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
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
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