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.
Dec. 12, 1931: Attorney George Daugherty, better known as the comic singer, storyteller,
and songwriter “The Earl of Elkview,” was born upstairs over a Mannington silent movie house.
Dec. 12, 1942: Internationally known jazz pianist and recording artist Bob Thompson
was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York. He studied music at West Virginia State College (now
University) and is the house pianist for the Mountain Stage radio program.
Dec. 12, 1953: Chuck Yeager set a speed record by flying two-and-a-half times the speed
of sound in a Bell X-1A. Yeager, who grew up in Hamlin, had broken the sound barrier six years
earlier on Oct. 14, 1947.
Dec. 13, 1861: The Battle of Allegheny Mountain, one of the bloodiest conflicts of the
Civil War’s first year, took place in Pocahontas County.
Dec. 13, 1926: Wheeling radio station WWVA-AM began broadcasting. The 50-watt
station operated from the basement of John Stroebel’s house for most of its first year. Stroebel
was a physics teacher and wireless pioneer.
Dec. 14, 1910: The accidental death of a Chesapeake & Ohio Railway engineer near St.
Albans led to the popular train song “Billy Richardson’s Last Ride.”
Dec. 14, 1857: Coal operator Justus Collins was born. He owned mines at Glen Jean and
Whipple, and the octagonal Whipple company store survives today as a local landmark.
Dec. 15, 1879: Roman Catholic Bishop John Joseph Swint was born in Pickens. He was
responsible for building many religious institutions in the Diocese of Wheeling (now the Diocese
of Wheeling-Charleston).
Dec. 15, 1953: Blacksmith Jeff Fetty was born in Spencer and later graduated from
Spencer High School. In 2012, he was named one of the world’s top metal designers by the
International Metal Design Annual—becoming only the sixth American to receive the honor.
Dec. 15, 1967: The Silver Bridge at Point Pleasant collapsed, killing 46 people. The
Silver Bridge was opened to traffic on May 19, 1928. The accident led to the passage of
legislation for a national bridge inspection and safety program.
Dec. 15, 1972: An explosion at a Weirton Steel coke plant on Browns Island killed 19
men and injured 10 others. It was the worst industrial accident in Weirton’s history.
Dec. 16, 1893: Alexander Martin died at the age of 71 in Greencastle, Indiana. Martin
was the first president of the Agricultural College of West Virginia, which was renamed West
Virginia University at his recommendation in 1868.
Dec. 16, 1897: The last public hanging in West Virginia occurred in Ripley. John F.
Morgan had been convicted of murdering Chloe Greene and two of her three children in the
Grass Lick area of Jackson County.
Dec. 17, 1957: The J. L. Stifel & Sons calico plant at Wheeling closed. For most of its
history, Stifel &Sons produced indigo-dyed prints and drills for clothing manufacturers. At itspeak, the plant produced 3.5 million yards of cloth per month.
Dec. 18, 1842: U.S. Senator Nathan B. Scott was born. By 1900, Scott had become one
of West Virginia’s four richest and most powerful men.
Dec. 18, 1864: General Harry Hill Bandholtz was born in Michigan. Bandholtz was
commander of the federal troops that intervened to end the West Virginia Mine Wars in 1921.
Dec. 18, 1816: Lewis County was formed. It was named for Colonel Charles Lewis,
killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant.