West Virginia Trivia & Tidbits - Page 15

Looking for West Virginia trivia? Try our list West Virginia little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Attorney John W. Davis, born in Clarksburg (pop. 16,743) in 1873, appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court 140 times, more than any other 20th-century lawyer.

first appeared: 10/14/2001

Two towns, Romney (pop. 1,940) and Shepherdstown (pop.803), lay claim to being the oldest town in West Virginia. Both were chartered by the Virginia General Assembly on Dec. 23, 1762.

first appeared: 10/7/2001

Highland Scenic Highway is the highest major roadway in the state and one of the highest in the east, with more than 60 percent of the route being above 4,000 feet.

first appeared: 9/30/2001

Robert E. Lee’s horse, Traveller, came from a farm in Greenbrier County. Lee first saw the horse near his camp in 1861 and bought him from Maj. Thomas Brown of Charleston for $200.

first appeared: 9/23/2001

Lewisburg (pop. 3,624) is home to one of only four Carnegie Halls still in continuous use in the world. This Carnegie Hall—a four-story Georgian-revival concert hall, was built in 1902 by steel baron Andrew Carnegie.

first appeared: 9/16/2001

The Vanmetre Ford Bridge, built in 1832, crosses the Opequon Creek in Martinsburg (pop. 14,972). The three-arch stone structure is the state’s oldest bridge still in use.

first appeared: 9/9/2001

When Summersville Dam in Nicholas County (pop. 26,562) was built, the Army Corps of Engineers faced a dilemma. The town nearest the dam site—usually a dam’s namesake—was Gad, but after consideration, the Corps opted to break from tradition.

first appeared: 9/2/2001

Erected in 1755, Fort Ashby in Mineral County (pop. 27,027) is the sole survivor of the 22 forts built by George Washington’s troops to protect the western Virginia settlements. A log cabin, restored in 1935, still remains.

first appeared: 8/26/2001

Erected in 1785, the Rehoboth Church, near Union (pop. 548), is the oldest church building in existence west of the Allegheny Mountains.

first appeared: 8/19/2001

Dedicated on Feb. 11, 1928, the Kimball (pop. 411) War Memorial is the only monument in the United States that recognizes the contributions of African-Americans to the Allied’s victory in World War I.

first appeared: 8/12/2001

The sports nickname for Poca High School in Poca (pop. 1,124) is the Dots. A sportswriter for the Charleston Gazette suggested the team nickname in 1928.

first appeared: 8/5/2001

West Virginia’s Memorial Tunnel, built about 25 miles south of Charleston, was the first tunnel in the United States to be monitored by closed circuit television. The tunnel opened Nov. 8, 1954, but a new road system eliminated its use in the 1980s.

first appeared: 7/29/2001

West Virginia’s largest caverns, Seneca Caverns, are in Pendleton County (pop. 8,054) in the Appalachian Mountain range.

first appeared: 7/22/2001

In 1998, J. R. House, quarterback for Nitro High School in Nitro (pop. 6,737), broke the national high school career passing record of 12,104 yards. The record had been held by current Cleveland Browns quarterback Tim Couch.

first appeared: 7/15/2001

The first bare-knuckle world heavyweight championship was held June 1, 1880, near Follansbee (pop. 3,364). Paddy Ryan knocked out Joe Goss in the 85th round.

first appeared: 7/8/2001

Spruce Knob, at an elevation of 4,863 feet, is the highest point in West Virginia. It lies in the Allegheny Mountains in the eastern part of the state at the southern end of Spruce Mountain.

first appeared: 7/1/2001

On Dec. 21, 1984, West Virginia University’s Georgeann Wells was the first woman to dunk a basketball in an NCAA game. The ball is now in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

first appeared: 6/24/2001

The first successful steamboat launch occurred off Shepherdstown (pop. 1,147) by James Rumsey on Dec. 3, 1787.

first appeared: 6/17/2001

The first post office in West Virginia was established on June 30, 1792, at Martinsburg (pop. 14,500).

first appeared: 6/10/2001

Ten Mile, in Upshur County (pop. 23,700), was so named because settlers thought that the little creek flowing nearby was 10 miles long. And they estimated the distance from the creek’s mouth to the town of Buckhannon to be 10 miles.

first appeared: 6/3/2001

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