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.
July 18, 1776: Methodist bishop Francis Asbury first set foot in present West Virginia
outside of Berkeley Springs. He worked extensively in what is now the Eastern Panhandle,
preaching and lecturing almost every day, before continuing farther into western Virginia.
July 18, 1893: Spencer State Hospital opened. With its connected brick buildings, a
quarter-mile in length, the hospital was sometimes referred to as the longest continuous brick
building in America. It remained in operation until June 1989.
July 19, 1850: Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Wheeling, naming Richard V.
Whelan as its first bishop.
July 19, 1863: A Confederate raid led by Gen. John Morgan came to an end on
Buffington Island, near Ravenswood. The Confederates were overtaken by federal troops, local
militia and three U.S. Navy gunboats.
July 19, 1877: Federal troops arrived in Martinsburg, where the Railroad Strike of 1877
had begun days earlier. The troops ended the violence in Martinsburg, but the deadly strike
continued across the country into September. It was the first work stoppage in U.S. history to
spread nationally.
July 19, 1946: Author Stephen Coonts was born in Morgantown. After graduating from
West Virginia University and serving in the navy during the Vietnam War, Coonts became a
best-selling action and adventure novelist with the 1986 publication of Flight of the Intruder.
July 19, 1952: Novelist Jayne Anne Phillips was born in Buckhannon. After graduating
from West Virginia University, her short stories and novels began receiving wide recognition. In
2024, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her 2023 novel Night Watch, about a
mother and daughter in West Virginia after the Civil War.
July 20, 2010: Carte Goodwin became the nation’s youngest sitting senator. Goodwin
was appointed to fill Robert C. Byrd’s seat in the U.S. Senate following Byrd’s death.
July 21, 1924: Don Knotts was born in Morgantown. The comedy legend will be forever
remembered for portraying Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show.
July 22, 1859: Athlete “Jack” Glasscock was born in Wheeling. Glasscock, who played
bare-handed, was one of baseball’s premier shortstops of the 19th century.
July 22, 1937: Musician Tommy Thompson was born in St. Albans, Kanawha County.
Through his group, the Red Clay Ramblers, and a career that spanned four decades, Thompson
played a major role in spreading the popularity of old-time music.
July 23, 1863: Financier and industrialist Isaac Thomas Mann was born in Greenbrier
County. As president of the Bank of Bramwell and the Pocahontas Fuel Company for three
decades, “Ike” Mann held vast holdings in coal, timber and especially financial institutions.
July 23, 1919: Novelist Davis Grubb was born in Moundsville. His renown came with
his first novel, The Night of the Hunter (1953), a gripping suspense story adapted into a classic
film in 1955 and for TV in 1991.
July 24, 1823: Arthur Boreman, West Virginia’s first governor, was born in Waynesburg,
Pennsylvania. His family moved to Middlebourne, Tyler County, when he was still an infant.
July 24, 1919: Sam Taylor of Mercer County became the first West Virginia State Police
trooper. During his tenure, Taylor tracked moonshiners and bootleggers, and helped set up new
state police detachments.
July 24, 1929: Cornelius Charlton was born in East Gulf, Raleigh County. Charlton was
killed in battle during the Korean War, and he was honored posthumously with the Medal of
Honor.
July 24, 1942: Actor Chris Sarandon was born in Beckley. A film, stage and television
performer, some of his credits include The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Princess Bride and
an Oscar nomination for Dog Day Afternoon.
July 24, 1983: Kansas City Royals player and Glen Dale native George Brett was
involved in the “Pine-Tar Bat Incident.” After hitting a game-winning home run against the New
York Yankees, the umpires ruled that Brett’s bat contained too much pine tar and called him out.
The ensuing melee at home plate is classic baseball lore.