114-479: Canty House , also known as "The Magnolia," is a historic home located on the campus of West Virginia State University at Institute , Kanawha County, West Virginia . It was built about 1900, as a simply designed, two-story frame farm house. In 1923, it was remodeled to its present form in the Classical Revival style. It has flanking two-story side galleries and a center pedimented pavilion. It features
228-541: A 500% increase in mercury discharges between 2007 and 2013. For several decades beginning in the 1950s, the Ohio River was polluted with hundreds of thousands of pounds of PFOA , a fluoride-based chemical used in making teflon , among other things, by the DuPont chemical company from an outflow pipe at its Parkersburg, West Virginia , facility. The Ohio was listed among America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2023 on
342-942: A Brass Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and Woodwind Ensemble. In addition, WVSU is home to the Montclaire String Quartet, the Quartet in Residence at WVSU, composed of the principle string players of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra . In addition to the instrumental ensembles, WVSU features a concert choir called the State A Capella and an audition-only chamber vocal ensemble called State Singers. Depending on enrollment, vocal ensembles specifically for male and female groups may also be offered. The State Singers consists of eight to ten vocalists and also occasionally perform as
456-776: A French architect and surveyor whose survey was the first mapping of the Ohio River, led an expedition of French troops from Fort Niagara down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers as far as the mouth of the Great Miami River near Big Bone Lick and possibly the Falls of the Ohio (present-day Louisville ). Chaussegros de Lery mapped the Great Lakes in 1725, and engineered the Niagara fortifications in 1726. I am indebted for
570-789: A chamber orchestra, named the West Virginia State Philharmonic Orchestra (WVSPO, formerly Charleston Chamber Orchestra), under the baton of Dr. Scott E. Woodard. On their debut concert, the ensemble performed a world premiere of a piece by local composer Matthew Jackfert. In June 2018, the orchestra performed in Carnegie Hall in New York City as part of the Viennese Masters Orchestra Invitational, hosted by Music Celebrations International (MCI), followed by
684-480: A graduate degree in education. Under President Brian O. Hemphill, the university set a goal to become the most student-centered research and teaching, land-grant university in West Virginia. Under President Anthony L. Jenkins, PhD, the university celebrated a historic achievement, receiving its full land-grant state match. After serving as interim president, Ericke S. Cage is the current and 13th president of
798-672: A performance at the Kennedy Center in D.C. in February 2019 for MCI's Capital Orchestra Festival. The WVSPO were set to tour in Vienna as part of a Ludwig van Beethoven festival in the summer of 2020, also as part of MCI, but it was rescheduled to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic ; however, the 2021 date also fell through due to the ongoing pandemic. The Jazz Ensemble performs for various events on and off campus. In November 2007,
912-579: A planning and advancement unit. Cole left West Virginia State in 1986 to become Chancellor of the West Virginia Board of Regents. Shortly after he became the ninth president in September 1987, Dr. Hazo W. Carter, Jr. began a 12-year quest to regain the college's land-grant status that had been transferred in the 1950s. Since "State" was the only institution to have the status removed, there was no precedent for recovering it. After this status
1026-562: A plantation, using enslaved labor. Prior to 1830, Samuel I. Cabell , moved to the Kanawha River valley from Georgia and married Mary Barnes , a former slave, who bore thirteen children. He bought the property in 1853 and much to the displeasure of their white neighbors, took elaborate precautions to ensure that Mary, his wife, and their children would inherit his wealth and not be sold into slavery, including officially emancipating Mary and their then-living children in 1858. Sam Cabell
1140-592: A point south of the Ohio River and north of the Falls: "Place where one found the ivory of Elephant in 1729" ( French : endroit ou on à trouvé des os d'Elephant en 1729 ). De Lery's men found teeth weighing ten pounds (4.5 kg) with a diameter of five to seven inches (130 to 180 mm), tusks 11 feet (3.4 m) long and 6–7 inches (150–180 mm) in diameter, and thigh bones 5 feet (1.5 m) long. The bones were collected and shipped to Paris, where they were identified as mastodon remains; they are on display at
