Author: Bob Powell

Loyal Company Granted 800,000 Acres: July 12, 1749

On July 12, 1749, the Colony of Virginia granted the Loyal Company 800,000 acres in what is today parts of southern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia, and southeastern Kentucky. The Loyal Company promoted settlement in Western Virginia at a time when few pioneers dared to venture west of the Allegheny Mountains.

By 1754, the land company had settled about 200 families, including some along the New and Bluestone rivers. Most of these settlements, though, were destroyed by Indians during the French and Indian War.

The grants to the Loyal Company, and to the Greenbrier and Ohio companies, were early attempts by colonial Virginia to resist English rule. The king of England believed that he alone had the right to award land grants, while Virginia’s leaders felt they should control western lands.

After the French and Indian War, England tried to repress violence on the frontier by forbidding settlement west of the Alleghenies. However, many land speculators and pioneers ignored the order of the crown and pushed into Western Virginia. This westward expansion heightened tensions with England and furthered our nation’s journey toward independence.

Union Victory at Rich Mountain: July 11, 1961

On July 11, 1861, the Battle of Rich Mountain was fought in Randolph County. It was the climax of a successful Union campaign to seize control of Western Virginia early in the Civil War.

Confederate General Robert Garnett had established defensive positions at Laurel Hill and Rich Mountain. Suspecting an attack on Laurel Hill, Garnett placed only about a fourth of his men on Rich Mountain, under the command of Colonel John Pegram.

Union commander George McClellan surprised Garnett and dispatched the bulk of his force, led by General William Rosecrans, to Rich Mountain. Rosecrans trapped the Confederates and captured the mountain.

The battle had two important results. First, the victory propelled McClellan into command of the Army of the Potomac—the Union’s most significant army in the East. McClellan’s Western Virginia campaign, though, was the last of his military glory. As head of the Army of the Potomac, he was continually bested by Confederate generals Joseph Johnston and Robert E. Lee. More importantly for our state’s history, Rich Mountain ensured Northern control of the region and helped pave the way for the formation of West Virginia.

Cartoonist Kendall Vintroux Born: July 5, 1896

Cartoonist Kendall Vintroux was born at Fraziers Bottom in Putnam County on July 5, 1896. When his father became ill, Vintroux dropped out of high school to help run the family’s farm.

His career as a cartoonist began when he submitted a humorous drawing to the Charleston Gazette about the town of Poca’s first paved road, which was only eight feet wide.

Vintroux officially joined the Gazette staff in 1922, when he was 25. By the 1930s, he’d started lampooning famous politicians like Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt. Another favorite topic was the Dog Wagon, a popular Charleston diner.

In his later years, Vintroux shared cartooning responsibilities at the Gazette with James Dent, who went on to establish his own name in the cartoon world. Vintroux retired in 1968 after spending 46 years at the paper. In retirement, he got to see his cartoons displayed as part of art exhibits at Morris Harvey College. The University of Charleston, as the school is now known, still owns many of his original drawings.

Kendall Vintroux died in Charleston in 1973 at age 77.

Fiddler French Carpenter Born: June 7, 1905

Fiddler French Carpenter was born in Clay County on June 7, 1905.

For generations, the Carpenter family was renowned for its musical ability, and French may have been the best of the lot. He learned most of his music directly from his father, Tom, a fiddling preacher.

Tom had learned from his father, Sol, one of the most influential fiddlers in central West Virginia.

Here’s a clip of French Carpenter playing “Camp Chase,” which his grandfather Sol supposedly came up with to win a fiddle contest and his freedom from a Union prison during the Civil War.

FrenchCarpenter_CampChase.mp3

French Carpenter died in 1965, shortly before his 60th birthday. Another Clay County fiddler, Wilson Douglas, continued the Carpenter music tradition for the rest of the 20th century.

WSO Premieres in Ogleby Park: June 30, 1929

The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra gave its premiere concert at Oglebay Park on June 30, 1929. Under the direction of Enrico Tamburini, the new orchestra performed Mozart’s Overture to Don Juan and Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, among other works.

Tamburini molded the fledgling group of amateurs and professionals into a cohesive ensemble. When he left in 1934, Antonio Modarelli of the Pittsburgh Symphony took the baton. He was succeeded by Henry Mazer, who’d tutored under the great conductor Fritz Reiner in Chicago.

Mazer expanded the Wheeling Symphony’s repertoire to feature opera, choral works, and chamber music, as well as guest performances by Yehudi Menuhin, Benny Goodman, and Artur Rubinstein.

Later conductors included Henry Aaron; Robert Kreis, who instituted the symphony’s first concert tours in 1971; and Jeff Holland Cook, who brought in a number of guest celebrities, including Arthur Fiedler, Doc Severinsen, Itzhak Perlman, and Wheeling-born opera star Eleanor Steber. He was succeeded by Rachael Worby, who increased the symphony’s number of annual performances from 6 to 40.

The Wheeling Symphony, whose current conductor is Andre Raphel, continues to perform regularly at the Capitol Music Hall in downtown Wheeling.

Wheeling Steel Created: June 21, 1920

One June 21, 1920, the LaBelle Iron Works, Whitaker-Glessner, and Wheeling Steel & Iron Works combined to form the Wheeling Steel Corporation.

With some 17,000 workers, Wheeling Steel was the nation’s third-largest steelmaker.

By that time, Wheeling was already known worldwide for its iron works, which dated back to the 1830s. Its most famous product was the cut nail, earning Wheeling the nickname “Nail City.” During the 1880s, Wheeling Steel & Iron’s Benwood Works produced the first steel pipe in the United States. Other well-known Wheeling Steel products included tin cans, lard pails, stoves, lunch pails, and steel plates and sheets.

By the 1960s, Wheeling Steel plants stretched for 30 miles along the Ohio River. In 1968, Wheeling Steel merged with Pittsburgh Steel to form the Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation. Wheeling-Pitt, headquartered in downtown Wheeling, produced rolled steel products for industry, construction, highway and bridge building, and agriculture. As the U.S. steel industry declined in the late 20th century, Wheeling-Pitt sold off some of its works and filed twice for bankruptcy. In 2012, RG Steel, which had acquired Wheeling-Pitt, announced plans to idle its factories.

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