Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson (1824-1863)
Jackson was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He was a Confederate general and won at the First Battle of Bull Run during the Civil War. He was accidentally killed by one of his men at Chanvellorsville.
Anna Jarvis (1864-1948)
Jarvis was born in Grafton, West Virginia. She was a promoter who worked to make Mother's Day a nationally celebrated holiday.
Morgan Morgan (1688-1766)
Morgan was a pioneer and the first white settler in West Virginia. He built a log cabin near Bunker Hill.
Mary Lou Retton (1968- )
Retton was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, and was a gymnast. She won a gold medal for the best all-around gymnast performance in the 1984 Olympics and was the first American gymnast to win a medal since 1948.
Cyrus Vance (1917- )
Vance was born Clarksburg, West Virginia, and was a diplomat. He represented President Johnson in Panama, Cyprus and in urban riot centers. He negotiated the release of the USS Pueblo and its crew. Vance was the United States secretary of state from 1977-1981.
Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)
Washington grew up in Malden, West Virginia, and was and educator and reformer. He thought that blacks should work for education and employment instead of fighting social equality with whites. He founded the National Negro Business League. He wrote a book called Up.
West Virginia Fun Facts West Virginia is the only state in the Union to have acquired its sovereignty by proclamation of the President of the United States. West Virginia is considered the southern most northern state and the northern most southern state. Mother’s Day was first observed at Andrews Church in Gafton on May 10, 1908. West Virginia has the oldest population of any state. The median age is 40. Jackson’s Mill is the site of the first 4-H Camp in the United States. The first federal prison exclusively for women in the United States was opened in 1926 in