1254-401: A result, West Virginia State adopted the motto "A Living Laboratory of Human Relations." Enrollment substantially increased after the change in demographics. In 1957, the school lost its land grant status because the West Virginia Board of Education voted to end the state funding needed to obtain matching federal land-grant aid. Although land-grant university funding is governed by federal laws,
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#17327978781031368-474: A significant transformation under the guidance of President William J. L. Wallace. In 1954, following the Brown v. Board of Education order to desegregate public education, and the initiation of the G.I. Bill , the college transformed into a predominantly White institution. This garnered national attention. President Wallace hailed it as "a tribute to the character and courage of the people of Kanawha Valley." As
1482-678: A southern route to his home in Augusta County, Virginia , in May 1745. John Howard was extradited to France to stand trial. His ship was intercepted by the English and, as a free man, he reported his adventures after landing in London; however, his account has been lost. Salling's detailed account of Virginia's adjacent lands was used in Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson's 1751 map. In 1749,
1596-808: A two-story portico supported by two Corinthian order columns. It was originally the home of "Colonel" James M. Canty , one of the early instructors at the West Virginia Colored Institute. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. This article about a property in Kanawha County, West Virginia on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . West Virginia State University West Virginia State University ( WVSU )
1710-910: A whole is ranked as the most polluted river in the United States, based on 2009 and 2010 data. The more industrial and regional West Virginia/Pennsylvania tributary, the Monongahela River , ranked 17th for water pollution , behind 16 other American rivers. The Ohio again ranked as the most polluted in 2013, and has been the most polluted river since at least 2001, according to the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO). The Commission found that 92% of toxic discharges were nitrates , including farm runoff and waste water from industrial processes such as steel production. The Commission also noted mercury pollution as an ongoing concern, citing
1824-595: Is 1,310 miles (2,110 km) long and carries the largest volume of water of any tributary of the Mississippi. The Indians and early European explorers and settlers of the region often considered the Allegheny to be part of the Ohio. The forks (the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at what is now Pittsburgh) were considered a strategic military location by colonial French and British, and later independent American military authorities. The Ohio River
1938-501: Is a public historically black , land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia , United States. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Colored Institute, it is one of the original 19 land-grant colleges and universities established by the second Morrill Act of 1890, which evolved as a diverse and inclusive campus. Following desegregation, WVSU's student population slowly became more white than black. As of 2017, WVSU's student body
2052-553: Is credited with being the first European to travel and explore western Pennsylvania and the upper Ohio Valley. Viele made contact with Native American nations as far west as the Wabash River , in present-day Indiana. He and his company left Albany , traveling southbound and crossing portions of present-day New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. They apparently followed the west branch of the Susquehanna River into
2166-552: Is formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at what is now Point State Park in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . From there, it flows northwest through Allegheny and Beaver counties, before making an abrupt turn to the south-southwest at the West Virginia –Ohio–Pennsylvania triple-state line (near East Liverpool, Ohio ; Chester, West Virginia ; and Ohioville, Pennsylvania ). From there, it forms
2280-595: Is housed in the College of Arts and Humanities. Currently, WVSU offers two undergraduate degrees in music, a Bachelor of Science in Music Education and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Performance, as well as a music minor. In the mid-late 1990s, the band saw a period of resurgence under the direction of Chris Card. From 1995 until 2000, the band had an enrollment of between 35 and 50 members. Many of
