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Legislature
Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals
Governors, Biographies
Governors, Inaugural Addresses
Photographs of the Capitols of West Virginia
State Capital Relocated to Wheeling
West Virginia Inspection Bureau Report, 1921. Ms2003- 005
"Fire Destroys Temporary Capitol"
Opening of the West Virginia Governor's Mansion
Shaping the Capitol Complex: Cass Gilbert, Inc.
Eli "Rimfire" Hamrick
Pledge of Allegiance to the West Virginia State Flag
Shepherdstown Considered For Nation's Capital
Establishment of the Harpers Ferry Armory
John George Jackson Escapes a Deadly Fire
Description of the 1829-30 Virginia Constitutional Convention
Delegates to the 1829-30 Virginia Constitutional Convention
1830 Virginia Constitution
N. B. Madera to Charles S. Morgan, 19 December 1829 (Ms79-1.23-162)
Wheeling Gazette Editorial on the 1830 Virginia Constitution
Compiler Editorial on the 1830 Virginia Constitution
Town Meeting in Wheeling Regarding the 1829-30 Virginia Constitutional Convention
1863 West Virginia Constitution
Arthur Boreman elected as WV's first governor
1866 Election Results, Governor (Ar1769)
Jefferson County seat moved from Shepherdstown to Charles Town
Congressional Proceedings on the Transfer of Berkeley and Jefferson Counties to West Virginia
House of Representatives Committee Report on the Transfer of Berkeley and Jefferson Counties to West Virginia
Memorial Against the Transfer of Berkeley and Jefferson Counties to West Virginia
"Granville D. Hall, Second State Secretary, Stricken At Age Of 96"
Letter From Granville Hall To Virgil Lewis (Virgil Lewis Papers, Ar1753)
Biography of Governor Daniel Duane Tompkins Farnsworth
Letter Written by D. D. T. Farnsworth to His Parents While Governor of West Virginia
Newspaper Articles on Governor Farnsworth Taking Office
Selected Images From the Farnsworth Collection
Biography of Governor William Erskine Stevenson
"A Sketch of Gov. Stevenson's Life"
"Dust To Dust" (William Erskine Stevenson)
"'He is Dead'" (William Erskine Stevenson)
Letter, William E. Stevenson to William H. Powell, n.d. (Ar1724)
Thanksgiving Proclamation, Governor William Erskine Stevenson, 1869 (William Erskine Stevenson Papers, Ar1724)
Wheeling Daily Intelligencer Articles on the Flick Amendment
Governor's Proclamation Announcing Statewide Referendum on the Flick Amendment (Ar1725 #170, Legislative Material)
Senate Joint Resolution No. 6 (Flick Amendment) (Ar1725 #170, Legislative Material)
Opinion of the Attorney General on the Rights of African Americans To Vote as a Consequence of the Fifteenth Amendment (Ar1724 #37)
Approval of the New West Virginia Constitution
1872 West Virginia Constitution
Convention Directory
Samuel Price to Governor John J. Jacob, April 9, 1872 (Ar837)
Front Page of the 1872 West Virginia Constitution (Ar837)
The Capital of West Virginia and the Great Kanawha Valley, by General David Hunter Strother
Taylor Strauder Case
"Death Of Judge Samuels"
"Henry J. Samuels"
H. J. Samuels to Francis Pierpont, August 3, 1861 (Samuel- Pierpont Papers, Box 6 Folder 3)
Life of Daniel Mayer
"Dr. D. Mayer Died In Cincinnati Hospital"
"Remains Of Doctor Mayer Brought Home By His Family"
"Dr. Mayer's Last Address"
The Battle Flags Of The State (Fifth [West] Virginia)
Joint Resolution Appointing Commissioners On Subject of State Debt (1871)
Report of the Virginia Debt Commission (1871)
Report By State Treasurer W. S. Johnson On Settlement of State Debt (1920)
Act of the Virginia General Assembly To Ascertain and Fix the Boundary Between Virginia and Maryland
"State's Victory Complete In Boundary Dispute"
Brief to the United States Supreme Court by Julius K. Monroe in the Case of State of Maryland vs. State of West Virginia
Section of Survey Map Showing Fairfax Stone and Part of Deakins Line
