IMPORTANT DATES IN WEST VIRGINIA HISTORY


     1669?            John Lederer and his companions became
                      the first Virginians to see the West
                      Virginia region.

     1727             Germans from Pennsylvania established a
                      settlement at New Mecklenburg (now
                      Shepherdstown.

     1742             John P. Salling discovered coal on the
                      Coal River.

     1775             Gas was discovered near Charleston.

     1836             The first railroad reached the state at
                      Harpers Ferry.

     1859             John Brown and his followers raided the
                      Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry.

     1861             The counties of western Virginia
                      refused to secede with Virginia.  These
                      counties organized a separate
                      government that supported the Union.

     1863             West Virginia became the 35th state on
                      June 20.

     1872             The people ratified the present state
                      constitution.

     1915             The Supreme Court of the United States
                      ruled that West Virginia owed Virginia
                      $12,393,929.50 as part of the state
                      debt at the time of separation.

     1920-21          West Virginia miners fought with mine
                      guards, police, and federal troops  in
                      a dispute over organizing unions.

     1939             West Virginia made its final payment of
                      its debt to Virginia.

     1946             Major chemical industries began
                      operating in the Ohio River valley.

     1959             The National Radio Astronomy
                      Observatory began operating at
                      Green Bank.

     1968             Explosions and fire in a West Virginia
                      coal mine took 78 lives.  The disaster
                      led to new mine safety laws.

     1972             One of the worst floods in West
                      Virginia history killed more than
                      100 persons near Man.

     1985             The West Virginia Legislature
                      established a state lottery to help
                      raise money for the state.

Source:  World Book Encyclopedia