2394-612: Is published and edited by students and can be picked up in major buildings across the campus. Ohio River The Ohio River is a 981-mile-long (1,579 km) river in the United States . It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States , flowing in a southwesterly direction from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinois . It
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#17327978781032508-407: Is the longest-serving president, having served for thirty-four years. William James Lord Wallace's greatest challenge of his presidency came following the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 ruling, Brown v. Board of Education , which declared segregated schools to be unconstitutional. Following that, the historically black West Virginia State College opened its doors to all students. Dr. Wallace not only met
2622-459: Is the most beautiful river on earth. Its current gentle, waters clear, and bosom smooth and unbroken by rocks and rapids, a single instance only excepted." After the French and Indian War , Britain's trans-Appalachian Indian Reserve was divided by the river into colonial lands to the south and Native American lands to the north. In the late 18th century, the river became the southern boundary of
2736-483: Is the third largest river by discharge volume in the United States and the largest tributary by volume of the north-south flowing Mississippi River, which divides the eastern from western United States. It is also the sixth oldest river on the North American continent. The river flows through or along the border of six states , and its drainage basin includes parts of 14 states. Through its largest tributary,
2850-617: The 1763 Treaty of Paris . The 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix with several tribes opened Kentucky to colonial settlement and established the Ohio River as a southern boundary for American Indian territory. In 1774 the Quebec Act restored the land east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River to Quebec , in effect making the Ohio the southern boundary of Canada . This appeased French Canadians in Quebec but angered
2964-467: The American Civil War . One antebellum slave trader reported that they kept slaves chained two-by-two while navigating the Ohio, only when they reached the Mississippi could the slaves be unchained for a time, because "there was slavery on both sides of the boat." The expression "sold down the river" originated as a lament of Upper South slaves, especially from Kentucky, who were shipped via
3078-648: The Batts and Fallam expedition of 1671, and the Needham and Arthur expedition of 1673–74. In early autumn 1692, loyal English-speaking Dutchman Arnout Viele and a party of eleven companions from Esopus —Europeans, Shawnee , and a few loyal Delaware guides—were sent by the governor of New York to trade with the Shawnee and bring them into the English sphere of influence. Viele understood several Native American languages, which made him valuable as an interpreter. He
3192-750: The Civil Aeronautics Authority to establish an aviation program. Benefiting from the presence of the Wertz Field airport adjacent to campus, the program prepared many African-American pilots for the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II . Several college aviators joined the famed 99th Fighter Squadron and 332nd Fighter Group (the Tuskegee Airmen ) that served with distinction in the European Theater . One of
3306-639: The French National Natural History Museum . Charles III Le Moyne , second Baron de Longueuil (later the governor of Montreal and interim governor of New France ), commanded Fort Niagara from 1726 to 1733. He led an expedition of 442 men, including Native Americans, from Montreal to war against the Chickasaw who occupied territory on the lower part of the Mississippi River in the area claimed as La Louisiane . According to Gaston Pierre de Lévis , Duke de Mirepoix,
3420-652: The Kanawha River , they entered the Ohio River 444 miles (715 km) above the falls. The Virginia pioneers traced the northern boundary of Kentucky for five hundred miles (800 km), reaching the Mississippi River on June 7. They descended just below the mouth of the Arkansas River , where they were ambushed by a large company of Native Americans, Blacks and Frenchmen on July 2, 1742; one or two of Howard's men were killed. The rest were brought to New Orleans and imprisoned as spies. After two years in prison, Salling escaped on October 25, 1744, and returned on
3534-645: The Lenape and Iroquois , considered the Ohio and Allegheny rivers as the same, as is suggested by a New York State road sign on Interstate 86 that refers to the Allegheny River also as Ohi:yo' . Similarly, the Geographic Names Information System lists O-hee-yo and O-hi-o as variant names for the Allegheny. An earlier Miami-Illinois language name was also applied to the Ohio River, Mosopeleacipi ("river of
