​Today in Wheeling History: June 30—Mabel Cratty, future national General Secretary of the YWCA who earlier taught at the Wheeling Female Seminary, is born in Bellaire, Ohio (1868).
 
Mary Isabell “Mabel” Cratty (1868–1928) was born June 30, 1868, in Belmont County, Ohio, to Charles Campbell Cratty and Mary Clark Thoburn Cratty. Raised in a Methodist family with strong missionary ties, she attended Bellaire public schools, studied at Lake Erie Seminary, and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1890. Soon afterward, she accepted a teaching position at the Wheeling Female Seminary in Wheeling, West Virginia, where her disciplined instruction and belief in rigorous education for young women left a lasting impression. Her Wheeling years helped shape the values that later guided her national leadership.
 
In 1904, Cratty joined the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) national staff, and in 1906 she became General Secretary of the National Board—a position she held for twenty‑two years. From New York City, she oversaw major organizational expansion, strengthened international ties, and advanced programs addressing labor conditions, peace advocacy, and women’s civic participation. Her leadership earned her an honorary Doctor of Laws from Ohio Wesleyan in 1922.
 
Cratty died of pneumonia on February 27, 1928, in New York at age 59. Her funeral, held at the YWCA National Board Building at 600 Lexington Avenue, drew about 400 representatives from across the country, including Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Jr., Carrie Chapman Catt, and officers of the National Board. After the service, her body was taken by train to Bellaire, Ohio, for burial in Greenwood Cemetery in Pultney Township.
 
To learn more: Prabook (https://tinyurl.com/2rkc6nbu), Wikipedia - Mabel Cratty (https://tinyurl.com/mwam9r8d), Find a Grave - Mabel Cratty (https://tinyurl.com/5n775fam), New York Times - FUNERAL OF MABEL CRATTY.; 400 Representatives of Y.W.C.A. at Services for General Secretary (https://tinyurl.com/4h9ewn3c), Ohio County Public Library - Wheeling Female Seminary | Wheeling Female College (https://tinyurl.com/2d7ppk6p), Flickr - Ohio County Public Library - Wheeling Female Seminary | Wheeling Female College (https://tinyurl.com/yc3vu284)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wikimedia Commons, Find a Grave, YWCA

​Today in Wheeling History: June 28—U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, whose federal appropriations funded major Wheeling projects including the Intermodal Transportation Center, dies at age 92 (2010).
 
Robert Carlyle Byrd (born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr.) was born November 20, 1917, in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Orphaned by the 1918 flu pandemic, he was raised in the coal towns of southern West Virginia by his aunt and uncle, Titus and Vlurma Byrd. After graduating as valedictorian of Mark Twain High School in Stotesbury in 1934, he worked a series of modest jobs before entering politics, winning election to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1946 and the state Senate in 1950. Byrd served in the U.S. House from 1953 to 1959 and then in the U.S. Senate from 1959 until his death, becoming the longest‑serving member of Congress.
 
Through his seniority on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Byrd directed substantial federal investment to West Virginia, including several major projects in Wheeling. Three city institutions bear his name: the Robert C. Byrd Intermodal Transportation Center, the Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center at Wheeling University, and the Robert C. Byrd Addition to the Lodge at Oglebay Park. These facilities reflect Byrd’s influence on Wheeling’s transportation, educational, technological, and tourism infrastructure. Byrd died June 28, 2010, in Fairfax County, Virginia, and is buried at Columbia Gardens Cemetery in Arlington.
 
To learn more: Wheeling Heritage – Intermodal Center (https://tinyurl.com/2fchxpjn), Weelunk – “Intermodal Center May Finally Blossom Thanks To Nearby Development” (https://tinyurl.com/4tz4jtvj), e‑WV – “Robert C. Byrd” (https://tinyurl.com/3xsejc2p), Find a Grave – “Robert Carlyle Byrd” (https://tinyurl.com/3euuz9p4), Wikipedia – “Robert Byrd” (https://tinyurl.com/4rkuvbwd), Wikipedia – “List of places named after Robert Byrd” (https://tinyurl.com/mtxh7y68)
 
Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, Wheeling Heritage, Pinterest

Today in Wheeling History: June 27--Silent film actress and singer Gladys Valerie (Gladys Valerie Hays), born in Wheeling (1890).  
 
Gladys Valerie was born Gladys Valerie Hays on June 27, 1890, in Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, to Rudolph A. Hays and Edith Ida Koon Hays. Her family later relocated to New York City, where she was raised and educated, positioning her close to the emerging American theatrical and motion picture industries.  On June 30, 1914, she married teacher Mark Barth in Manhattan, a union that coincided with the beginning of her screen career in the silent era.  
 
