July 1
On July 1, 1914, prohibition took effect in West Virginia.
On July 1, 1942, 21 soldiers were killed when a transport plane crashed near Premier in McDowell County.
On July 1, 1897, Edward S. Shue was convicted for murdering his wife, Heaster Shue.
July 2
On July 2, 1949, the Ritchie County community of Mole Hill changed its name to Mountain.
July 3
On July 3, 1941, Albert Blakeslee White, who served as governor of West Virginia from 1901 to 1905, died in
Parkersburg.
July 4
On July 4, 1928, Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park was dedicated.
July 5
On July 5, 1908, the first Father's Day observance was held at Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church
South
in Fairmont.
July 6
On July 6, 1788, Bishop Francis Asbury preached to a large congregation at Rehoboth Church in
present-day Monroe County.
July 7
On July 7, 1928, the Madonna of the Trails monument at Wheeling Park, the second of 12 nearly identical monuments erected across the United States by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution to honor women pioneers of the westward movement, was unveiled.
On July 7, 1931, noted businessman John Brisben Walker died.
July 8
On July 8, 1886, the West Virginia Bar Association was organized in Grafton.
July 9
On July 9, 1942, an explosion at the Pursglove #2 mine in Monongalia County killed twenty coal
miners.
July 10
On July 10, 1961, Mildred Gillars, better known as "Axis Sally," was released from prison after
serving
eleven years at the Federal Reformatory for Women in Alderson. She was convicted of treason
for
broadcasting Nazi propaganda during World War II.
July 11
On July 11, 1861, Union troops under Brigadier General William S. Rosecrans defeated a
Confederate
force at the Battle of Rich Mountain.
July 12
On July 12, 1749, the Executive Council of Virginia gave the Loyal Company permission to
"take up
and survey" 800,000 acres of land in western Virginia.
July 13
On July 13, 1965, former congressman Cleveland Monroe Bailey died.
July 14
On July 14, 1862, the United States senate approved statehood for West Virginia by a vote of
23-17.
July 15
On July 15, 1763, Native Americans led by Cornstalk launched an attack on settlers in the Greenbrier Valley.
July 16
On July 16, 1877, B&O Railroad workers began a labor strike in Martinsburg.
July 17
On July 17, 1922, striking miners launched an attack on the Brooke County community of
Cliftonville.
July 18
On July 18, 1865, Samuel I. Cabell was murdered in Kanawha County.
July 19
On July 19, 1863, a Confederate cavalry force under General John Hunt Morgan was attacked by
Union forces while attempting to cross the Ohio River at the Battle of Buffington Island.
July 20
On July 20, 1874, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia set aside the murder
conviction of
Taylor Strauder and sent the case back to Ohio County for further action.
July 21
On July 21, 1890, the West Virginia Reform School at Pruntytown opened.
July 22
On July 22, 1930, the infamous Dunglen Hotel in Thurmond, was destroyed by fire.
July 23
On July 23, 1966, an explosion at the New River Company's Siltix mine near Mount Hope killed
seven
coal miners.
July 24
On July 24, 1926, a bridge at Whitesville in Boone County collapsed, killing six and wounding
dozens.
July 25
On July 25, 1960, Governor Cecil Underwood addressed the Republican National Convention in
Chicago.
July 26
On July 26, 1923, West Virginia's first state gasoline tax took effect.
July 27
On July 27, 1897, a conference of leaders from various trade unions met in Wheeling to support
striking coal miners.
July 28
On July 28, 1927, the Potomac Valley Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution,
purchased Fort Ashby.
July 29
The first county 4-H camp in the United States was held at Camp Good Luck in Randolph
County, July
29-31, 1915.
July 30
On July 30, 1782, noted frontiersman Samuel McCulloch was killed by Native Americans.
July 31
On July 31, 1955, WHIS-TV in Bluefield debuted.