"Boundaries of West Virginia"
Approval of the new WV Constitution
"Senator Henry G. Davis Called Away"
"Something About Senator Henry G. Davis' Beneficences"
Speech of Henry G. Davis (1904)
James Macauley
Death Notice of Sobieski Brady
Sobieski Brady Oath of Office
Thomas O'Brien
Obituary of Charles Faulkner
Disputed election results in the inauguration of 3 governors
1888 Gubernatorial Election
Report of the Board of Directors of the West Virginia Reform School, 1890
"West Va. Reform School"
Birth of U.S. Senator John E. Kenna
Death of Governor Jacob B. Jackson
County Seat War in Tucker County
Mob Putting Records into Tucker County Courthouse at Parsons
Rural Free Delivery Introduced in Jefferson County
Biography of William Lyne Wilson
"Hon. Wm. L. Wilson"
William Lyne Wilson Nominated For Congressional Seat
Obituary and Funeral of William Lyne Wilson
Visiting Card of Postmaster General William L. Wilson (Sc82-33)
Letter, William L. Wilson to W. L. Foulke (Ms80- 146)
Life of U.S. Senator Nathan B. Scott
Men of West Virginia Biography of Nathan Bay Scott
Prominent Men of West Virginia Biography of Nathan Bay Scott
"Nathan Bay Scott Summoned By Death"
Photograph of Agnes Cowgill Scott, Wife of Nathan Bay Scott
Inside Cover of Bible Owned by Senator Nathan Bay Scott
Blue Book Summary of Spencer State Hospital
Act Appropriating Funds for Construction of Spencer State Hospital
Roane County Court Record on Sale of Land for Spencer State Hospital
"State Hospital story began on a note of hope" (Spencer State Hospital)
"New mental health trends lead to changes at Spencer" (Spencer State Hospital)
"The struggle is won...and lost" (Spencer State Hospital)
Act Establishing the West Virginia Industrial Home for Girls
1968 Blue Book Summary for the West Virginia Industrial Home for Girls
"Girls' Home Has Five Inmates"
"The Owl's 'Who's There'?" (West Virginia Industrial Home for Girls)
West Virginia Industrial Home for Girls Biennial Report, 1899
Letter from Warden of the West Virginia Penitentiary, 23 January 1905
"Much Interest in Immigration"
"Did Presence of Mitchell Cause Frost?" (Immigration Meeting)
"The West Virginia Miners Situation" (Immigration Meeting)
Destination of Immigrants, 1899-1910
"History of Immigration to the Coal Fields of West Virginia"
"Former Gov. A. B. White Called By Death Today"
Articles on President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt's Visit to Wheeling, September 6, 1902
Letter From Albert Blakeslee White to Charles E. Rice
Star City elects a Socialist government
"Senator Camden Is Seriously Ill"
"J. N. Camden Died Today In Baltimore"
"The Funeral Obsequies of J. N. Camden"
"The Will of J. N. Camden Is Probated"
Letter trom U. S. Senator J. N. Camden to Governor J. B. Jackson (Ar1727)
Death of U.S. Senator Stephen Elkins
Memorial Addresses on the Life and Character of Stephen Benton Elkins
Birth of U.S. Senator & journalist William Chilton
Don Chafin elected to political office
State of West Virginia vs. Don Chafin
"Funeral Rites Thursday For Colorful Don Chafin"
"Chafin Lauded For Charities Known To Few"
Governor Henry Hatfield Dictates End to Coal Strike
West Virginia's Prohibition Law (Yost Law)
"Tolling Bells Mark Exit of Liquor Era"
"Celebrate First 'Dry' Day in State"
Broadside for Prohibition Speech
"Newton D. Baker Rites To Be Held In Cleveland Tuesday"
"Two Cabinet Members" (Newton D. Baker and John Barton Payne)
Visiting Card, Newton D. Baker, 1915 (Sc82- 31)
Correspondence Between Secretary of War Newton Baker and Congressman Howard Sutherland (Ms83-2)
Birth of Secretary of the Interior John Barton Payne
"West Virginia Solons Unite In Approval Of President's Actions In Present Crisis"
House Joint Resolution No. 13
Life of Governor John J. Cornwell
"'Mere Military Color': The State Police and Martial Law"
