​Today in Wheeling History: March 31—Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, Wheeling produce merchant C.A. Robrecht, and six others perish when a Fokker F-10 trimotor airplane—possibly built at the Fokker plant in nearby Glen Dale—crashes in Kansas (1931).
 
On the morning of March 31, 1931, a Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F-10 trimotor departed Kansas City bound for Los Angeles. Ninety minutes into the flight, the wooden wing—its laminated spar weakened by moisture infiltrating the glue joints—failed catastrophically over the Flint Hills of Kansas near the village of Bazaar. All eight aboard perished, including legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne and Wheeling wholesale produce merchant Charles A. Robrecht, Sr.
 
Robrecht was born September 18, 1865, in rural Ohio County, the son of a truck gardener. He built the C.A. Robrecht Company into one of West Virginia's largest wholesale grocers, headquartered at 1910 Main Street. A devout Catholic and member of St. Michael's Parish, he lived at 10 Oak Park. He was flying for the first time in his life, traveling urgently to Amarillo, Texas, where his granddaughter had died of influenza and his daughter lay critically ill. A rosary was found near his body in the Kansas field. Following a funeral Mass at St. Michael's Church, he was interred at Mount Calvary Cemetery. He was 65.
 
The Fokker Aircraft Corporation plant in Glen Dale, Marshall County, opened in 1928 and employed up to 500 workers from the Wheeling area. The day after the crash, the Wheeling Intelligencer reported the downed plane may have been built at Glen Dale, but plant officials said it was impossible to determine the point of manufacture without the plane number, as F-10s were built at both Glen Dale and Fokker's New Jersey facility. The crash effectively ended wooden-winged commercial aviation, badly damaged the Fokker company's reputation, and accelerated the development of safer all-metal aircraft. The Glen Dale plant closed in October 1931.
 
To learn more: Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/5yds85uw) (https://tinyurl.com/4ppmuhv4) (https://tinyurl.com/at6z4xvj), Kansas Press Association (https://tinyurl.com/ytea3679), Disastrous History (https://tinyurl.com/4ye36h7a), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/22925zm7), Aviation Safety Network – Accident Description (https://tinyurl.com/pte6ytw5), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/2p9jsc5v), West Virginia Encyclopedia Online (https://tinyurl.com/3v77kdck), West Virginia GenWeb (https://tinyurl.com/msd93zzw), Moundsville: PBS Film & Magazine (https://tinyurl.com/y6hsyh4m), Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields (https://tinyurl.com/yktb7s63), Wheeling Register (https://tinyurl.com/mu2vu7fn) (https://tinyurl.com/3ejs5mxp), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/366s5nyn) (https://tinyurl.com/248evka3)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Kansas Press Association, Wikimedia Commons, Find a Grave, Wheeling Register, Wheeling Intelligencer, West Virginia Encyclopedia Online, West Virginia GenWeb, Moundsville: PBS Film & Magazine   

​Today in Wheeling History: March 30—General Motors' "Train of Tomorrow" arrives in Wheeling for public display at the B&O Railroad passenger station at 1700 Market Street (1949).
 
The Train of Tomorrow was an innovative demonstrator train built by General Motors and Pullman-Standard between 1945 and 1947. This groundbreaking four-car streamliner featured revolutionary "Astra-Domes" atop each car—glass-enclosed penthouses seating 24 passengers with panoramic views. The train included a chair car (Star Dust), dining car (Sky View), sleeping car (Dream Cloud), and lounge-observation car (Moon Glow).
 
The train's stop in Wheeling proved remarkably successful. Arriving after displays at the 1948 Chicago Railroad Fair and visits to major cities nationwide, the Train of Tomorrow was exhibited on track 4 at the Baltimore and Ohio passenger station from 2 to 9 p.m. on March 30-31 and April 1, 1949. General Motors offered free admission to all Wheeling area residents. During the three-day visit, an impressive 20,174 people inspected the luxurious train—one of the largest crowds relative to city size during the entire nationwide tour, according to GM officials. Local newspapers extensively promoted the visit, with Frigidaire dealers sponsoring advertisements inviting residents to view the Frigidaire-equipped train. Visitors entered through the observation car's rear door and exited through the locomotive cab. The train departed at 1 a.m. Saturday, April 2, bound for Pittsburgh before continuing to Elmira, New York.
 
