April 1, 1884: Nurse Florence Aby Blanchfield was born in Shepherdstown. She served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War I, oversaw expansion of the corps from 1,000 to 57,000 during World War II, and became the first woman to hold a permanent commission in the regular army.
April 1, 1934: A sales tax went into effect in West Virginia for the first time. The two-percent tax helped fill the revenue void caused by the drop in property values during the Great Depression.
April 2, 1900: Marlinton, the county seat of Pocahontas County, was incorporated. The town is generally considered to be the site of the first European-American settlement in the Greenbrier Valley.
April 3, 1755: Frontier scout and “long hunter” Simon Kenton was born in Fauquier County, Virginia. Upon leaving home, Kenton first traveled north through present West Virginia to Pittsburgh and then explored, hunted and trapped through much of the Ohio Valley.
April 3, 1908: Samuel Starks died in Charleston. Starks became the first Black state librarian in the nation when he was appointed to the position in 1901 by Governor Albert B. White.
April 3, 1945: Medal of Honor recipient Walter Wetzel was killed in Birken, Germany, while serving in the Army during World War II. The Huntington native had thrown himself onto two live grenades to protect fellow comrades.
April 4, 1833: Newspaperman Archibald Campbell was born in Ohio. As editor and part owner of the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, he was a key advocate for West Virginia statehood.
April 4, 1948: Renowned gospel singer Squire Parsons was born in Newton, Roane County. A graduate of Spencer High School and West Virginia Tech, he was best known for his song “Sweet Beulah Land.” He died in 2025.
April 4, 1974: Tornadoes raced across McDowell, Wyoming, Raleigh, Fayette, Summers and Greenbrier counties, killing one and injuring more than 30. The event was related to a deadly outbreak that had struck Xenia, Ohio, the previous day.
April 4, 1980: Musician Red Sovine died in Nashville. Sovine, born Woodrow Wilson Sovine in Charleston, gained country music fame for his recitations, especially those with sentimental truck-driver themes.
April 5, 1856: Booker T. Washington was born enslaved in Virginia. In 1865, he moved with his family to Malden, in Kanawha County, to join his stepfather, who had escaped from slavery during the Civil War. He became one of the most influential educators in U.S. history.
April 5, 1920: Gifted hand weaver Dorothy Mayor Thompson was born. From an old schoolhouse in Canaan Valley, Tucker County, she taught generations of people about fiber arts. In 2000, she was named a National Heritage Fellow, the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts.
April 5, 2010: An explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County killed 29 workers. Only two men escaped from the mine alive. It was the state’s worst coal mine disaster since 1968, when the Consol No. 9 Mine at Farmington exploded, killing 78 workers.
April 6, 1938: The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established Camp Kanawha in Kanawha State Forest. The CCC removed all the abandoned houses, coal tipples, and other structures no longer in use, and constructed roads, the forest superintendent’s residence, office, maintenance building, and picnic shelters.
April 6, 1944: Guitarist and singer David Morris was born in Ivydale, Clay County. With his brother John on fiddle, the Morris Brothers founded music festivals, supported union and environmental causes and promoted West Virginia traditional music nationwide.
April 6, 1964: Brad Smith was born in Huntington and then grew up in Kenova. He became CEO of Intuit in 2008 and the 38th president of his alma mater, Marshall University, in 2021.
April 7, 1927: A. James Manchin was born in Farmington. In 1984, the longtime secretary of state was elected state treasurer but soon fell into trouble. With a stock market downturn in 1987, Manchin bore much of the blame when the state lost nearly $300 million in investments.
April 7, 1947: Medal of Honor recipient Thomas W. Bennett was born in Morgantown. Believing it was wrong to evade the draft while others had to serve in Vietnam, he volunteered as a conscientious objector, serving as a non-combatant medic. He was killed by gunfire while dragging a wounded soldier to safety.
April 7, 2004: Gov. Bob Wise signed legislation that transformed four colleges into universities: West Virginia State, Shepherd, Fairmont State and Concord.
