West Virginia Trivia & Tidbits
Looking for West Virginia trivia? Try our list West Virginia little know facts, tidbits and trivia.
—In 1928, members of the Grover C. Jones family were pitching horseshoes in their yard in Peterstown (pop. 499) when they uncovered a 34.48-carat alluvial diamond in the dirt. They thought it was quartz, and kept the stone in a cigar box in the tool shed for years.
first appeared: 8/8/2010
—Enslow Middle School in Huntington (pop. 51,475) bested 60,000 other schools in a national fitness contest, Fuel Up to Play 60, which promotes eating nutrient-rich foods and 60 minutes of daily "play" for physical exercise. The school won a computerized training system, a cafeteria makeover, and $5,500 in grant money for equipment and health education.
first appeared: 7/25/2010
—The centerpiece of Black–water Falls State Park near Davis (pop. 624) is the falls of the Blackwater River, which plunge 62 feet, then twist and tumble through an 8-mile-long gorge.
first appeared: 7/11/2010
—Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry West, born in 1938 in Chelyan, scored 25,000 points while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the third player in NBA history to achieve that pinnacle, after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson.
first appeared: 6/27/2010
—Incorporated in 1907, Pineville (pop. 715), the seat of Wyoming County (pop. 25,708), was named because of its location amid a pine forest.
first appeared: 6/13/2010
—Singer-songwriter Bill Withers originally intended to write more lyrics for “Ain’t No Sunshine,” instead of repeating the phrase “I know” 26 times, but other musicians talked him out of it. The song won Withers his first Grammy in 1971. He was born in 1938 in Slab Fork.
first appeared: 5/30/2010
—Established in 1934, Kumbrabow State Forest, near Huttonsville (pop. 217), got its name from parts of the last names of three men—Gov. Herman Kump, Spates Brady and Hubert Bowers—who helped the state purchase the land.
first appeared: 5/16/2010
Located in the fertile Ohio River Valley, Ceredo (pop. 1,675) is named for Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture.
first appeared: 5/2/2010
—In 1985, Kanawha Airport, in Charleston (pop. 53,421), was renamed Yeager Airport in honor of native Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager, who in 1947 became the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound.
first appeared: 4/18/2010
Since the 1920s, a student at West Virginia University in Morgantown (pop. 26,809) has been selected annually for the honored role of The Mountaineer. The mascot attends sporting and community events clad in buckskin and a coonskin cap and toting a flintlock rifle.
first appeared: 4/4/2010
—A large collection of rare state Civil War-era battle flags, once kept in dark storage, now is preserved and permanently displayed at Independence Hall in Wheeling (pop. 31,419).
first appeared: 3/21/2010
Last November, Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd became the longest-serving lawmaker in the U.S. Congress, with 56 years, 10 months and 16 days of service. Byrd, 92, has been the longest-serving senator since 2006. The previous service record was held by Carl Hayden, a U.S. representative and senator from Arizona, who served from 1912 to 1969.
first appeared: 3/7/2010
In 2007, Michael Pittman Jr., of Wayside in Monroe County (pop. 14,583), caught a striped bass measuring 40.88 inches long at Bluestone Lake in Summers County (pop. 12,999) and set a new state record for length. The fish weighed 21.38 pounds.
first appeared: 2/21/2010
Britnee Gibson, 17, a senior at Gilbert (pop. 417) High School, led a successful effort to adopt coal as the official state rock, so-designated last year.
first appeared: 2/7/2010
The last battle of the American Revolution was the Battle of Fort Henry, in Wheeling (pop. 31,419), which took place Sept. 11-13, 1782. The battle marked the last time the British flag was flown during an engagement of the war.
first appeared: 1/24/2010
In 1844, Vail Furniture, in Ripley (pop. 3,263), opened as a combination furniture store and funeral home. It is believed to be the oldest furniture store in the nation.
first appeared: 1/10/2010
The Pringle Tree in Upshur County (pop. 23,404) is so named because brothers Samuel and John Pringle lived in a large hollow sycamore at the mouth of Turkey Run in the 1760s after deserting the British army during the French and Indian War. A third-generation Pringle Tree now grows at the site.
first appeared: 12/27/2009
Shoney's originated with a drive-in restaurant called the Parkette, opened by Alex Schoenbaum in 1947 in Charleston (pop. 53,421).
first appeared: 12/13/2009
A working pilothouse and a research library are among attractions at the Point Pleasant (pop. 4,637) River Museum, which focuses on river life and commercial enterprise on the Ohio and Kanawha rivers.
first appeared: 11/29/2009
The first U.S. soldier reported killed during the Korean War was Pvt. Kenneth Shadrick, 19, of Skin Fork, in Wyoming County (pop. 25,708), on July 5, 1950.
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first appeared: 11/15/2009
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