To learn more: Wikipedia – Train of Tomorrow (https://tinyurl.com/5n92cn2j), Themetrains.com – GM Train of Tomorrow (https://tinyurl.com/4a268k4z), WV Explorer – B&O Railroad in Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/3z5rmpv2), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/4275ycvy), Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/bddwfhh8) (https://tinyurl.com/mr2ehydc) (https://tinyurl.com/4prwvef2) (https://tinyurl.com/57w9vfzm) (https://tinyurl.com/5wruj2dc)
 
Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, Wheeling News-Register, Wheeling Intelligencer

​Today in Wheeling History: March 29—Robert “Bob” Nutting, media executive and future principal owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, is born in Wheeling (1962).
 
Robert “Bob” Nutting, born March 29, 1962, in Wheeling, West Virginia, is a fourth-generation member of the Nutting publishing family and one of the most nationally recognized business figures with deep Wheeling roots. He is the son of longtime Ogden Newspapers publisher G. Ogden Nutting and civic leader Betty Woods “Snookie” Nutting. Nutting grew up immersed in the family’s newspaper operations before earning a history degree from Williams College.
 
As president and CEO of Ogden Newspapers, headquartered in Wheeling, he oversees a large network of daily and weekly newspapers across the United States, including The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register. The Nutting Company also owns Ogden Directories and formerly operated a large portfolio of regional resorts. Until 2021, the family owned Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Hidden Valley, and Laurel Mountain, major recreational properties that expanded the Nutting business presence throughout the tri-state region.
 
Nutting is best known nationally as principal owner and chairman of the Pittsburgh Pirates, assuming full control in 2007. His tenure has emphasized long-term player development, investments in Pirate City, analytics expansion, and the Dominican Republic academy. At the same time, he has faced persistent criticism from fans over payroll levels and competitive strategy. Despite this, Nutting remains influential in MLB governance and continues to shape the franchise’s business direction.
 
He has also served on boards for The Nature Conservancy of West Virginia, Linsly School, and Wheeling Hospital, reinforcing his ongoing civic ties to his hometown.
 
To learn more: Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/mwsmxv7y), Ogden News (https://tinyurl.com/35vznfc3), Lou Holtz Hall of Fame (https://tinyurl.com/mv45x3at), Alchetron (https://tinyurl.com/383u4vzc)
 
Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, Google Maps

​Today in Wheeling History: March 28--An ordinance is passed to create the Market Auditorium, a combined market house and grand civic hall on Market Street (1911).
 
The Market Auditorium in downtown Wheeling emerged from a 1911 ordinance championed by the city’s Board of Trade, especially president George W. Lutz and secretary R. B. Naylor. Conceived as both a modern public market and a large-capacity auditorium, it was to replace the aging Second Ward Market House, a structure dating to 1822 that had served as town hall, market, and—tragically—a major slave auction site before the Civil War. Architect Frederick F. Faris designed the new building to occupy the west side of Market Street between 10th and 11th streets. The ordinance, passed on March 28, 1911, authorized formation of the Market-Auditorium Company, which leased the site from the city and raised about $160,000 in subscriptions from 162 individuals and firms. Construction contracts were let in September 1911, the cornerstone was laid April 25, 1912, and the building was essentially complete by early 1913. Built of vitrified brick and structural steel, it stretched roughly 506 feet, with 64 indoor stalls, 23 outdoor wagon spaces, and an auditorium seating around 3,000–3,500 people. The Market Auditorium hosted political conventions, women’s suffrage meetings, and countless civic events before its demolition in 1964; today, Market Plaza Park and the surviving cornerstone mark the site.
 