Legislation Creating the Department of Public Safety
Letter From Superintendent Jackson Arnold to Sam Taylor (First Trooper)
"New Superintendent of Police Body Here for the Organization"
Sources on the Woman Suffrage Movement in West Virginia
Women's Suffrage
"A Profile of Political Activists: Women of the West Virginia Woman Suffrage Movement"
West Virginia Legislature Rejects Proposal to Admit Women to WVU
Creation of the Mother's Pension Fund
"Women's Legal Rights in West Virginia, 1863-1984"
West Virginia Gasoline Tax Act
"Gasoline Tax Will Go Into Effect Today"
Extract from Report of State Tax Commissioner on Gasoline Tax
"Thy Brother's Blood: Capital Punishment in West Virginia"
West Virginia Legislature Approves the Use of the Electric Chair
"Naaman Jackson's Career Embraces Big Variety of Triumphs and Reverses"
West Virginia's Poets Laureate
"Roy Lee Harmon Named Poet-Laureate By Holt"
"Roy Harmon Reappointed State's Poet Laureate"
"Former Post-Herald Man Poet Laureate"
"Harmon, Roy Lee, Poetic Appointee"
"Poet Laureate Harmon Retires"
Letter, Roy Lee Harmon to Louise McNeill, n.d. (Ms84-247)
"Roy Lee Harmon, 80, Dies"
Sources on Louise McNeill Pease
Biography of Christopher Payne
Biography of Elizabeth Simpson Drewry
Labor Day Address of John W. Davis and Record on Labor Issues
Cover of Labor Day Address Pamphlet
Brochure For Candidacy of John W. Davis For Presidency
"Death Claims John W. Davis At 81"
"A Great Clarksburger Dies"
Ambassador John W. Davis Returns to Clarksburg
Biography of John C. Bond
Impeachment of Auditor John C. Bond
Resignation of State Auditor John C. Bond
Birth of U.S. Representative Joe L. Smith of Beckley
Life of Governor William Conley
United Mine Workers' Endorsement of Rush Holt (William Blizzard Collection)
"Holt, Highly Pleased, Says State Has Thrown Off Absent- Landlord's Yoke
Resolution Against Senator Rush D. Holt
"Blizzard Roasts Rush Holt For Spurning Debate Offer"
"Rush D. Holt Passes Yesterday"
"Cancer Fund As Rush Holt Memorial"
Defeat of U.S. Senator Rush Holt
"Isolationism and Pacifism: Senator Rush D. Holt and American Foreign Policy"
Arthurdale Resettlement Community
CCC Camps in West Virginia
Inauguration of Governor Matthew Neely
Letter, M. M. Neely to L. E. Lantz, 8 April 1915 (L. E. Lantz Collection)
"Senator Harley M. Kilgore and Japan's World War II Business Practices"
Barnette v. Board of Education
"Flag Salute Rule Voided" (Barnette v. Board of Education)
"Old Cleve's Works Won't Easily Fade"
"Personalities in Your Government:" Cleveland Monroe Bailey
"Cleve Bailey Lauded By Political Figures"
Cleveland Monroe Bailey Memorial Program
Proclamation of Army Day, by Governor Clarence W. Meadows
"Freedom Train Is Here! Nation's Most Valued Documents May Be Seen"
"Freedom Train Attendance Record Broken As 13,363 Bluefielders Visit Scene"
"Longest Train Tour Marks Rededication To Liberty"
List of Freedom Train Documents
"Freedom is Everybody's Job" (Ms79-87)
Electric Chair Legislation
"Governors Set To Begin 42d Parley Today"
Governor Okey Patteson's Welcoming Remarks at the 42nd Annual Governors' Conference
Gifts Presented to Attendees of the 42nd Annual Governors' Conference
U. S. Senator Joseph McCarthy launches his anti-communism crusade in Wheeling
Joe McCarthy's Speech in Wheeling
Excerpts From Senate Proceedings on Senator Joe McCarthy's Speech Relating to Communists in the State Department
Vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon meets presidential candidate Dwight Eisenhower in Wheeling
Front Page of Eisenhower Day Schedule (Revercomb Collection, Box 24)
"Ike Asks Nixon To Meet Him In Wheeling Today"
"Wheeling Ready To Receive Ike At 7:10 Tonight"
"Nixon Denies Guilt Of Wrong-Doing In Dramatic Radio Talk"
"Ike Declares Nixon Will Remain After Face-to-Face Meeting Here"
"Crowd Cheers Dramatic Ike, Nixon Meeting"