Valerie’s film work included leading and featured roles in productions such as "The Heart of a Girl" (1918), "Marie, Ltd." (1919), "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch" (1919), and "The Mind the Paint Girl" (1919), where she was praised for her expressive presence.   Contemporary coverage noted her operatic background and highlighted a 1919 benefit concert for blind soldiers, as well as her being voted the "Best Girl" of Company D, 105th Artillery, A.E.F., by soldiers overseas.   In the early 1930s she wrote, produced, and performed multiple roles in radio sketches for WINS in New York, later working in advertising by the 1950 census.  
 
She died on September 30, 1972, in New York and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, but her story begins in Wheeling, where she was born before rising to national prominence on stage and screen. 
 
To learn more: Wikipedia - Gladys Valerie (https://tinyurl.com/476zfzne), Find a Grave - Gladys Valerie Hays Barth (https://tinyurl.com/4ec4n2uv), Everything Explained (https://tinyurl.com/4m6wnx8d), IMdb - Gladys Valerie [1890-1972] (https://tinyurl.com/s9mhxvtd)
 
Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons

Today in Wheeling History: June 26—James N. Vance Sr. dies in Wheeling and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery (1913). 
 
James Nelson “Jet” Vance Sr. (1829–1913) became one of Wheeling’s most influential industrial leaders during the city’s rise as a national iron and steel center. Born on his family’s farm near the intersection of National Road and Bethany Pike, he attended local schools before entering the iron and hardware business on Monroe Street in 1853. His early success led to a partnership with O.C. Dewey and W.H. Russell, forming Dewey, Vance & Co., operators of the Wheeling Iron and Spike Works. The firm expanded significantly during the Civil War, supplying iron products essential to railroads and wartime industry. 
 
Following the war, the company evolved into Riverside Iron Works, where Vance served as president for roughly twenty‑five years. Under his leadership, Riverside constructed major facilities in Benwood and Steubenville and installed West Virginia’s first Bessemer converter in 1884, a technological milestone that positioned the region as a competitive steel producer. Vance also became a prominent figure in Wheeling’s financial sector, serving as president of several banks and helping organize the Security Trust Company. 
 
Deeply committed to civic and religious life, he funded the construction of Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church in honor of his parents. Vance died in Wheeling on June 26, 1913, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, leaving a legacy that shaped the city’s industrial, economic, and religious identity. 
 
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library - Wheeling Hall of Fame: James Nelson Vance (https://tinyurl.com/3k8bdern), Ohio County Public Library - Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church (https://tinyurl.com/ms2utksj), Find a Grave - James Nelson "Jet" Vance Sr. (https://tinyurl.com/3ysf4yuv), National Currency Foundation - James Nelson Vance (https://tinyurl.com/3rtjknxh)
 
Today in Wheeling History: June 26—James N. Vance Sr. dies in Wheeling and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery (1913). 

James Nelson “Jet” Vance Sr. (1829–1913) became one of Wheeling’s most influential industrial leaders during the city’s rise as a national iron and steel center. Born on his family’s farm near the intersection of National Road and Bethany Pike, he attended local schools before entering the iron and hardware business on Monroe Street in 1853. His early success led to a partnership with O.C. Dewey and W.H. Russell, forming Dewey, Vance & Co., operators of the Wheeling Iron and Spike Works. The firm expanded significantly during the Civil War, supplying iron products essential to railroads and wartime industry. 

Following the war, the company evolved into Riverside Iron Works, where Vance served as president for roughly twenty‑five years. Under his leadership, Riverside constructed major facilities in Benwood and Steubenville and installed West Virginia’s first Bessemer converter in 1884, a technological milestone that positioned the region as a competitive steel producer. Vance also became a prominent figure in Wheeling’s financial sector, serving as president of several banks and helping organize the Security Trust Company. 

Deeply committed to civic and religious life, he funded the construction of Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church in honor of his parents. Vance died in Wheeling on June 26, 1913, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, leaving a legacy that shaped the city’s industrial, economic, and religious identity. 