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3648-628: The Midwestern Great Lakes states from the Upper South states, which were historically border states in the Civil War. The Ohio River is a left (east) and the largest tributary by volume of the Mississippi River in the United States . At the confluence , the Ohio is considerably bigger than the Mississippi, measured by long-term mean discharge. The Ohio River at Cairo is 281,500 cu ft/s (7,960 m /s); and
3762-550: The Mississippi River at the city of Cairo, Illinois . Where the Ohio joins the Mississippi is the lowest elevation in the state of Illinois, at 315 feet (96 m). The Mississippi River flows to the Gulf of Mexico on the Atlantic Ocean . Among rivers wholly or mostly in the United States, the Ohio is the second largest by discharge volume and the tenth longest and has the eighth largest drainage basin. It serves to separate
3876-546: The Mosopelea " tribe). Shortened in the Shawnee language to pelewa thiipi , spelewathiipi or peleewa thiipiiki , the name evolved through variant forms such as "Polesipi", "Peleson", "Pele Sipi" and "Pere Sipi", and eventually stabilized to the variant spellings "Pelisipi", "Pelisippi" and "Pellissippi". Originally applied just to the Ohio River, the "Pelisipi" name later was variously applied back and forth between
3990-529: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 's Ohio River Forecast Center. The water depth predictions are relative to each local flood plain based upon predicted rainfall in the Ohio River basin in five reports as follows: The water levels for the Ohio River from Smithland Lock and Dam to Cairo, Illinois, are predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 's Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center. The largest tributaries of
4104-611: The National Register of Historic Places in 1988. WVSU's Fall and Spring Commencement Ceremonies were held in December and May, respectively, at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston . Until 2009, WVSU and WVSCTC had joint commencement ceremonies. To cut back on spending, WVSU now holds its commencement ceremonies on campus. Until the completion of the new convocation center, the December commencement
4218-673: The Northwest Territory . The river is sometimes considered as the western extension of the Mason–Dixon line that divided Pennsylvania from Maryland , and thus part of the border between free and slave territory, and between the Northern and Southern United States or Upper South . Where the river was narrow, it was crossed by thousands of slaves escaping to the North for freedom; many were helped by free blacks and whites of
4332-703: The Ohio Company was established in Virginia Colony to settle and trade in the Ohio River region. Exploration of the territory and trade with the Indians in the region near the Forks brought white colonists from both Pennsylvania and Virginia across the mountains, and both colonies claimed the territory. The movement across the Allegheny Mountains of Anglo-American settlers and the claims of
4446-473: The Potomac River to the Ohio River. The Wheeling Suspension Bridge was built over the river at Wheeling from 1847 to 1849, making the trip west easier. For a brief time, until 1851, it was the world's largest suspension bridge. The bridge survived the American Civil War , after having been improved in 1859. It was renovated again in 1872, and remains in use as the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in
4560-526: The Spanish–American War and later returned as an instructor. James McHenry Jones was responsible for adding teacher education (a "normal" department), and is buried on campus. Before becoming the fourth president, Byrd Prillerman was a faculty member and one of those responsible for locating the school in the Kanawha Valley. During his tenure, academic programs were expanded and the institution
4674-711: The St. Albans High School Music Department, hosted the Cavalcade of Bands Southwest Regional Band Festival, and hosted it again in 2014. In 2008, the band was invited to go to Chicago with the football team for the Chicago Football Classic to participate in the Battle of the Bands competition; the only competition the band has competed in. The Wind Ensemble has performed at WVSU's commencement ceremonies. Students of
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4788-484: The Tennessee River , the basin includes several states of the southeastern U.S. It is the source of drinking water for five million people. The river became a primary transportation route for pioneers during the westward expansion of the early U.S. The lower Ohio River just below Louisville was obstructed by rapids known as the Falls of the Ohio where the elevation falls 26 feet (7.9 m) in 2 miles (3.2 km) restricting larger commercial navigation, although in