"Many Ike Supporters Didn't Get to See Him"
"Highlights of Ike Visit"
"Ike Is Unable To Meet Crowd For Reception"
Dwight D. Eisenhower Campaigns in Keyser, September 25, 1952
Split in the state Democratic party
Life of Governor William Marland
Governor William Marland & the coal severance tax
Governor Marland Addresses the Legislature on His Proposed Severance Tax Bill
"Governor Marland's Political Suicide: The Severance Tax"
"Mrs. Holt Takes Secretary Post" (Helen Holt)
"Mrs. Holt Chosen W. Va. Secretary" (Helen Holt)
Letter, Helen Holt to Hovah and Cecil Underwood, 30 December 1956 (Cecil Underwood Collection) (Helen Holt)
"Byrd, Randolph Sent To Senate As Democrats Score Landslide" (Jennings Randolph, 1958)
"He Reaches Boyhood Ambition" (Jennings Randolph, 1958)
"Democratic Celebration Is Big Flop" (Jennings Randolph, 1958)
Jennings Randolph 1958 Campaign Brochure
Letter, Sam Mallison to Jennings Randolph, Regarding Senate Campaign of 1958
Jennings Randolph Campaign Card, 1958 (Jennings Randolph Collection)
"Nixon Ruffles Gov. Underwood; Forces Punch Line Out of Speech"
Address of Cecil Underwood at the 1960 Republican National Convention
Resolutions of Republican State Executive Committee of West Virginia
Letter, Richard M. Nixon to Walter S. Hallanan (Ar1803)
Members of the West Virginia Centennial Commission, 1963
Proceedings of the Centennial Ceremonial Assembly of the West Virginia Legislature
"Optimism Marks Centennial Fete"
Program of the Centennial Ceremonial Assembly of the West Virginia Legislature
National Press Spotlights Poverty in West Virginia
Federal Food Stamp Program Inaugurated in West Virginia
Life of Governor Hulett C. Smith
Governor Hulett Smith Proposes Strip Mining Reforms
"Jurors Picked in Trial Of Barron, Five Others"
"Barron Cleared in Conspiracy Case; Four Others Convicted"
"Barron Pleads Guilty; Perry, Brown Also Cited in Chargest"
Helicopter crash of gubernatorial candidate Arch Moore
"Romney Cheers Viet Disclosures"
"Nixon Revenue Policies Sound, Romney Claims"
President Nixon Signs the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act
Governor Arch Moore Negotiates the End of a National Coal Strike
Governor Moore Calls Out the National Guard During the Energy Crisis
Presidential Candidate George McGovern Visits Huntington
"McGovern Says He'll Win Uphill Campaign"
"Marshall Welcomes 'Youth Candidate'"
"Police Reaction To Senator's Visit Simple: Anxiety"
Birth Certificate of Cyrus R. Vance
"Carter Will Name Cyrus R. Vance as New Secretary of State"
"Cyrus Vance Is Native Of Clarksburg"
John D. Rockefeller IV to Cyrus Vance, January 10, 1980
"Clarksburg native Cyrus Vance dies"
"Slack: A Vote For Tradition"
"Slack's death takes staff by surprise"
"Slack roots deep in Kanawha politics, early state history"
"Shock, sadness are expressed by colleagues" (Representative John Slack)
"Friends Bid Slack Farewell"
"Slack Had More Than A Good Record"
Correspondence, John Slack to Hulett Smith, February 15, 1960
Willow Island's American Cyanamid Plant Enforces Fetal Protection Policy
Death of Former State Law Librarian James Arthur Jackson
The Recht Decision
Extracts From the Recht Decision
"School Funds Ruling Outrages State Officials" (Recht Decision)
"School Ruling Pleases Small Counties" (Recht Decision)
President Ronald Reagan's Campaign Stop in Parkersburg
Impeachment proceedings against Treasurer A. James Manchin
"Senate President Resigns After Guilty Plea"
"Tucker Quits As He Admits Taking Cash"
Indictment of former governor Arch Moore
"City historian Harry Brawley dead at 82"
"Activists Seek Tighter Mining Rules"
"State Targets Acid Drainage For Cleanup"
Extract From Acid Mine Drainage Bond Forfeiture Report
Video Clip of Press Conference on Acid Mine Drainage


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