Posted in West Virginia April 05, 2015 by

Most People Don’t Know These 8 Things Originated In West Virginia

Typically, West Virginia isn’t given credit for much. But there are so many things that have originated in these mountains! I find it amazing that I have grown up in West Virginia and I didn’t know that these things came from here. They need to teach this in school!

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1) Golden Delicious apples were first discovered on a farm in Clay County, WV, in the early 1900s.
Amy Flickr
2) The first Father's Day was observed in Fairmont, WV, in the summer of 1908 on July 5.
Phil Flickr
3) Mother's Day was first celebrated at Andrews Church in Grafton, WV, on May 10, 1908.
J. Stephen Conn Flickr
The church is now the International Mother's Day Shrine.
4) Jackson's Mill is the site of the first 4-H camp in America.
Kathy Flickr
Pictured above is the beautiful pond at Jackson's Mill, which was the boyhood home of Stonewall Jackson!
5) The first brick street in the world was laid on Summers Street in Charleston, WV.
Matt Flickr
Although there isn't much brick still on Summers Street, pictured above is Capitol Street, which is just one street over from where the original brick street was laid on October 23, 1870.
6) The first steamboat was launched by James Rumsey in the Potomac River on December 3, 1787.
Ron Cogswell Flickr
Pictured here is the James Rumsey bridge which crosses over the Potomac in Shepherdstown, WV.
7) On July 1, 1921, the first state sales tax in the United States went into effect in West Virginia.
Ezilon
Woo, sales tax! Gotta love it.
8) The first federal prison specifically for women in the United States was opened on April 30, 1926 in West Virginia.
Phyllis Hanniver Pinterest

I took a West Virginia History class and I don’t think that my teacher ever told us any of these things! Don’t you think that it is important to know that all of these originated in our state? I do!

Did you know about these things that originated in West Virginia?