Wheeling WV History

The House in the Photo: A History of Echo Manor

Laura Jackson Roberts May 24, 2019

here are many images of Wheeling from its early days, but certain photos just stick with us. One, in particular,...

DOWNTOWN DO-OVER: Bringing Buildings Back From the Brink

Nora Edinger May 22, 2019

Editor’s note: The Downtown Do-Over series is taking a close look at the ongoing revival of Wheeling’s city center. In...

People’s University Uncovers the Obscure McLure 

Christina Fisanick May 19, 2019

Editor’s note: The Ohio County Public Library has launched its 26th People’s University, an eight-week series featuring weird, wild, wacky,...

BILL HOGAN’S MUSINGS: The Flicks

Bill Hogan May 18, 2019

 was fortunate to attend a noon talk at our library recently, about the old movie theaters in West Virginia. It...

Wheeling’s American Legion Post 1: Leading the Way in Service for 100 years

Nick Musgrave May 15, 2019

Editor’s note: Learn more about Wheeling Post No. 1 of the American Legion — officially the oldest post in the...

Political Peculiarities and the Blues at People’s University

Dr. Joseph Laker May 10, 2019

Editor’s note: The Ohio County Public Library has launched its 26th People’s University, an eight-week series featuring weird, wild, wacky,...

Suicide, a Suspicious Drowning and Good Times Are Brewing at People’s University

Ryan Stanton May 5, 2019

Editor’s note: The Ohio County Public Library has launched its 26th People’s University, an eight-week series featuring weird, wild, wacky,...

A VIEW FROM THE MOON: SMART-Center Turns 25 — 50 Years Ago (Part 1)

Robert E. Strong April 30, 2019

n elementary school, I labored under the common misconception that persists with most youngsters unabated to this day. I thought...

Harshman, Villamagna Bring Attention to Wheeling Landmarks in New Children’s Book

Phyllis Sigal April 29, 2019

nce there was a mouse … it was paddling for dear life outside of Robert Villamagna’s art studio, trying to...

Weird Stories of Wheeling in the Civil War

Jon-Erik Gilot April 28, 2019

Editor’s note: The Ohio County Public Library has launched its 26th People’s University, an eight-week series featuring weird, wild, wacky,...

It’s Time to Enter Weelunk’s Haiku Contest

Phyllis Sigal April 23, 2019

Editor’s note: April is National Poetry Month, inaugurated in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets. What better way to...

A Mad Dash for Suffrage, Odd Immigrant Stories, Obscure Strikes and Communists

Hal Gorby April 19, 2019

Editor’s note: The Ohio County Public Library has launched its 26th People’s University, an eight-week series featuring weird, wild, wacky,...

A History of Disaster: How Piedmont and the Muskingum Watershed Lakes Came to Be

Laura Jackson Roberts April 15, 2019

ach weekend in the summers of my childhood, my parents packed me and my brother up and took us to...

Don’t Miss ‘Victorian Era Mayhem & Murder’ at People’s University

David Javersak April 14, 2019

Editor’s note: The Ohio County Public Library has launched its 26th People’s University, an eight-week series featuring weird, wild, wacky,...

Weird Stories From Wheeling’s Wild Frontier and Native History

Alan Fitzpatrick April 6, 2019

Editor’s note: On Tuesday, April 9, the Ohio County Public Library will launch its 26th People’s University, an eight-week series...

Wheeling Country Day School: Celebrating 90 Years of Learning

Christina Fisanick March 22, 2019

“To empower students to think, to create, and to communicate in a nurturing environment where learning and character are paramount.”...

A VIEW FROM THE MOON: Practice Makes Perfect — 50th Anniversary of Apollo 9

Robert E. Strong March 18, 2019

As the rocket blurred into the clouds, I watched the joyful exuberance of the hundreds of kids around me all...

Skating Through History: An Ohio Valley Tradition That’s Alive and Well

Christina Fisanick March 5, 2019

You can ask just about anyone who grew up in Wheeling about how they spent their winter weekends from childhood...

The Presidential Allure of the Hotel McLure

Christina Fisanick February 18, 2019

When hotel clerk Howard Finley first saw Wheeling’s McLure not long after it re-opened in 1896 following renovations, he exclaimed,...

Wee Asked Jay Frey

Phyllis Sigal January 28, 2019

WEEasked some simple questions — and your neighbors, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, even some strangers, answered. Get to know them a...

First Day on the Job for Travis Henline

Provided January 14, 2019

Wheeling Heritage is exploring the creation of a Wheeling museum, and today, history specialist Travis Henline started his job as...

Wheeling Leaves Its Mark on Twain

Christina Fisanick January 11, 2019

On Jan. 10, 1872, one of America’s most celebrated storytellers took the stage at Wheeling’s Washington Hall. An Intelligencer reporter...

Twelfth Night Ball Celebrates Past, Looks to Future

Christina Fisanick December 26, 2018

The great City of Wheeling turns 250 years old in 2019. Yes, Wheeling is older than the United States. It...

Eckhart House: Tea, History and Hospitality

Phyllis Sigal December 7, 2018

In the early 1900s, Sarah Kleeh sat in the upstairs window seat watching the wealthy ladies across the street point...

Wheeling’s Generous Philanthropists Provide for Future

Christina Fisanick November 27, 2018

Each time I walk through the Oglebay Mansion Museum, I stop in front of Earl W. Oglebay’s portrait and thank...

