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.
March 6, 1820: Joseph H. Diss Debar was born in France. Diss Debar was the designer
of the Great Seal of West Virginia and the state’s first commissioner of immigration.
March 6, 1828: Johnson Camden was born in Lewis County. In 1861, he opened one of
the state’s first oil wells, in Wirt County, and a refinery in Parkersburg in 1869. He was elected
to the U.S. Senate in 1881.
March 6, 1900: A mine explosion at the Red Ash Mine in Fayette County killed 46 men.
It was the state’s first major mine disaster of the 20th century. Five years later, another 24 men
were killed at the same mine.
March 7, 1856: Tucker County was formed from Randolph County and named for Henry
St. George Tucker Sr., a Virginia soldier, statesman and jurist.
March 7, 1929: The legislature adopted the official state flag. The state’s coat of arms is
emblazoned in color in the center. Above the seal is a red ribbon lettered “State of West
Virginia,” and a wreath of rhododendron surrounds the lower part of the seal. The white field of
the flag is bordered on four sides by a strip of blue.
March 7, 1990: West Virginia teachers went on strike after negotiations with the
governor’s office and legislature failed to produce an agreement on a pay package. Teachers in
47 of the 55 counties were involved in the 11-day strike.
March 8, 1926: An explosion killed 19 miners at Eccles in Raleigh County. Ten men
were saved by barricading themselves in the mine.
March 8, 1963: The state colors of blue and “old gold” were adopted by the legislature.
March 9, 1832: George Robert Latham was born. At the onset of the Civil War, Latham
turned his Grafton law office into a recruiting station, and he led the first Union troops in north-
central West Virginia.
March 9, 1953: Football player Dennis Harrah was born in South Charleston. In the
NFL, Harrah played in 168 games for the Los Angeles Rams (1975-87), was a six-time All Pro,
and played in one Super Bowl.
March 9, 1965: President Lyndon Johnson signed the act establishing the Appalachian
Regional Commission.
March 10, 1910: Kermit McKeever, considered the father of the modern West Virginia
state park system, was born near Renick, Greenbrier County.
March 10, 1915: West Virginia’s first Rotary International club was established in
Wheeling.
March 10, 1920: West Virginia became the 34th state to ratify the 19th Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution, which guaranteed the right of women to vote.
March 11, 1847: Boone County was formed from parts of Logan, Kanawha and Cabell
counties and named for Daniel Boone.
March 11, 1848: Putnam County was formed from portions of Kanawha, Mason and
Cabell counties. It was named in honor of Gen. Israel Putnam, a leading commander at the Battle
of Bunker Hill during the Revolutionary War.
March 11, 1856: Roane County was created from parts of Kanawha, Jackson and Gilmer
counties. It was named for Judge Spencer Roane, a son-in-law of Patrick Henry.
March 12, 1835: Marshall County was created from part of Ohio County. It was named
for John Marshall, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
March 12, 1850: Wheeling Hospital was chartered. During the Civil War, the institution
was used as a general military hospital. The Sisters of Saint Joseph were hired as army nurses,
treating wounded Union and Confederate soldiers side by side.