4902-461: The Underground Railroad resistance movement. The Ohio River is a climatic transition area, as its water runs along the periphery of the humid subtropical and humid continental climate areas. It is inhabited by fauna and flora of both climates. Today, the Ohio River is one of the most polluted rivers in the United States. In winter, it regularly freezes over at Pittsburgh but rarely farther south towards Cincinnati and Louisville . Further down
5016-406: The keelboats used for commerce in the early days of American settlement. The Ohio River boatmen inspired performer Dan Emmett , who in 1843 wrote the song " The Boatman's Dance ". Trading boats and ships traveled south on the Mississippi to New Orleans , and sometimes beyond to the Gulf of Mexico and other ports in the Americas and Europe. This provided a much-needed export route for goods from
5130-401: The "canalization" of the river in 1929, the Ohio has not been a natural free-flowing river; today, it is divided into 21 discrete pools or reservoirs by 20 locks and dams for navigation and power generation. The name "Ohio" comes from the Seneca , Ohi:yo' , lit. "Good River". In his Notes on the State of Virginia published in 1781–82, Thomas Jefferson stated: "The Ohio
5244-407: The 18th and early 19th century its three deepest channels could be traversed by a wide variety of craft then in use. In 1830, the Louisville and Portland Canal (now the McAlpine Locks and Dam ) bypassed the rapids, allowing even larger commercial and modern navigation from the Forks of the Ohio at Pittsburgh to the Port of New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi on the Gulf of Mexico. Since
5358-457: The Advanced Conducting studio may also conduct on a concert. The Advanced Conducting studio is a unique feature of WVSU as not many colleges offer it at the undergraduate level. In the spring of 2015, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble performed at The Hamilton in Washington, D.C. for the simultaneous events of D.C.'s 153rd Emancipation Day Celebrations and the 150th Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination . Established in fall 2015, WVSU offers
5472-412: The Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association. After desegregation, the school withdrew from the CIAA (today's Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association ) and competed as "West Virginia State" to avoid confusion with West Virginia University . The school then moved to the formerly all-white West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC), which competed in the NCAA 's Division II . After
5586-418: The Dr. Hazo W. Carter Jr. Integrated Research and Extension Building and the adjacent Dr. Hazo W. and Judge Phyllis H. Carter Food and Agricultural Complex. James Edwin Campbell was a poet, free-lance writer, and mathematician from Pomeroy, Ohio . Following Campbell was John H. Hill, who was a lawyer, teacher, administrator, and soldier, who oversaw the university's first commencement. He resigned to fight in
5700-445: The Jazz Ensemble traveled to Austria to perform in Vienna , Graz , and Salzburg . On April 12 and 13, 2012, the Jazz Ensemble played two concerts for Washington, D.C.'s 150th Emancipation Day celebrations at the Lincoln Theatre . The April 12 concert featured the WVSU Jazz Ensemble and saxophonist Brian Lenair, while the April 13th concert additionally featured a comedy show by famed comedian Dick Gregory . The Jazz Ensemble returned
5814-464: The Mississippi River at Thebes, Illinois , which is upstream of the confluence, is 208,200 cu ft/s (5,897 m /s). The Ohio River flow is greater than that of the Mississippi River, so hydrologically the Ohio River is the main stream of the river system. The Ohio River is a naturally shallow river that was artificially deepened by a series of dams . The natural depth of the river varied from about 3 to 20 feet (1 to 6 m). The dams raise
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#17327978781035928-408: The Natural Bridge), crossing Greenbrier River and landing at the New River . At New River, the Virginia explorers built a large bull boat frame and covered it with five buffalo skins. The first Englishmen to explore the region then followed the New River for 250 miles (400 km), until it became too dangerous to navigate. At a large waterfall, they traveled overland to the Coal River . Following
6042-515: The Ohio River and the Clinch River in Virginia and Tennessee . In his original draft of the Land Ordinance of 1784 , Thomas Jefferson proposed a new state called "Pelisipia", to the south of the Ohio River, which would have included parts of present-day Eastern Kentucky , Virginia and West Virginia . The river had great significance in the history of the Native Americans , as numerous prehistoric and historic civilizations formed along its valley. For thousands of years, Native Americans used