To learn more: Ohio County Public Library - Wheeling Hall of Fame: James Nelson Vance (https://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/history/5446) (https://tinyurl.com/3k8bdern), Ohio County Public Library - Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church (https://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/history/vance-memorial-presbyterian-church/3680) (https://tinyurl.com/ms2utksj), Find a Grave - James Nelson "Jet" Vance Sr. (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/72018443/james-nelson-vance) (https://tinyurl.com/3ysf4yuv), National Currency Foundation - James Nelson Vance (http://www.nationalcurrencyfoundation.org/signature-James-Nelson-Vance-867) (https://tinyurl.com/3rtjknxh)

Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Wikimedia Commons

​Today in Wheeling History: June 25—Slim Lehart, “The Wheeling Cat,” country singer and Wheeling Jamboree star, born in Viola, West Virginia (1935). 
 
Richard Edmond Hartley, known professionally as Slim Lehart, was born June 25, 1935, in Viola, West Virginia, and was raised in the nearby rural community of Calis. His early years in this small Ohio County community shaped his identity long before he became one of the most recognizable figures in Wheeling’s musical history. As a teenager he moved into Wheeling, where he soon enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age seventeen. He served aboard the USS Randolph during the Korean War, an experience that preceded his long public life in the Ohio Valley. 
 
After returning home, Lehart pursued country music and quickly became associated with the Wheeling Jamboree. His first guest appearance came in 1965, and by 1970 he had become a contracted regular whose lively, crowd‑engaging style made him a Saturday‑night favorite at the Capitol Theatre. Over the decades he performed alongside major country artists and toured widely while maintaining deep roots in the region. 
 
Beyond music, Lehart operated local venues such as Club Madrid and served for many years as a Marshall County commissioner. He received numerous honors, including a star on the Capitol Theatre Walkway of Stars and recognition as a Distinguished Mountaineer. After retiring from regular performances in 2017, he remained a beloved figure in Wheeling. He died August 5, 2023, leaving a legacy deeply woven into the area’s musical and civic life.
 
To learn more: Wikipedia - Slim Lehart (https://tinyurl.com/bddjr4z3), Kepner Funeral Homes - "Slim Lehart -- The Wheeling Cat" (https://tinyurl.com/3hk5y37t), Wheeling Intelligencer - "Slim Lehart, 'The Wheeling Cat' Dies at 88"  (https://tinyurl.com/5eua2a2z), WTRF - "Slim Lehart, 'The Wheeling Cat,' Dead at 88" (https://tinyurl.com/yc5xs8hv), Flickr - Ohio County Public Library - Slim Lehart  (https://tinyurl.com/y8j95eju)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Kepner Funeral Homes

​Today in Wheeling History: June 22--Elliott Warren Rice, Civil War general educated in Wheeling, died in Sioux City, Iowa (1887).
 
Elliott Warren Rice was born on November 16, 1835, in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. His family relocated to Belmont, Ohio, in 1836, and Rice later attended school in Wheeling, then part of Virginia. He continued his studies at Franklin College in Athens, Ohio, before moving to Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1855 to study law under his brother, Samuel Allen Rice. He graduated from the University of Albany Law School in 1858 and practiced law in Iowa until the Civil War erupted.
 
Rice enlisted in the 7th Iowa Infantry in 1861 and rose rapidly through the ranks, eventually becoming a brigadier general. He fought in major battles including Belmont, Shiloh, Corinth, and the Atlanta Campaign, and was wounded seven times. He was brevetted major general in 1865 for his service. After the war, Rice practiced law in Washington, D.C., but declining health led him to retire to his sister’s home in Sioux City, Iowa, where he died on June 22, 1887. He is buried at Floyd Cemetery in Sioux City. Though not a native son, Rice’s Wheeling connection through education ties him to the city’s Civil War legacy.
 
To learn more: Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/3y2fpv6y), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/mrs9fuhw), Wikitree (https://tinyurl.com/57p47twm)
 
Photo credit: Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons, Find a Grave

​Today in Wheeling History: June 22—William Leighton Jr., Hobbs, Brockunier & Co. glass chemist and poet, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1833).
 
William Leighton Jr. was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 22, 1833, per Appleton's Cyclopaedia and the Ohio County Public Library; Find a Grave lists June 25. His family moved to Concord, Massachusetts, in 1838, and he graduated from Harvard's scientific department in 1853. He worked for a time managing the New England Glass Works in Boston before coming to Wheeling in 1868 to head the chemical department at Hobbs, Brockunier & Co., succeeding his father, chemist William Leighton Sr., who had developed the firm's celebrated lime-glass formula and who retired that year. Leighton Jr. was admitted to the partnership and remained with the firm roughly twenty years, helping perfect the company's prized "Peach Blow" art glass and, with William F. Russell, patenting the "Hobnail" opalescent glassware pattern in 1886.
 
