This Week in West Virginia History

African-American educator William H. Davis was born in Columbus, Ohio, on November 27, 1848. As a young man of 15, he enlisted in the Union Army and…

On October 15, 1850, Joseph Johnson of Harrison County called the Virginia Constitutional Convention, in order to address concerns that Western Virginia (now West Virginia) was under-represented in state government.

The entertainer known as Dagmar died on October 9, 2001. Born as Virginia Ruth Egnor in Logan County, West Virginia in 1921, in the 1950s she was one of the most recognizable faces on television and even graced the cover of Life magazine.

Harman Blennerhassett was born in London to a wealthy Irish family on October 8, 1764. He immigrated to the US and built an immense mansion near Parkersburg on what would become known as Blennerhassett Island. He is best remembered, though, for his role in a sketchy plot.

On October 1, 1896, mail carriers fanned out into the Jefferson County countryside and launched the nation’s first Rural Free Delivery, known as RFD, in West Virginia.

The Wheeling-La Belle Nail Company closed on September 30, 2010, ending more than 150 years in business. The company was founded in 1852 in South Wheeling as the La Belle Ironworks.

On September 29, 1861, one of the worst floods on record hit the Kanawha River watershed. The river crested nearly 17 feet above flood stage in Charleston and badly damaged the valley’s salt works.

Labor activist Sarah “Mother” Blizzard died on September 28, 1955, at age 90. She spent her early years on her family’s farm in Fayette County.

William MacCorkle died on September 24, 1930, at age 73. As governor of West Virginia he emphasized road building, higher standards for physicians, and greater accountability for banks and insurance companies.

On September 21, 1929, a state commission ruled that Nancy Hanks—the mother of Abraham Lincoln—was born in what is now West Virginia.