April 1
On April 1, 1936, Lydia Kimble Graham of Pendleton County, the last surviving widow of a War of 1812 veteran, died.
Document-Based Questions
April 2
On April 2, 1839, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act incorporating the town of Buffalo.
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April 3
On April 3, 1950, Carter G. Woodson, who is known as the "Father of Black History," died in Washington, D. C.
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April 4
On April 4, 1833, Archibald Campbell, long-time editor of the Wheeling Intelligencer, was born in Jefferson County, Ohio.
April 5
On April 5, 1856, Booker T. Washington, the noted educator who spent his childhood years in Malden, was born.
Document-Based Questions
April 6
On April 6, 1948, West Virginians celebrated Army Day, a national observance honoring the United States Armed Forces.
Document-Based Questions
April 7
On April 7, 1858, Lewisburg Female Institute was originally incorporated by an act of the Virginia General Assembly, but it is unclear whether this school ever opened. In 1874 renewed efforts by Lewisburg citizens resulted in the creation of the Lewisburg Female Institute, which later became Greenbrier College for Women.
Document-Based Questions
April 8
On April 8, 1951, a military C-47 transport plane carrying twenty-one airmen crashed near Little Sandy Creek, north of Charleston. Nineteen of the men died immediately, while the other two died later of severe burns.
April 9
On April 9, 1872, delegates approved a new constitution for West Virginia. Voters of the state ratified the document on August 22.
April 10
On April 10, 1899, the Second Regiment West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, one of two West Virginia regiments formed to serve in the Spanish-American War, was mustered out of service, at Camp Wetherill, Greenville, South Carolina.
April 11
On April 11, 1908, coal operator Samuel Dixon and six other men were indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Huntington on charges of peonage and conspiracy.
Document-Based Questions
April 12
On April 12, 1925, former Governor William Ellsworth Glasscock died in Morgantown.
Document-Based Questions
April 13
On April 13, 1873, John W. Davis, the Democratic nominee for President in 1924, was born in Clarksburg.
Document-Based Questions
April 14
On April 14, 1856, the first Calhoun County Court met at the home of Joseph Burson near Bigbend.
Document-Based Questions
April 15
On April 15, 1872, Peter Godwin Van Winkle, who represented West Virginia in the United States Senate from 1863 to 1869, died in Parkersburg.
April 16
On April 16, 1923, Arch A. Moore, Jr., who served three terms as governor of West Virginia, was born in Moundsville.
Document-Based Questions
April 17
On April 17, 1861, delegates of the Richmond Convention approved an ordinance of secession, leading to the withdrawal of Virginia from the Union.
Document-Based Questions
On April 17, 1970, archaeologists and state officials determined that a majority of the "mystery walls" atop Armstrong Mountain in Fayette County had been destroyed by strip mining.
April 18
On April 18, 1861, United States troops destroyed the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry shortly before the town was captured by Confederate troops.
Document-Based Questions
April 19
On April 19, 1896, Arthur Ingram Boreman, the first governor of West Virginia, died.
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April 20
On April 20, 1963, the West Virginia legislature held an unofficial session in Wheeling during a three-day centennial celebration to commemorate the issuance of the statehood proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln.
April 21
On April 21, 1890, District 17 of the United Mine Workers of America was formed in Charleston.
April 22
On April 22, 1904, representatives of 15 women's clubs gathered in Wheeling to form the West Virginia Federation of Women's Clubs.
Document-Based Questions
April 23
On April 23, 1889, Mordicai Levi of Charleston, who is credited with inventing the first brick pavement in the United States, was granted a patent for the process.
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April 24
On April 24, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson arrived in Huntington to launch his War on Poverty, an effort to end poverty in Appalachia.
April 25
On April 25, 1923, Arnold Miller, who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1972 to 1979, was born in Leewood.
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April 26
On April 26, 1937, the first highway historical marker, "State Capitol," was installed and dedicated in Charleston.
Document-Based Questions
On April 26, 1927, the West Virginia legislature passed an act incorporating the Raleigh County community of Beckley.
On April 26, 1907, Carrie Nation addressed a crowd in Grafton.
April 27
On April 27, 1871, West Virginia voters approved the Flick Amendment, which restored voting rights to former Confederate supporters.
Document-Based Questions
On April 27, 1978, collapse of a tower under construction at Willow Island killed 51 men.
April 28
On April 28, 1924, 119 miners were killed in an explosion at the Benwood mine of the Wheeling Steel Corporation.
Document-Based Questions
On April 28, 1758, Native Americans attacked Fort Seybert in present-day Pendleton County, killing or capturing more than forty settlers.
April 29
On April 29, 1863, Confederate troops under General William Jones captured the town of Fairmont.
Document-Based Questions
April 30
On the evening of April 30, 1774, white settlers in present-day Hancock County murdered a group of Native Americans, including several relatives of Chief Logan, in what was known as the Yellow Creek Massacre.
Document-Based Questions