Tag: Marmet

August 24, 1921: Miners March to Protest Martial Law in Mingo County

On August 24, 1921, a group of armed miners started out on a long march southeast from Marmet near Charleston.

Their goal was to end the governor’s order of martial law in Mingo County and to wipe out the anti-union mine guard and deputy sheriff systems in Logan and Mingo counties.

While exact numbers will never be known, it’s believed more than 15,000 miners joined the march. World War I veterans among the miners helped organize the marchers along military lines. They used sentries, patrols, codes, and passwords, and had their own doctors, nurses, and medical and sanitary facilities, commissaries, and food tents.

The marchers were intercepted by more than 5,000 mine guards, deputy sheriffs, and state police near Logan at Blair Mountain. By September 1, the miners had captured half the 25-mile mountain ridge. President Warren Harding, however, ordered federal troops and a bombing squadron into the state. Unwilling to resist U.S. soldiers, the miners laid down their guns.

The march was probably the largest armed uprising in American labor history and the biggest armed insurrection in the United States since the Civil War.

August 24, 1921: Miners March to Protest Martial Law in Mingo County

On August 24, 1921, a group of armed miners started out on a long march southeast from Marmet near Charleston.

Their goal was to end the governor’s order of martial law in Mingo County and to wipe out the anti-union mine guard and deputy sheriff systems in Logan and Mingo counties.

While exact numbers will never be known, it’s believed more than 15,000 miners joined the march. World War I veterans among the miners helped organize the marchers along military lines. They used sentries, patrols, codes, and passwords, and had their own doctors, nurses, and medical and sanitary facilities, commissaries, and food tents.

The marchers were intercepted by more than 5,000 mine guards, deputy sheriffs, and state police near Logan at Blair Mountain. By September 1, the miners had captured half the 25-mile mountain ridge. President Warren Harding, however, ordered federal troops and a bombing squadron into the state. Unwilling to resist U.S. soldiers, the miners laid down their guns.

The march was probably the largest armed uprising in American labor history and the biggest armed insurrection in the United States since the Civil War.

Corps of Engineers Offering Tours of Marmet Locks and Dam

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is offering public tours at the Marmet Locks and Dam in Belle, West Virginia on June 4 in observation of National Dam Safety Awareness Day.

Tours will be offered from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day, and participants can meet at the Operations Building. Reservations are not required. Cameras are not permitted.

A news release from the Corps of Engineers says the tours will explain why and how the locks were built, how the dam is operated and the benefits the project brings to the local area.

Marmet Council to Choose New Mayor After Ex-Mayor's removal

Officials in the Kanawha County town of Marmet will select a new mayor next month after a judicial panel removed the former mayor from office earlier this year for violating city election laws.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the town council held a special meeting Thursday to set the dates for selecting the new mayor.

Officials say they will meet May 12 to select the mayor after reviewing applications submitted by Wednesday evening.

A three-judge panel removed Bill Pauley from office in February after Pauley signed a conciliation agreement in September. Pauley said he knowingly violated city election laws by encouraging voters from outside of town to vote and providing them with a list of candidates to vote for.

Town recorder Tammy Kersey has been serving as the interim mayor.

Judges Set to Decide Longtime Marmet Mayors Status

A three-judge panel is set to decide whether Marmet Mayor Bill Pauley should be removed from office.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the West Virginia Supreme Court ordered the hearing Wednesday. It will be held in February in Kanawha County.

Pauley faces removal after 99 residents signed a petition saying they wanted him removed.

The complaint says Pauley encouraged ineligible voters who weren’t Marmet residents to cast votes during early voting in 2013.

Pauley entered a conciliation agreement, similar to a plea bargain, with the state Ethics Commission Sept. 29 over two counts of violating the state Ethics Act for personal gain.

Pauley has been mayor of Marmet for 37 years. In November, he denied any wrongdoing to the newspaper.

He will have a chance to appeal pending the judges’ ruling.

Petitions Filed Seeking Removal of Marmet Mayor

Residents have filed a petition seeking the removal of the mayor of the town of Marmet.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that petitions signed by 99 voters were filed Monday in Kanawha Circuit Court.

The complaint accuses 87-year-old Mayor Bill Pauley of “official misconduct, malfeasance in office, incompetence, neglect of duty and gross immorality.” It includes a copy of an agreement Pauley made with the state Ethics Commission in September admitting that he helped ineligible voters cast ballots in the town’s 2013 elections. He was fined $2,000.

Pauley, who has been mayor for 37 years, said the bid to remove him is really being driven by a year-long dispute over how much to pay the street commissioner. He said he will fight to complete his term, which ends in 2017.

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