America’s First Highway in Spotlight

Erin Rothenbuehler October 25, 2018

The 2018 Ohio Valley History Expo will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of the completion of the National Road from...

Steel Heart Still Beats in Weirton: Honoring the Past Through Art

Daniel Dorsch October 12, 2018

When Steel Ruled An often-overlooked part of West Virginia history finally has a festival to celebrate its rightful place in...

Alpha Delta Kappa Iota: Service, Scholarship and Sisterhood

Chana Baker October 10, 2018

Happy birthday, Alpha Delta Kappa Iota Chapter — 60 looks great on you! On Oct. 3, the Iota Chapter of...

Roll Out the History: IPA Master Brewer Once Owned Waddington Farm

Christina Fisanick October 2, 2018

Recent years have witnessed the rise in popularity of India Pale Ale (IPA), a kind of brew known for its...

Lieutenant Benjamin Biggs and the 135th Ohio Infantry

Earl Nicodemus September 16, 2018

By the spring of 1864, the tide of the Civil War favored the north. In March of 1864, Ulysses S....

Walter of Wetzel Street: The Wheeling Foundations of an International Labor Legend

Nick Musgrave September 3, 2018

On Sept. 1, 1907, two German immigrants, Valentine and Anna Reuther, welcomed their second child to the world. A healthy...

Celebrating Wheeling’s Labor Heritage

Christina Fisanick and Sean Duffy August 24, 2018

Heroes come in many forms. Firefighters. Medics. Educators. Mentors. For us, Wheeling labor activist Walter Reuther (1907-1970) and worker-friendly business...

Cottages Have Been Offering Overnight Hospitality to Oglebay Guests for 80 Years

Christina Fisanick August 17, 2018

Although Oglebay Park is widely known for its rolling vistas, hiking trails, and golf courses, sometimes guests like to spend...

What Really Happened That Tragic Night of Aug. 14, 1878?

Ryan Stanton August 14, 2018

Henry Schmulbach: entrepreneur, beer baron, philanthropist and socialite. These are all words that describe one of Wheeling’s most influential and...

Farm to Fork Takes Leap Through History

Stacey Miller Sacco August 7, 2018

A property with nearly 250 years of Wheeling history hosted the Wheeling Symphony Auxiliary’s annual Farm to Fork dinner this...

Oglebay – The Park That Almost Wasn’t

Christina Fisanick July 25, 2018

Imagine Wheeling without Oglebay Park. … At one point that nightmare was nearly reality. As one of the largest self-sustaining...

Program Will Explore the Role of African-American Women in WWII

Provided July 8, 2018

The People’s University, WWII at the Ohio County Public Library, will present a special program on the role of African-American...

Dancing Down Memory Lane (Part 3): Park Dances — the ’80s

Katherine Marsh July 6, 2018

If you’re from the Upper Ohio Valley, you may already be aware that the Wheeling Park Commission held summer dances...

Dancing Down Memory Lane (Part 2): Park Dances — the ’70s

Ellen Brafford McCroskey July 5, 2018

Those were the days — the decade of love, disco, equality, environmental awareness. Those of us who came of age...

Dancing Down Memory Lane (Part 1): Park Dances — the ’60s

Bill Orkoskey July 4, 2018

I just heard that they are having a recreation of the teen dances held at the White Palace at Wheeling...

Free Family Fun at Medieval Family Fun Faire

Darrin Cox July 2, 2018

Donning armor and smiting your enemies with a sword has always made for compelling storytelling. The popularity of Game of...

THE GRIFFITH FILES: ‘Older Gentlemen’ Recall Pennsylvania Station, 1907 Flood, 1948 Freedom Train Visit

Gerry Griffith June 23, 2018

“Dominick,” called out the old man who sat atop the wooden playground structure where children spent warm weather afternoons spinning...

Student Radio Plays Bring History to Life at TMS

Misty Klug June 22, 2018

Everyone loves a good story. Stories transport us to different worlds, enrich our lives, allow us to step out of...

June 21, 1920: Wheeling Steel Created

Jeremy Morris June 21, 2018

Story courtesy of Weelunk partner West Virginia Public Broadcasting One June 21, 1920, the LaBelle Iron Works, Whitaker-Glessner, and Wheeling Steel...

Triadelphia School: 100 Years of Memories

Nora Edinger June 4, 2018

There is a certain sequence of expressions that appears on the face of a grownup who is suddenly returned to...

Diocese Blessed With Generosity of Welty Sisters

Jon-Erik Gilot May 31, 2018

West Virginia in general — and the Ohio Valley in particular — has a tremendously generous nature. From weekend steak...

No Need to Keep Quiet About Good Times at the Library

Christina Fisanick May 21, 2018

Saturday, I went to a party at the Ohio County Public Library (OCPL). Most of you are probably thinking (with...

Geo-History: The Gnadenhutten Massacre

Earl Nicodemus March 27, 2018

EARL’S NOTE: One of the darkest days in American history was March 8, 1782. On that date, 96 innocent Christian...

Geo-History: The Squaw Campaign

Earl Nicodemus February 13, 2018

Earl’s Note: This is the first in a planned series of short installments about the events that shaped our history....

The Patsy … (Or a Full House on the Train to Notre Dame)

Bill Hogan February 7, 2018

Back in the late ’40s and early ’50s, we would either hitchhike home from Notre Dame, or four or five...