Timeline

toc Most of this site concerns physical things - buildings, boats, statues, etc. This page is an index of important and minor **events** in Wheeling's history. Some of these entries are links to pages illustrating the events so click any blue underlined words to find out more. Please add entries!

1700s
1749: Celeron de Bienville visit, lead plate buried near Wheeling Creek claiming land for France 1752, March 7: Christopher Gist camped at Wheeling Creek, while exploring Ohio River 1769: Zanesburg - first white settlement at Wheeling location 1770, Oct 23: George Washington passes Wheeling location on Ohio River 1774, Jun: Fort Fincastle (later Fort Henry) built by Major William Crawford; demolished in 1784 1777, Sept 1-3: First [|Battle of Ft. Henry] and McColloch's leap 1781: Jonathan Link and two companions killed by Indians 1782: New York [|cedes] large territory (Michigan thru Kentucky, including WV northern panhandle) to the federal government. 1782, Sept 11-13: Second Battle of Ft Henry; Betty Zane's run. [|Overview], [|History] 1788: Fort Randolph at Wheeling Creek mouth built by this date - its wood probably used to build steamship Washington in 1815 1794, Jun 7: First post office established at Wheeling with mail brought from Pittsburgh by Post Riders and transferred to boats for downstream deliveries. 1795, Dec 25: Virginia General Assembly established Wheeling as a town 1796: French military officer Victor Collot mapped Wheeling as part of his study (spying?) of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

1800s
1802: Schooner //Dorcas and Sally// built 1803, Sept 7 -9: Meriwether Lewis provisioned at Wheeling including buying two red pirogues (large canoes) 1806, Jan 16: Wheeling incorporated 1812-3: Wooden bridge across Wheeling Creek near mouth 1815: Two keelboat building yards opened by James Pemberton and Adkins. 1816, May 12: //Washington//, the first steamboat built in Wheeling launched 1819: Ohio River virtually dries up 1832: A.M. Phillips steam engine business opens 1834, Aug 16: City water works founded 1834, Oct 14: Four people charged with illegally teaching African-Americans to read 1840: Marsh Stogie Company founded 1848, Apr 3: Wheeling Atheneum founded to promote science and literature, built 1854, used as a prison during Civil War; burned down 1868. 1849: Construction of Wheeling Suspension Bridge 1852: Great flood that covered Wheeling Island 1852, Aug 24: Wheeling Intelligencer newspaper founded 1852, Dec 24: Last spike driven to complete B&O track at Roseby's Rock, 18 miles east of Wheeling 1853, Jan 1: first B&O train from Atlantic Ocean reaches Wheeling 1853, Feb 1: US Supreme Court orders that Wheeling Bridge be modified to not interfere with Ohio River boat traffic (but Congress reverses this ruling). 1853: Anti-Catholic mob threatened Bishop Whelan and visiting archbishop; armed Irish men surrounded the Cathedral and prevented violence. Pyne, 2000 1861: Wheeling Convention, votes to break from the state of Virginia 1863: Streetcar service started in Wheeling 1863, June 20: West Virginia becomes the 35th state with Wheeling as its capital 1865, Mar 2: Free schools authorized by governor for Wheeling 1865, Sept 1: St. Joseph's Academy opened 1866: 12 oil companies founded in Wheeling 1866: Major [|flood] in Wheeling. 1880, May 15: First telephone exchange (one of earliest in US) - [|Subscribers.] [|History.] [|1881 directory] 1884, Feb 7: Major flood destroyed 100s of houses in Wheeling 1885: Wheeling Roller Rink Association and Alhambra Palace Rink Company incorporated to build roller rinks 1888, July 19: Disastrous [|flood] in Wheeling, about 25 people killed. 1891, Feb 19: Flood 1896, winter: Very thick river ice. Boats routinely crushed by ice in 1890s - pre-global warming!

1900s
1901, April 20: [|flood] 1907: Flood 1907, Sep 1: [|Walter Reuther] born 1908, October: Lowest stage of Ohio River - 7 inches. 1913: [|Flood,] [|again] 1924, April 28: Benwood Mine disaster - 119 men killed in explosion. [|Funeral] 1925, Apr 19: Wheeling [|tornado] 1936, Mar 19: Flood House [|Flood] 1950, Feb 9: Sen. Joseph McCarthy gave speech at McClure Hotel denouncing communists in the US government, beginning his witch hunt. 1953, Oct 24: WTRF went on the air, the first TV station in Wheeling 1954, Nov 21: Cornerstone laid for Wheeling College (later Wheeling Jesuit University) 1961, Dec 14: Wheeling first target of Federal anti-racketeering legislation 1978, Jan 20: [|Snowstorm] - 18" in Wheeling 1999, Aug: Regional [|drought]

2000s
Sources: Carney and Carney (2003), Bowman (2009), West Virginia Timeline. and others.

The WV Division of Culture and History maintains a timeline for all of WV, [|here] are the Wheeling entries.

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