6156-514: The Ohio River opened about the same time. Although such boats cruised on the Ohio River in an oval pattern up and down, the state of Kentucky soon protested. Other states had to limit their cruises to going forward, then reversing and going backward on the Indiana shore only. Both Illinois and Indiana have long since changed their laws to allow riverboat casinos to be permanently docked, with Illinois changing in 1999 and Indiana in 2002. The Silver Bridge at Point Pleasant, West Virginia , collapsed into
6270-406: The Ohio River was called the " River Jordan " by slaves crossing it to escape to freedom in the North via the Underground Railroad . More escaping slaves, estimated in the thousands, made their perilous journey north to freedom across the Ohio River than anywhere else across the north-south frontier. Harriet Beecher Stowe 's Uncle Tom's Cabin , the bestselling novel that fueled abolitionist work,
6384-461: The Ohio River's rapids and tributaries in that area. However, the 1783 Treaty of Paris gave the entire Ohio Valley to the United States , and numerous white settlers entered the region. The economic connection of the Ohio Country to the East was significantly increased in 1818 when the National Road being built westward from Cumberland, Maryland , reached Wheeling, Virginia , (now West Virginia ), providing an easier overland connection from
6498-401: The Ohio and Mississippi to cotton and sugar plantations in the Deep South . Changes in crops cultivated in the Upper South resulted in slaves available to be sold to the South, where the expansion of cotton plantations was doing very well. Invention of the cotton gin made cultivation of short-staple cotton profitable throughout the Black Belt of this region. Before and during the Civil War,
6612-429: The U.S. Louisville was founded in 1778 as a military encampment on Corn Island (now submerged) by General George Rogers Clark at the only major natural navigational barrier on the river, the Falls of the Ohio . The Falls were a series of rapids where the river dropped 26 feet (7.9 m) in a stretch of about 2 miles (3.2 km). In this area, the river flowed over hard, fossil-rich beds of limestone . The outpost
6726-416: The U.S. Congress fully restored land-grant status in 2001. West Virginia State is again recognized as an 1890 land-grant institution with recognition at the Federal level, along with funding to carry out its mission of teaching, research, and public service. The land-grant institution of WVSU is named the Gus R. Douglass Land-Grant Institution. In 2003, the school's community college , established in 1953,
6840-460: The Virginia mountains to the Mississippi River. The elder Howard had a promised reward of 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of land for a successful expedition from the Virginia Royal Governor's Council to reinforce British claims in the west. Howard offered equal shares of the 10,000 acres to the four other members of his expedition. The party of five left John Peter Salling's house in August County on March 16, 1742, and traveled west to Cedar Creek (near
6954-405: The WVSU Vocal Jazz Choir. The State Singers act as ambassadors for the university and frequently perform off campus for important community and cultural events. Every spring, the State Singers go on tour. Recent tours have taken the group to Cleveland, Ohio , Virginia Beach , St. Louis, Missouri , and New York City . On April 13 and 14, 2012, the concert choir had the unique opportunity of singing
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#17327978781037068-407: The area near modern-day Pittsburgh led to conflict with the French, who had forts in the Ohio River Valley . This conflict was called the French and Indian War , and would merge into the global Anglo-French struggle, the Seven Years' War . In 1763, following its defeat in the war, France ceded its area east of the Mississippi River to Britain and its area west of the Mississippi River to Spain in
7182-401: The border between West Virginia and Ohio, upstream of Wheeling, West Virginia . The river follows a roughly southwest and then west-northwest course until Cincinnati, before bending to a west-southwest course for most of the remainder of its length. The course forms the northern borders of West Virginia and Kentucky ; and the southern borders of Ohio , Indiana and Illinois , until it joins
