Greer was the first Black athlete to play at Marshall College (now University). When his pro career ended in 1973, he held the NBA record for most games played and ranked in the top 10 in points scored, field goals attempted and field goals made.
June 27, 1791: This is the earliest known issue date for the Potowmac Guardian, and Berkeley Advertiser, the first newspaper in present West Virginia. Published initially in Shepherdstown and then Martinsburg, the last known issue was as the Potomak Guardian in 1800.
June 27, 1897: Musician Maceo Pinkard was born in Bluefield. Pinkard became one of the most successful songwriters of the 1920s Jazz Era, including co-writing “Sweet Georgia Brown.”
June 27, 1929: WHIS radio first went on the air in Bluefield. Brothers Hugh and Jim Shott named the station after their father, Hugh Ike Shott Sr., congressman and owner of the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. The station became an important outlet for live country music.
June 27, 1961: Honey in the Rock was first performed at Grandview State Park near Beckley. The play by Kermit Hunter depicts the founding of the Mountain State in 1863.
June 29, 1845: George W. Atkinson was born in Charleston. In 1896, Atkinson was elected governor in an upset victory over Cornelius C. Watts of Charleston, ending 26 years of rule by the Democratic Party.
June 29, 1952: Writer Breece D’J Pancake was born in South Charleston and grew up in Milton, Cabell County. Many of Pancake’s stories are set in Milton, fictionalized as “Rock Camp.”
June 29, 2012: A violent storm called a derecho raced across West Virginia, leaving downed trees and damaged homes in its wake. About 688,000 homes and businesses lost power for a week during a widespread heat wave.
June 30, 1914: Statewide prohibition of alcohol sales became law years before it was enacted for the whole nation.
June 30, 1929: The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert at Oglebay Park.
June 30, 1944: Harpers Ferry National Historical Park was authorized as a national monument, the first in West Virginia.
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.
