West Virginia history, while rich and multifaceted, is, as some would say, becoming increasingly lost to younger residents of the state.
In honor of women’s history in the month of March, take a closer look at the history of West Virginia and how the events of the month in years past have helped shape the state – one of which was uncovered 187 years ago.
Women’s History Month, annually celebrated in March, pays tribute to the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which allowed women the right to vote.
Kris Warner, the West Virginia secretary of state, said the Mountain State played a key role in the process.
First passed by Congress, the amendment required a minimum of 36 states to vote in its favor to make it official, and West Virginia Senator Jesse Bloch of Ohio County was tasked with the tie breaking vote after missing the special session due to him being out of town.
As reported by WOWK 13 News, Warner’s office said Bloch checked into the Kanawha Hotel in Charleston early on March 10, 1920, and was met with a wire message from his mother encouraging him to “do the right thing.”
Later that morning, he cast his vote in support of the amendment, breaking the tie and bringing the final vote to 15–14, Warner’s office said.
Following the official ratification of the amendment in August 1920, women were appointed senators in West Virginia just a few years later, including Hazel E. Hyre, who succeeded her late husband, and later the first woman elected to the State Senate, Betty J. Baker.
On March 19, 1838, the Grave Creek Mound, a hallmark of West Virginia culture and history, was first excavated by local landowners Abelard Tomlinson and Thomas Biggs.
According to the West Virginia Encyclopedia, the mound, believed to be created from 250–150 B.C., contained two burial vaults with human remains and grave goods, which were built by the Adena people.
Executed via digging tunnels into the mound, the excavation offered insight into the early Woodland period and prehistoric Native American culture, including burial rituals, technology and social structures.
In addition to the initial excavation, documentation of the mound dated years before, including an excerpt authored by Meriwether Lewis during his and William Clark’s expedition of the Louisiana Purchase.
In his journal, Lewis said he landed on the east side of the river, likely the Ohio River, and described in detail “a remarkable artificial mound of earth called by the people in this neighbourhood the Indian grave.”
Furthermore, Grave Creek Mound Archeological Complex promises the preservation of the site and “interprets the archeological record of West Virginia for the public,” and the mound is now a state park.
Holly Belmont can be contacted at [email protected].
