Chronological History of Jefferson County, West Virginia
(1900 - 2000)
1900 - Dr. S. P. Hatton opened the Powhatan College for Young Women in Charles Town, Jefferson County. Shortly after it closed in 1914, St. Hilda's Hall, a girls' secondary school, was opened on the site.
1902 - The first electric light plant in the county was built in Shepherdstown.
1903 - All toll roads in the county became free to use, except one. In 1911, the state of West Virginia ordered the elimination of all tolls.
1906 - A dam and generating plant was built across the Shenandoah River near Millville to provide electricity for most of the county.
1910 - The new town of Ransom was officially incorporated.
1911 - Charles Wetzel of Jefferson County became the Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates.
1917 - The U.S. declared war on Germany. During World War I, 548 men from Jefferson county enrolled in military service and 30 lost their lives.
Also in 1919, Mrs. Vesta Jones became the 1st woman mail carrier in West Virginia and one of the first in the country.
1920 - Women received the right to vote and the women of Jefferson county organized the Jefferson League of Women Voters.
1921 - The Harpers Ferry Pike opened for travel. It was the first government aid road in Jefferson county. It made possible travel from Charles Town to Baltimore or Washington D.C. on a modern road without detouring.
1922 - William Blizzard, a leader of striking coal miners, was charged with treason and murder for engaging in warfare against state and federal troops in Mingo and Logan counties. He was tried in the Jefferson county courthouse in Charles Town and was found not guilty. The trials of William Blizzard and John Brown are two of only three treason trials held in the United States prior to World War II.
1923 - Ku Klux Klan held marches in Harpers Ferry and burned a cross in the Charles Town public square.
1927 - The Jefferson County Historical Society was founded.
1929 - The stock market crash signaled the start of the Great Depression across the U.S.
1930 – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife established a fish hatchery station in Leetown.
1932 - Jefferson county voters gave Franklin. D. Roosevelt the largest majority ever accorded a Democratic candidate for the Presidency.
1933 – The Charles Town Race Track opened. It was built on land purchased from the Charles Town Horse Show Association.
1940 - Census figures showed that the population of Jefferson county had reached 16,762 people.
1941 - During World War II, over 1500 citizens from Jefferson county served in the armed forces. Forty-seven (47) of them died during the war.
1944 - Establishment of the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park was approved. The park was created through legislation introduced in Congress by Representative Jennings Randolph. In 1951, Governor Patterson of West Virginia approved the expenditure needed to acquire 385 acres of land in Harpers Ferry. In the mid-1950s, the National Park Service (NPS) began the rehabilitation and restoration of the town
1946 - The Jefferson County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was organized and chartered in June 1946
1948 – Ms. Carrie Lee Strider of Leetown was appointed to be the first female sheriff in the state of West Virginia.
1958 - Construction began on Shenandoah Downs, the second horse racing track to be built in Charles Town.
1962 - WXVA - AM radio went on the air. It was the first radio station in Charles Town, Jefferson County.
1965 - The Jefferson County Library and Civic Center was dedicated in Charles Town.
1966 - WXVA - FM radio went on the air. It was the first FM radio station in Charles Town. It was the sister station to WXVA - AM.
1964 - The General Telephone Company installed a modern point-to-point dialing telephone system in Jefferson county which eliminated the need for all calls to go through a switchboard.
1969 - An automobile racetrack, known as Summit Point Raceway, was built on the 375-acre Harvey Kercheval farm. It was an asphalt track, two and one-half miles long with a 4000-foot straightaway and was built along with a grandstand and recreational facilities. It still in operation.
1975 – The new Jefferson Memorial Hospital opened, replacing the old Charles Town Hospital.
1999 - Charles Town Race Track underwent major renovation which included a large addition to house video slot machines. It was renamed Charles Town Races & Slots and now attracts many visitors each week from the nearby Baltimore and Washington D.C. metropolitan areas.
2000 - Shepherdstown hosted Israeli-Syrian peace talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shaara. President Clinton served as the mediator.
Sources include: The Jefferson County History Calendar, Author: Bill Theriault, The Jefferson Publishing Company, 1998. Also, the Charles Town Bicentennial, 1786-1986, available from the Old Charles Town Library.
Narrative History of Jefferson County
Important Events in Jefferson County during the 1900's
The 1900's brought periods of tremendous, tumultuous change for all Americans starting with the Industrial Revolution, World War I, followed by the Women's Suffrage movement, 'The Great Depression', then World War II, the 'Cold War', the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, and much more.
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