Charleston, W.Va. – The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history. To read more, go to e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia at www.wvencyclopedia.org.
Oct. 23, 1943: German prisoners arrived at Camp Ashford in White Sulphur Springs. Built by the U.S. War Department, Camp Ashford was one of two camps in West Virginia that housed prisoners of war during World War II.
Oct. 24, 1929: Composer George Crumb was born in Charleston. In 1968, Crumb was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for “Echoes of Time and the River: Four Processionals for Orchestra.”
Oct. 25, 1918: Athlete Marshall ‘‘Biggie’’ Goldberg was born in Elkins. He led the Chicago Cardinals to the NFL championship in 1947, and was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1958.
Oct. 25, 1951: Writer Denise Giardina was born in Bluefield and raised in neighboring McDowell County. She is best known as a novelist and also has a long history of community activism, including a run for governor.
Oct. 26, 1801: Jefferson County was established from a portion of Berkeley County by the Virginia General Assembly and named for Thomas Jefferson.
Oct. 26, 1934: Athlete Rodney Clark ‘‘Hot Rod’’ Hundley was born in Charleston. Hundley earned first team All-American recognition his senior year at West Virginia University. He averaged 24.5 points per game and scored 2,180 points over his college career, ranking second in WVU history.
Oct. 27, 1879: Howard B. Lee was born in Wirt County. He was elected state attorney general in 1924, and served for eight challenging years. His term saw the impeachment of a state auditor, the lawlessness of Prohibition, and labor troubles in the coalfields.
Oct. 28, 1972: Brad Paisley was born in Glen Dale. In 2010, Paisley received the Entertainer of the Year award from the Country Music Association.
Oct. 29, 1861: Confederate troops pulled out of Charleston, never to return. At the beginning of the war, Charleston was a Virginia town with much sentiment for the Southern cause, but the ease of river access to Ohio and the difficulty of traveling overland to Old Virginia doomed Confederate attempts to secure the Kanawha Valley.
Oct. 29-30, 2012: Following Hurricane Sandy, heavy, wet snow fell across West Virginia. With accumulations approaching 40 inches, it surpassed all previous known October snowstorms.
e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council. For more information, contact the West Virginia Humanities Council, 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301; (304) 346-8500; or visit e-WV at www.wvencyclopedia.org.
