This week in West Virginia history
Feb. 25—CHARLESTON — 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.
Feb. 26, 1972: One of the country's worst mining-related disasters occurred on Buffalo Creek in Logan County. A coal waste dam collapsed, sending 132 million gallons of water, coal refuse and silt into the valley. In the end, 125 people, including entire families, were killed, and 1,000 people were injured.
Feb. 27, 1867: Marshall College (now university) was established as a normal school for the training of teachers. The first term began June 15, 1868, with 25 students enrolled in three departments.
Feb. 28, 1831: Fayette County was formed by the Virginia General Assembly from parts of Kanawha, Nicholas, Greenbrier and Logan counties. The county was named for Marquis de Lafayette, a French military officer who served under George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
Feb. 28, 1909: Athlete John Zontini was born. Nicknamed the "Sheik of Seth" for his outstanding football career at Sherman High School in Boone County, he still holds state high school and Marshall University rushing records.
March 1, 1831: Jackson County was created from parts of Wood, Mason and Kanawha counties and named in honor of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president.
March 2, 1840: The Virginia General Assembly granted a charter for Bethany College. From the beginning, it has been a four-year, baccalaureate-degree college, the oldest such institution in West Virginia.
March 2, 1915: A blast swept through Layland No. 3 Mine in Fayette County, killing 114 men.
March 2, 1927: The West Virginia capitol building known as the "pasteboard capitol" was destroyed by fire. This wood-frame building in downtown Charleston had been built in just 42 days after the previous Victorian-style capitol building burned in 1921.
March 2, 1961: Gov. Wally Barron signed legislation that granted Marshall College university status.
March 3, 1843: Barbour County was created from parts of Lewis, Harrison and Randolph counties and named for the distinguished Virginia jurist Philip Pendleton Barbour.
March 3, 1890: Teacher and civic activist Memphis Tennessee Garrison was born in Virginia. She helped develop NAACP chapters in southern West Virginia and created the Christmas Seal Project.
March 4, 1849: Earl Williams Oglebay was born in Bridgeport, Ohio. He became one of Wheeling's most successful industrialists and generous benefactors.
March 4, 1893: Gov. William MacCorkle gave his inaugural address in which he warned that West Virginia was "passing under the control of foreign and non-resident landowners."
March 4, 1924: Blues musician Nathaniel H. "Nat" Reese was born in Salem, Virginia. Growing up in Princeton, Reese learned and played blues, jazz, country and dance music throughout the southern coalfields.
