First West Virginia Telephone Exchange Opens in Wheeling
In 1880 Wheeling established one of the nation’s first telephone exchanges, wiring the basement of the People's Bank to serve 25 subscribers. The Behrens brothers had earlier connected two Wheeling grocery stores in 1879, and long distance calls to Pittsburgh became possible after 1883 as WV’s population spread and commerce grew.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
West Virginia
Ohio
Kanawha Valley
Alexander Graham Bell
Behrens Brothers
Wheeling
People’s Bank
Pittsburgh
West Virginia phone service expansion links early cities
In 1880 switchboards spread to Parkersburg Moundsville and Clarksburg and by century’s turn northern West Virginia connected to surrounding cities. Southern WV adopted slower growth with Charleston and Huntington hosting exchanges by the early 1880s and long distance arriving in 1897. Charleston emerged as the state communications hub in the early 1900s shaping social and economic development. West Virginia Division of Culture and History.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Parkersburg
Moundsville
Clarksburg
West Virginia
Charleston
Huntington
West
Matewan Massacre End of May 1920 Evictions
In spring 1920 West Virginia coalfields faced a nationwide strike. miners allied with the United Mine Workers faced mass evictions by private detectives. On May 19 Matewan saw 13 Baldwin Felts detectives confront union families, with Sid Hatfield defending eviction victims before the five o'clock train departure.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
West Virginia
United Mine Workers
UMW
Logan
Mingo
McDowell
Baldwin Felts
Matewan
Stone Mountain Coal Company
Sid Hatfield
Tug River Valley
Mingo County
Arias Hotel
Bluefield
Virginia
Matewan Massacre and Blair Mountain Clash Echo West Virginia Turmoil
In May 1920 Hatfield clashed with detectives in Matewan as seven officers and four townspeople died in a gun battle sparked by fake arrest warrants. Hatfield survived charges and was later killed in 1921 with Ed Chambers, fueling a miners’ surge toward Blair Mountain where state and federal troops halted the union drive. The coalfields in the region stayed mostly non union until 1933.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hatfield
Albert Felts
Matewan
C. C. Testerman
Mate Street
Felts
Testerman
Ed Chambers
Baldwin-Felts
McDowell County
Logan County
Blair Mountain
UMW
West Virginia
West Virginian Jimmy G. Stewart Medal of Honor recipient dies
U S Army Staff Sergeant Jimmy G Stewart of West Virginia posthumously receives the Medal of Honor for actions May 18 1966 in Vietnam. In a four hour defense he repelled three enemy assaults, exhausted ammo by reclaiming grenades, was killed in counterattack, and buried in West Columbia after full honors.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
U.S. Army
Jimmy G. Stewart
Vietnam
West Columbia
Mason County
Stewart
1St Cavalry Division
West
Also Mentioned on This Page
State Archives
Martinsburg
Harpers Illustrated
First Telephone Exchange
W.va
Matewan Massacre
Aksae
Pocahontas Division
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