Outside the glass works, Leighton was one of Wheeling's most prolific amateur poets, founding and presiding over the city's Shakespeare Club and reading original verse at the 1878 dedication of the Paxton Fountain and the 1883 dedication of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. His best-known work, "Sons of Godwin" (1876), appeared almost simultaneously with Tennyson's "Harold," a coincidence that drew the English poet laureate's personal compliments. Leighton later left Wheeling for Chicago and then Europe, settling in Wiesbaden, Germany, where he translated the tales of poet Hans Sachs. He died there in 1911 and was buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts.
 
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – “William Leighton Jr.” (https://tinyurl.com/y8msb8ys), Archiving Wheeling – “The Price of the Present, Paid By the Past”  https://tinyurl.com/2wjxf7vj), Find a Grave – William Leighton Jr. [1833–1911] (https://tinyurl.com/3ek63y4c), Ohio County Public Library - South Wheeling Glass Works [Hobbs Brockunier Glass], 1886 (https://tinyurl.com/dexrbxyu), Ohio County Public Library - Dedication of the Paxton Foundation, November 9, 1878 (https://tinyurl.com/2xdax8ae), Ohio County Public Library - Soldiers Monument Poem [pdf] (https://tinyurl.com/525bp6vv), Ohio County Public Library - Paxton Fountain (https://tinyurl.com/mw8buxna), Wheeling Daily Register - Death of Wm. Leighton at Weisbaden, Germany (https://tinyurl.com/53t9vayn), Wheeling Daily Register - Sir William Leighton is Dead in Germany (https://tinyurl.com/3c82kphu), Wheeling Intelligencer - Obituary - William Leighton (https://tinyurl.com/2bvp8c8n), Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/mvbvxekw), Wikipedia - J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company (https://tinyurl.com/mu9h85xn), Ohio County Public Library - In Honor of All Who Served - New Library Exhibit Honors Ohio Valley Veterans (https://tinyurl.com/ywckxxhj)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Wheeling Daily Register, Wheeling Intelligencer

Today in Wheeling History: June 21 — The YWCA Blue Triangle Branch, serving Wheeling’s African American women and girls, officially opened at 1041 Chapline Street (1921).
 
The YWCA Blue Triangle Branch opened on June 21, 1921, at 1041 Chapline Street as Wheeling’s first dedicated YWCA facility for African American women and girls during the era of segregation. Its creation followed national YWCA policies that required separate branches for Black and white women, but it also reflected the determination of Wheeling’s Black community to secure safe, educational, and social spaces. Early leaders included Mrs. Sarah Robinson, Mrs. Mindel, Mrs. Mary Banks, and Miss Mary L. McMechen, who worked with the central YWCA to establish programming and secure funding. Escobeda Sarreals, appointed executive director in April 1921, organized Girl Reserve clubs at Lincoln School and helped shape the branch’s early mission.
 
The Blue Triangle quickly became a cornerstone of Black civic life. It offered classes in sewing, typing, crafts, dramatics, folk dancing, and photography, while also providing room registries, job placement assistance, and interracial dialogue programs. Its committees—Inter-racial, World Fellowship, Education, Hospitality, and Girl Reserve/Y-Teen—reflected both local needs and national YWCA priorities. The branch moved to 1035 Chapline Street in 1926 and later to 108 12th Street in 1943, continuing to serve generations of Black women and girls. After the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, the Blue Triangle reintegrated with the main YWCA at 1100 Chapline Street in June 1956, ending its separate existence but leaving a lasting legacy of empowerment, community leadership, and social progress in Wheeling.
 
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – YWCA Blue Triangle Branch (https://tinyurl.com/2u6cdudr), Ohio County Public Library – YWCA Blue Triangle Branch Records Finding Aid (https://tinyurl.com/49fbkykh), Weelunk – The Blue Triangle Branch of the YWCA (https://tinyurl.com/3zuxwtjd), Weelunk – Adventures in the Archives: The YWCA Blue Triangle Collection (https://tinyurl.com/5d9vcjp3), National Trust Community Investment Corporation – YWCA Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/4va9acsp), Flickr - Ohio County Public Library - Blue Triangle (https://tinyurl.com/4adujz7z)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Google Maps

​Today in Wheeling History: June 20—A nine‑foot bronze statue of Gov. Francis H. Pierpont, “Father of West Virginia,” is unveiled at the northwest corner of 16th Street and Market Street, in front of West Virginia Independence Hall, during West Virginia Day celebrations in downtown Wheeling (2015).
 
