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Help Us Solve History’s Mysteries!

A Partnership Between Weelunk, Archiving Wheeling, and the Ohio County Public Library Archives

Do you recognize any of these people? These are all historic photos of Wheeling people, places, and things that need to be identified. Weelunk, Archiving Wheeling, and the Ohio County Public Library Archives have teamed up to reach out to Wheeling area residents or people that have lived in the Wheeling area at any time—we need your help identifying the individuals in these photos!

This is the start to an ongoing project to connect today’s Wheeling community to its historical resources and stories. In honor of Black History Month, this month’s photos are all related to the African American community in Wheeling. The more we know about the people in these photos, the more we can uncover important and sometimes forgotten histories of Wheeling. To learn more about crowdsourced history and unlocking history’s mysteries, check out Archiving Wheeling’s partner article here!

Check out the photos listed below—if you recognize someone, please submit your comment in the entry space below the specific photo! The more information you can give us, the more complete the historical record. Please help us by sharing this article far and wide on social media and directly with anyone you know from Wheeling—even if they don’t live here anymore!

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Photography Class, October 1948, YWCA Blue Triangle Branch

This photography class was part of the Blue Triangle Branch, which was the segregated branch of the Wheeling Young Women’s Christian Association from 1921 to 1956. To learn more about the YWCA Blue Triangle Branch, click here.

Lincoln School Faculty, date unknown
The Lincoln School was the Black public school in Wheeling from 1866 until it closed in 1956 after school segregation was ruled unconstitutional by the landmark US Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

Phi Mu-Young Adults, March 1948, YWCA Blue Triangle Branch
This young adult group was part of the Blue Triangle Branch, which was the segregated branch of the Wheeling Young Women’s Christian Association from 1921 to 1956. To learn more about the YWCA Blue Triangle Branch, click here.

Beau Brummel Ladies, circa late 1950s to early 1960s, Pine Room at Oglebay
The Beau Brummel Club was an African American social club in the mid-20th century.

Valley Camp Coal Co., Night Shift Workers, 1939
The Valley Camp Coal Co. was incorporated in 1907. According to a 1931 survey conducted by the City of Wheeling, Elm Grove Mining Co. (a subsidiary of Valley Camp) employed 300 African American men, constituting nearly 43% of all mine workers at a time when the Black population of Wheeling was approximately 4%.1

All photos are courtesy of the Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling, WV. For more historic photos of the Wheeling area, events, and residents, check out OCPL’s Flickr page, here.

For more information or questions about this project, please email ewiley9@gmail.com.

This project is a partnership between Weelunk, Archiving Wheeling, and the Ohio County Public Library with additional support from Preserve WV AmeriCorps.

• Emma Wiley, originally from Falls Church, Virginia, was a former AmeriCorps member with Wheeling Heritage. Emma has a B.A. in history from Vassar College and is passionate about connecting communities, history, and social justice.

References

  • Emma Wiley

    Emma Wiley, originally from Falls Church, Virginia, was a former AmeriCorps member with Wheeling Heritage. Emma has a B.A. in history from Vassar College and is passionate about connecting communities, history, and social justice.

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