7296-661: The campus; some descendants continue to live nearby. The school was established as the West Virginia Colored Institute in 1891 under the second Morrill Act , which provided for land-grant institutions for Black students in the 17 states that had segregated schools. The school opened its doors in May 1892 and had an enrollment of over 40 students. The faculty consisted of President James Edwin Campbell , Byrd Prillerman , and T.C. Friend. The curriculum consisted of courses in agriculture, horticulture, mechanical arts, and domestic science. Teacher education ("normal") courses were added in 1893. Military education became an integral part of
7410-416: The challenge but set an example for the world to follow. During Harold M. McNeill's tenure, the community college component was established; a building was erected for community college programs, and Ferrell Hall and the Drain-Jordan Library were renovated. During Thomas Winston Cole, Jr.'s administration, he made several organizational changes in the institution, creating new academic divisions and establishing
7524-411: The colonists of the Thirteen Colonies . Lord Dunmore's War south of the Ohio river also contributed to cession of land north to Quebec to prevent colonial expansion onto Native American territory. During the Revolutionary War . in 1776 the British military engineer John Montrésor created a map of the river showing the strategic location of Fort Pitt , including specific navigational information about
7638-510: The dissolution of the WVIAC, WVSU joined the new Mountain East Conference in 2013, which is also part of NCAA Division II. WVSU's main rivals include University of Charleston (WV), Central State University (OH), and Kentucky State University . During the segregation era, black high schools were barred from competition in the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission , and State therefore sponsored an unofficial "state colored championship" from 1932 to 1959. WVSU's Music Department
7752-487: The exception of homecoming. The Yellow Jacket Marching Band, also known as the "Marching Swarm", performs in one parade unless invited to others: the WVSU Homecoming Parade. In 2018, the band performed in Welch, WV 's 100th Veteran's Day Parade, the longest ongoing Veteran's Day parade in the nation. The band has also played for the president's "State of the University Address", the Founder's Day ceremony, and annually for WVSU's ROTC Hall of Fame Ceremony. They have served as
7866-481: The exhibition band at high school marching band festivals, including Nicholas County's Mountain Band Spectacular (2008–2010), Poca High School 's Heritage Day Festival in Poca (2009–2016, 2018), the 2013 WV Marching Band Invitational in Charleston, the 2015 Sissonville High School Cavalcade of Bands Band Festival in Sissonville, and the Boone County Coal Classic, hosted by Scott High School in Madison (2018–2019). On October 12, 2013, WVSU, in co-sponsorship with
7980-412: The expedition used the Ohio River as a corridor to the Mississippi. Among the officers who accompanied this party were Major de Lignery; Lieutenants, de Vassan, Aubert de Gaspe, Du Vivier, de Verrier, Le Gardeur de St. Pierre, Chevalier de Villiers, de Portneuf, de Sabrevious; Father Vernet, chaplain; Cadets, Joncaire de Closonne , Le Gai de Joncaire, Drouet de Richarville the younger, Chaussegros de Lery
8094-482: The faculty voted no confidence in Carter's leadership, and Carter retired on June 30, 2012. He then became president emeritus until his death in February 2014. Under the leadership of Dr. Anthony L. Jenkins, WVSU expanded its outreach and public service to all 55 counties throughout WV, increased academic program offerings to include Engineering and Nursing, increased retention and dual enrollment course offerings. Just less than one year as president, Dr. Nicole Pride ,
8208-564: The fall of 2009. He is also the current Chair of the WVSU Department of Music. Many of the students who live in dorms on campus are from large urban areas outside of West Virginia or from the rural counties in the state. Those who stay on campus generally congregate at Wilson Student Union. The campus radio station at WVSU can be heard locally on 106.7 FM or over the internet. The station has hosted live music and interviews with recording artists. The campus newspaper, The Yellow Jacket,
8322-547: The fall of 2012, KVCTC moved its campus to South Charleston, West Virginia . In 2004, under President Carter's leadership, West Virginia State College gained University status, becoming West Virginia State University , and began to offer graduate degrees in Biotechnology and Media Studies. In the fall of 2011, WVSU began to offer a graduate degree in Law Enforcement. In the spring of 2014, WVSU began offering