The Pierpont statue project grew out of efforts by the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation and the Francis H. Pierpont Statue Committee to give Wheeling a permanent public monument to the man who led the Restored Government of Virginia from the U.S. Custom House—now West Virginia Independence Hall—during the Civil War. Conceived around 2012 as a $135,000 heritage initiative, the statue was funded by the city of Wheeling, Ohio County, the West Virginia Legislature, and numerous private donors whose names appear on a plaque inside Independence Hall. Sculptor Gareth Curtiss of Montana was selected from a field of about twenty artists in 2013; his design depicts Pierpont holding the U.S. Constitution, symbolizing his insistence that loyal western Virginians remain in the Union and ultimately form a new state. The nine‑foot bronze figure, weighing roughly 1,200 pounds, was set on a granite base fabricated by Randall L. Gallagher Memorials of St. Clairsville and installed by Walters Construction of Wheeling. Assembly began in mid‑June 2015 and culminated in a June 20 unveiling tied to Wheeling Arts Fest and West Virginia Day, with remarks by local officials, historians, and members of the Pierpont family, affirming Wheeling as the “birthplace of West Virginia.”  
 
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – Archiving Wheeling [Pierpont statue photos] (https://tinyurl.com/3bvk3dj5), Ohio County Public Library – Francis Pierpont history (https://tinyurl.com/bdzpz5jd), Weelunk – “The ‘Father of West Virginia’ Returns” (https://tinyurl.com/mpk8e32n), The Intelligencer – “Installation of Pierpont Statue Begins Today” (https://tinyurl.com/4mudmtzx), Weirton Daily Times – “Wheeling unveils Pierpont statue” (https://tinyurl.com/3w5jv3jv)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Weelunk, Wheeling Intelligencer

​Today in Wheeling History: June 19—Wheeling Area Juneteenth Celebration launches as part of the city's 250th anniversary, establishing an annual commemoration of Black freedom (2019).
 
On June 19, 2019, Wheeling held its first organized Juneteenth celebration, launched as part of the city's yearlong 250th-anniversary commemoration. The event began with a short ceremony at Market Plaza, on the site of the city's former Second Ward Market House, where weekly slave auctions had been conducted before the Civil War.
 
The celebration grew out of efforts led by local historian Margaret Brennan, who helped form a Juneteenth Committee uniting the Wheeling 250 Committee, the City of Wheeling, Wheeling Heritage, the NAACP, YWCA Wheeling, the Ohio County Public Library, and the Underground Railroad Museum. Committee members included Brennan, Ron Scott of the YWCA, Owens Brown of the NAACP, Jay Frey of Wheeling 250, Betsy Sweeny of Wheeling Heritage, Erin Rothenbueler of the library, and John Maddox of the Underground Railroad Museum. That same week, City Council adopted a resolution designating June 19 as Juneteenth Independence Day in Wheeling.
 
Organizers called it the start of an annual tradition, and the celebration has continued every June since: moving online in 2020 amid the pandemic, returning in person in 2021 days after Juneteenth became a federal holiday, expanding into a multi-day schedule of speakers, vendors and art projects by 2024, shifting indoors in 2025 when flooding forced a Black-music tribute at the Capitol Theatre Ballroom, and growing to three days in 2026 with a Pythian Building tour and new Chapline Street signage.
 
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/3eknuwz7); Wheeling Heritage – Juneteenth Celebration (https://tinyurl.com/3vfauc85), Wheeling Area Juneteenth Celebration (https://tinyurl.com/evbfhvd6), Weelunk – “Why Wheeling’s Juneteenth Celebration Is Held at Market Plaza” (https://tinyurl.com/yc4zj6k6), Weelunk - WHEELING SCENE: Juneteenth 2023 in Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/f84bs4py), City of Wheeling - Juneteenth Resolution (https://tinyurl.com/bdkjebrr), City of Wheeling - Planning for Wheeling’s Juneteenth Celebration Underway (https://tinyurl.com/32wn9rs8), Weelunk - Juneteenth 2025: A Time for Reflection & Service (https://tinyurl.com/yp8xpw7n)
, Wheeling Heritage (https://tinyurl.com/3yb6xwfx), Weelunk - Celebrating Juneteenth in Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/yzravbey), Weelunk - WATCH: Virtual Juneteenth Celebration 2020 (https://tinyurl.com/yc36teza), Wheeling Heritage - Community Organizers Plan Wheeling’s Juneteenth Celebration (https://tinyurl.com/22h7nzrz), Weelunk - Community Organizers Plan Wheeling’s 2023 Juneteenth Celebration (https://tinyurl.com/n89y4t3k)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Weelunk, Wheeling Heritage, City of Wheeling, Wheeling Heritage Media