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.
Oct. 1, 1896: Rural Free Delivery began in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle. Before this, there was no rural mail delivery, although more than half the country’s citizens lived in rural areas.
Oct. 1, 1950: West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman was born in Indiana, graduated from Bethany College, and later moved to Wheeling. He is a noted storyteller, children’s author, and poet who wrote and recited his poem “A Song for West Virginia” for our state’s sesquicentennial in 2013.
Oct. 2, 1923: Hershel “Woody” Williams was born in Quiet Dell. During World War II, Williams neutralized seven concrete pillboxes at the Battle of Iwo Jima. Prior to his death in 2022, he was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.
Oct. 2, 1924: Longtime labor leader Miles Stanley was born in Dunbar, Kanawha County. He was the first president of the West Virginia Labor Federation AFL-CIO, serving from 1957 until his death in 1974.
Oct. 2, 1949: The first class began training at the State Police Academy in Institute. The 20 cadets graduated on Dec. 20, 1949.
Oct. 3, 1935: A patient at Weston State Hospital started a fire in the main building that destroyed six men’s wards and caused a cupola to fall through the roof. The building was repaired, and the hospital remained in service for nearly 60 more years.
Oct. 4, 1934: Sam Huff was born at Edna, near Morgantown. Huff was part of a fearsome defense that led West Virginia University to a 38-7 record between 1952 and 1955, including three consecutive wins over rival Penn State.
Oct. 4, 1967: Basketball player Vicky Bullett was born in Martinsburg. While starring at the University of Maryland, she helped lead the U.S. women’s basketball team to a gold medal in the 1988 Olympics.
Oct. 5, 1992: Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton was designated as a National Historic Landmark, one of only 17 in the state. The first Mother’s Day observance took place at the church on May 10, 1908.
Oct. 6, 1928: Traditional musician William “Frank” George was born in Bluefield. The multi-instrumentalist and his wife, Jane George, were leaders in the old-time revival of the 1960s and 1970s.
Oct. 7, 1747: Pioneer Ebenezer Zane, the founder of Wheeling, was born on the South Branch of the Potomac River near present Moorefield in Hardy County.
Oct. 1763: England’s King George III issued a proclamation banning all settlement west of the Alleghenies. In present-day West Virginia, the line would have run along the divide between eastern rivers and the Ohio watershed, leaving only the Eastern Panhandle and a fraction of Monroe County open to settlement.
Oct. 7, 1900: Poet Roy Lee Harmon was born in Boone County. He was the founder of the West Virginia Poetry Society and served as the state’s poet laureate for 38 years.
Oct. 7, 1957: Musician Michael W. Smith was born in Kenova. One of the top-selling artists in gospel music history, he has recorded 37 albums (selling 18 million), had 35 number-one songs, and written over a dozen books.
