Bob Powell, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Three McCoys Killed by Hatfields In Kentucky: August 8, 1882

One of the pivotal events in the Hatfield-McCoy Feud occurred on August 8, 1882. Tensions between the two families had started rising a few days earlier, when Ellison Hatfield—the brother of Hatfield patriarch “Devil Anse”—was mortally wounded by three of Randolph McCoy’s sons in a drunken election-day brawl. Apparently, the fight occurred over a small debt owed on a fiddle.

After learning of the incident, “Devil Anse” Hatfield gathered up his wounded brother. His sons and other family members captured Tolbert, Pharmer, and Randolph McCoy Jr.

When Ellison died of his wounds, the Hatfields escorted the McCoys back into Kentucky—just across the Tug River from present-day Matewan—tied them to pawpaw bushes, lined up as a firing squad, and executed all three.

The two families had been at odds for years, but the election-day murder and subsequent execution took the feud to another level. The next few years were marked by sporadic revenge murders and legal battles in the courtrooms of West Virginia and Kentucky. The feud climaxed with the Hatfields’ deadly attack on Randolph McCoy’s cabin on New Year’s Day 1888.

Greenville Treaty Ends Indian Threat to Western Va: August 3, 1795

On August 3, 1795, the United States and several Indian tribes signed the Treaty of Greenville. Although the treaty was signed in western Ohio, it had a major impact on the region that would later become West Virginia.

Under the terms of the treaty, the Indians ceded to the United States about two-thirds of present Ohio. By pushing the tribes west, it ended the threat of Indian attacks on the Western Virginia frontier.

For decades, Indians and pioneers had had continual conflicts on the Western Virginia frontier, with the violence peaking in 1774 and again during the Revolutionary War. Although Indian attacks waned in the years following the Revolution, there were still sporadic conflicts. The Treaty of Greenville brought peace to Western Virginia and sparked an influx of new settlement, while depriving Indians of even more of their ancestral land.

The treaty didn’t assure peace in Ohio, though, and places further west. Settlers immediately poured into territory promised to the tribes. Also, some Indian leaders, such as Tecumseh, refused to sign the treaty and began putting up long-term resistance.

Logan County Sheriff Don Chafin Died: August 9, 1954

On August 9, 1954, former Logan County Sheriff Don Chafin died in Huntington at age 67. Chafin had been elected Logan County assessor at the young age of 21 and sheriff at 25. After a term as county clerk, he was reelected sheriff in 1920.

Sheriff Chafin bitterly opposed labor unions, and, with funding from coal companies, used his deputies—including ones hired off the street—to keep the United Mine Workers of America out of Logan County.

He was hated so much by labor that he was once shot on sight by a union leader when he walked into UMWA headquarters in Charleston. The union man stated that his only regret was not using a more powerful pistol.

In 1921, Chafin led the resistance to the miners’ armed march on Logan County. He organized forces to combat the marchers at the Battle of Blair Mountain and had homemade bombs dropped on the miners.

Supposedly, Don Chafin received 10 cents for every ton of coal mined in Logan County. At the time of his death, he was a millionaire living in a Huntington penthouse.

Piedmont Airliner Crashes Near Charleston: August 10, 1968

On August 10, 1968, a Piedmont Airlines plane was approaching Charleston’s Kanawha Airport when it clipped some trees, crashed into a hillside, and…

On August 10, 1968, a Piedmont Airlines plane was approaching Charleston’s Kanawha Airport when it clipped some trees, crashed into a hillside, and burned; 35 of the 37 people on board were killed.

The passenger plane was en route from Louisville, Kentucky, to Roanoke, Virginia, with stops in Cincinnati and Charleston.

The airliner departed Cincinnati just after 8 a.m. As it approached Charleston less than an hour later, the pilots ran into fog and smoke. Visibility was reduced to a half mile, largely obscuring the hilltop runway from view. At five minutes before nine, the pilots reported to the tower that they were having trouble seeing the runway lights. Shortly afterward, air traffic controllers heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from the approach to the runway.

The plane skidded up the hill more than 350 feet, coming to rest just five feet short of the runway. If the plane had been just 50 yards higher, it likely would’ve landed safely.

This remains the deadliest air disaster in the history of Charleston’s airport, which is now named for aviator Chuck Yeager.

Niagara Movement Meets in Harpers Ferry: August 15, 1906

The Niagara Movement—an important civil rights group—held its first public meeting at Harpers Ferry’s Storer College on August 15, 1906.

The movement emerged from increasing philosophical differences between Booker T. Washington—the most powerful black leader of his day—and more radical intellectuals.

While Washington wanted to work more closely with the white community to improve African-Americans’ economic status, his critics—led by W. E. B. DuBois, William Monroe Trotter, and others—urged a more militant approach.

The one-year-old movement was named for an earlier meeting at Niagara Falls. The leaders chose Harpers Ferry for its first public meeting in honor of abolitionist John Brown, who’d led an ill-fated raid on the town’s armory in 1859.

The 1906 assembly included a barefoot pilgrimage to John Brown’s Fort, and DuBois dedicated the group’s mission to Brown. Although most of the Niagara leaders were not from West Virginia, J. R. Clifford—a graduate of Storer College and West Virginia’s first black lawyer and newspaper publisher—played an active role.

The Niagara Movement dissolved in 1911, when DuBois suggested forming a new interracial group: the NAACP.

Pres. G.W. Bush Visits Ripley 4th of July: July 4, 2002

On July 4, 2002, President George W. Bush delivered a 45-minute “salute to veterans” at Ripley’s annual Fourth of July ceremonies.

It was the first Independence Day following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The president used the opportunity to comment on the nation’s War on Terrorism, praised the effort of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and reassured the crowd about homeland security.

The president chose to speak in Ripley because its Independence Day celebration symbolizes the patriotism of small-town America so perfectly. The Jackson County seat claims to have the “Biggest Small Town” Fourth of July event in the nation and the oldest in West Virginia, dating back to the late 1800s. Old photos of the event show patriotic citizens decked out in their Sunday best, peering out of windows and standing on roofs to get a glimpse of the parade. By the late 1960s, the festivities were so well-known that the NBC Today Show broadcast live from Ripley on July 4.

Today, Ripley’s Fourth of July activities include live music, a grand parade, a two-mile race, a beauty pageant, a carnival, and fireworks.