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/369sdw63); SAH Archipedia (https://tinyurl.com/y2m99s5w), Facebook (https://tinyurl.com/bcz3xr96), The Clio (https://tinyurl.com/2r4ta99y)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV, Google Maps

​Today in Wheeling History: March 27--The Harry C. and Jessie F. Franzheim House on Wheeling Island is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1989).  
 
The Harry C. and Jessie F. Franzheim House at 404 South Front Street is one of Wheeling Island’s most architecturally significant late‑nineteenth‑century residences. Built in 1897, the home was designed by noted Wheeling architect Edward Bates Franzheim for his own brother, Harry C. Franzheim, a prominent furniture dealer and partner in the long‑established firm House & Herrmann. Harry lived in the home with his wife, Jessie F. Franzheim, a respected civic figure known for her involvement in charitable and cultural organizations.
 
The house is a remarkably intact example of the Shingle Style, a form rarely seen in the Ohio Valley. Its continuous wood‑shingle cladding, cross‑gambrel roof, and paired round towers create a unified, sculptural exterior that reflects Edward Bates Franzheim’s mastery of complex residential design. The broad river‑facing porch, Ionic columns, and curved‑glass tower windows reveal both the family’s social standing and the architect’s interest in blending picturesque massing with classical detail.
 
Although later alterations—such as an enclosed porch—were added during the early twentieth century, the house retains the essential features of Franzheim’s original composition. Its preservation offers a rare window into the lifestyle of an upper‑middle‑class Wheeling Island family during a period when the island served simultaneously as a residential enclave, recreational destination, and gateway to the city. The home’s architectural integrity and its direct association with one of Wheeling’s leading architectural families led to its individual listing on the National Register of Historic Places on March 27, 1989.  
 
To learn more: Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/4k484sdx), NRHP Nomination PDF (https://tinyurl.com/4usmcb49), Waymarking (https://tinyurl.com/25ct5vnk)
 
Photo caption and credit: The Harry C. and Jesse F. Franzheim House at 404 S. Front Street on Wheeling Island in West Virginia. The house is pictured from its western facade. The house is on the NRHP. Taken March 28, 2010. (Bwsmith84 via Wikimedia Commons)

​Today in Wheeling History: March 25—Wheeling native Travis Braden, who would become a professional stock car racing driver, is born (1994).
 
Travis Donald Braden, one of Wheeling's most accomplished motorsports figures, was born on March 25, 1994, in Wheeling, West Virginia. He grew up in the city and graduated from Wheeling Park High School in 2012 before enrolling at West Virginia University, where he earned a dual degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
 
Braden's racing career began at age eight in mini-wedges. He quickly progressed through quarter-midgets and Legends cars, winning a Young Lions national points championship and multiple track and regional titles. At 17, he moved to full-size stock cars in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, setting qualifying records at Columbus and Xenia tracks in Ohio and winning the state championship. He earned back-to-back ARCA/CRA Super Series championships in 2013 and 2014.
 
In July 2015, Braden made his ARCA Menards Series debut at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, winning his first start in a family-owned car — passing future NASCAR Cup driver William Byron near the finish. He won the Winchester 400 in Winchester, Indiana, in 2016 and claimed the 2019 Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, after the original winner was disqualified in post-race inspection. Braden ran two full ARCA seasons with RFMS Racing in 2018 and 2019, finishing fifth and fourth in the final standings, respectively.
 
After his ARCA career concluded, Braden joined Hendrick Motorsports as a mechanic, working on the No. 48 Chevrolet driven by Alex Bowman. In 2021, he partnered with NASCAR team owner BJ McLeod to establish a short-track development program. Braden also competed in the 2024 CARS Pro Late Model Tour season.
 
To learn more: Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/3zuydbkx), WVU ProjectMe (https://tinyurl.com/pu8m6a2b), West Virginia Executive Magazine (https://tinyurl.com/mv2dtpxm), NBC Sports (https://tinyurl.com/4vkbcyhd) (https://tinyurl.com/bdf95hpd), ARCA Menards (https://tinyurl.com/mrxz8n67) (https://tinyurl.com/4c9bze7x), Third Turn (https://tinyurl.com/4472ruee), Racing Reference (https://tinyurl.com/43y7w8wb)
 
Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons

​Today in Wheeling History: March 23—The West Virginia Division of Highways closes the Wheeling Suspension Bridge after an overweight Greyhound bus damages the historic span (2016)
 
One of Wheeling's most beloved landmarks faced yet another crisis on March 23, 2016, when the West Virginia Division of Highways closed the historic Wheeling Suspension Bridge indefinitely after a Greyhound bus crossed the two-ton weight limit span and damaged it — marking the fourth such closure in little more than a year.
 
The incident occurred around 2:15 p.m. According to Wheeling Deputy Police Chief Martin Kimball, the bus driver appeared to be lost and got stuck attempting to cross the bridge. The bus eventually made it across, but its roof sustained damage after striking the overhead signs — suspended by chains — warning drivers of the span's eight-foot height limit. A typical Greyhound bus stands 13 to 14 feet tall and weighs between 24 and 27 tons, far exceeding the bridge's posted two-ton limit. The driver was cited for operating an overweight vehicle.
 
DOH District 6 Manager Gus Suwaid said no visible structural damage was apparent, but a careful inspection was needed. The Fort Henry Bridge on Interstate 70 served as the alternate route.
 
The 1849 bridge — the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in the United States and a National Historic Landmark — had endured a cable snap in February 2015, an overheight truck wedging under its signs weeks later, and a pickup crash in October 2015. The 2016 Greyhound incident foreshadowed a permanent vehicle ban enacted in February 2026.
 
To learn more: WV MetroNews (https://tinyurl.com/23t9tj35), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/3sjt7pkc), Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/yy78bjjd), Weirton Daily Times (https://tinyurl.com/4caha76a), West Virginia Press Association (https://tinyurl.com/4tb5pv44), West Virginia Public Broadcasting (https://tinyurl.com/4x3n8cft), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/ktbsc4dk)
 
Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, Wheeling Intelligencer, Wheeling News-Register, West Virginia Press Association

​Today in Wheeling History: March 21—Lincoln High School wins first West Virginia Athletic Union Basketball Championship (1925).
 
On March 19, 1925, basketball teams from 11 of West Virginia's 24 Black high schools took the court at the West Virginia Colored Institute (now West Virginia State University) gym in Institute, Kanawha County, for the first West Virginia Athletic Union (WVAU) state basketball tournament. The three-day event was the first statewide tournament held for segregated high schools in the Mountain State, with Lincoln High of Wheeling edging Kimball of McDowell County, 25-24, in the title game on March 21.
 
Lincoln was coached by J. H. Rainbow, and the roster included Leroy Spriggs (captain), Berry, Dennis, Campbell, William Riley, Charles Earley, Joseph Woods, Oliver Shannon, Hunter, and John W. Kinney, who would go on to serve as a Lincoln coach and administrator. The "Wheeling Register" reported that Lincoln had lost only four games all season, outscoring opponents 476 to 271, and had not lost a home game in nine years. The team also defeated independent squads from neighboring states, including the Washington Collegians, Steubenville A.C., Cadiz A.C., Sparta A.C., and Holy Cross of Pittsburgh.
 
Lincoln School was founded in 1866 by Dr. Hupp and John Jackson and was among the first publicly funded schools for African Americans in the United States. Its most recent school building opened on Chapline Street in 1943 and closed after desegregation.
 
The WVAU tournament continued until 1957. Lincoln's 1925 championship — the first ever played in West Virginia for Black high schools — remains a landmark achievement in Wheeling's African American athletic history.
 
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/5y26e98h) (https://tinyurl.com/45b6e4f3), Wheeling Register (https://tinyurl.com/yt889anj), West Virginia Encyclopedia (https://tinyurl.com/2arydyts), West Virginia Sports Writers Association (https://tinyurl.com/d5nsrxc7), My Buckhannon (https://tinyurl.com/3hwyd4kc), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/yc3dxx3p), West Virginia Archives & History (https://tinyurl.com/y2y67bt4)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wheeling Register, Wikimedia Commons

​Today in Wheeling History: March 18--Former Kruger Street School sold at auction, paving way for the Toy and Train Museum (1997).
 
On March 18, 1997, the Wheeling-based Eibel Corporation purchased the former Kruger Street School building at 144 Kruger Street in Wheeling's Elm Grove neighborhood at auction for $253,000, setting in motion plans to transform the historic structure into one of the largest toy museums in the world. The three-story red brick building, designed by Wheeling architect C. D. McCarty and constructed by Elliot & Winchell of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was built in 1906 on land that was once part of the Moses Shepard estate — ground that had previously served as a Native American burial site. The cornerstone was laid on June 30, 1906, by the Knights of Pythias, Mystic Lodge No. 24, and the school opened in early 1907. The building served Ohio County Schools for decades, originally housing grades one through ten and the first Triadelphia District High School. After the last classes were held in 1991, West Liberty State College used it briefly before it closed permanently in the mid-1990s. The Eibel Corporation — whose name was coined from founder Allan Robert Miller's mother's maiden name — invested several hundred thousand dollars in renovations using local contractors. The work preserved the building's original Georgia yellow pine floors, red pine woodwork, and tin ceilings manufactured by Wheeling Corrugating, a division of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel. The museum was dedicated on August 27, 1998, and opened to the public on September 1, 1998.
 
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling WV – Kruger Street School (https://tinyurl.com/yrfs7vpf); Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum – "144 Kruger Street: A Biography" (https://tinyurl.com/66dk2yz7); Weelunk – "Feel Like a Kid Again at the Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum" (https://tinyurl.com/u28e6upv); Roadside America – Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum (https://tinyurl.com/r4hmyzrh); Wheeling News-Register – "Wheeling Toy Museum Promises Fun for Kids of All Ages" (https://tinyurl.com/6zy43fae); Visit Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/bdec9y39); TripAdvisor Reviews (https://tinyurl.com/3ze4fv8v); The Park Press (https://tinyurl.com/ypfatzfs)
 
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wheeling News-Register, Google Images, Visit Wheeling WV, Weelunk

 Today in Wheeling History: March 17—Riverside Iron Works Office Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (2015).
 
On March 17, 2015, the Riverside Iron Works Office Building at 1507–1509 Main Street in Wheeling was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Commonly known as the Flatiron Building, the four-story masonry structure sits on a small triangular lot at the corner of Main and South Streets, near the confluence of Wheeling Creek and the Ohio River.
 
Construction on the building began in October 1895, and the Wheeling Intelligencer reported in April 1896 that the new Riverside Iron Works office and ware rooms would be completed and occupied by June 1. Designed by the locally renowned architectural firm of Franzheim, Giesey & Faris, the building's first three floors were constructed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, featuring light-colored brick, rusticated ashlar stonework at the rounded corner bay, and decorative arched brickwork throughout. A fourth floor was added around 1907.
 
The building served as headquarters for Riverside Iron Works, one of Wheeling's most significant iron and steel manufacturers. In 1899, National Tube Company acquired Riverside for six million dollars. The property later passed to Wheeling Steel and Iron Company. Over the following decades, tenants included the American Legion Post No. 1, the Girl Scouts of America, and the U.S. Naval Communications Reserve. In the mid-1950s, while the current City-County Building was under construction, it housed police headquarters, the city auditor and treasurer, the water department, the city manager, the city clerk, and the county health department.
 
Purchased in 2014 by Kevin and Patricia Duffin, the building was renovated into luxury loft apartments and commercial space, including Table 304, a café operated by a local mother-daughter team.
 
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/yx9hk833) (https://tinyurl.com/2uut8wmm); National Park Service (https://tinyurl.com/ymbhj433), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/yc2f998m), Abandoned (https://tinyurl.com/3zcue8sh), Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/ab448hmk), WTOV9 (https://tinyurl.com/3vbd9sdk), Table 304 (https://tinyurl.com/ye7cpmhp)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wikimedia Commons, The Historical Marker Database