8436-559: The federal aid is conditioned upon matching state funds. Under the leadership of President Hazo W. Carter, Jr., a 12-year quest was begun to restore the land-grant designation. The first step toward regaining the status came when Gov. Gaston Caperton signed a bill on Feb. 12, 1991, that had been passed by the Legislature to recognize the land-grant status on the state level. With the advocacy of alumni, university leadership, and assistance from West Virginia's U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd ,
8550-459: The first public college in West Virginia to be accredited by North Central. In 1929, the name was changed to West Virginia State College . With an enrollment of 1,000 students, the college contained divisions of Applied Arts and Sciences; Languages, Literature and Fine Arts; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; and Social Sciences and Philosophy. In 1939, West Virginia State College became the first of six historically black colleges to be authorized by
8664-519: The first reported eyewitness accounts of Shannoah , a Shawnee town, was by le Moyne III in July 1739. On their journey down the Ohio River toward the Mississippi, they met with local chiefs in a village on the Scioto River . John Howard, a pioneer from Virginia, led a party of five— John Peter Salling (a Pennsylvania German), Josiah Howard (John's son), Charles Sinclair, and John Poteet (Vizt)—from
8778-661: The following year to perform for the 151st Anniversary on April 16 at Freedom Plaza . The Jazz Ensemble, along with the Concert Choir, performed at The Greenbrier on November 22, 2013, as part of the West Virginia Reading Association (WVRA) conference. In March 2016, the ensemble performed for the West Virginia Music Educators Association (WVMEA) conference. Other instrumental groups at WVSU include
8892-596: The fur trade from the Iroquois nations to the northeast, they migrated west of the Mississippi River in the 17th century to the territory now defined as Missouri , Arkansas , and Oklahoma . Several accounts exist of the discovery and traversal of the Ohio River by Europeans in the latter half of the 17th century: Virginian colonist Abraham Wood 's trans-Appalachian expeditions between 1654 and 1664; Frenchman Robert de La Salle 's putative Ohio expedition of 1669; and two expeditions of Virginians sponsored by Colonel Wood:
9006-531: The heels of contamination from a high-profile train derailment , and following years as one of the most polluted watersheds in the United States. The Ohio River is extensively industrialized and populated. Regular barge traffic carries cargoes of oil, steel and other industrial goods produced in the region. Major cities located along the northern and southern banks of the river include Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; Louisville, Kentucky ; Evansville, Indiana ; and Cincinnati, Ohio . The combined Allegheny-Ohio river
9120-473: The increasing size of steamships and barges on the river meant that the outdated locks could serve only the smallest vessels until well after the Civil War when improvements were made. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers improvements were expanded again in the 1960s, forming the present-day McAlpine Locks and Dam . During the nineteenth century, emigrants from Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky traveled by
9234-546: The institute. A Morehouse graduate, Davis recruited highly qualified faculty and focused on curriculum development. He persuaded noted historian Carter G. Woodson to assist him as academic dean. In 1927, the school was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , making it the first of 17 original black land-grant schools to be certified by a regional association and one of only four black colleges to gain such status. It also became
9348-595: The largest inhabited island in the Ohio River, belongs to West Virginia, although it is closer to the Ohio shore than to the West Virginia shore. Kentucky sued the state of Indiana in the early 1980s because of their construction of the never-completed Marble Hill Nuclear Power Plant in Indiana, which would have discharged its waste water into the river. This would have adversely affected Kentucky's water supplies. The U.S. Supreme Court held that Kentucky's jurisdiction (and, implicitly, that of West Virginia) extended only to
9462-523: The low-water mark of 1793 (important because the river has been extensively dammed for navigation so that the present river bank is north of the old low-water mark). Similarly, in the 1990s, Kentucky challenged Illinois's right to collect taxes on a riverboat casino docked in Metropolis , citing its own control of the entire river. A private casino riverboat that docked in Evansville, Indiana , on
9576-406: The members during this time period were scholarship recipients, and the band often contained 5-10 veterans or active members of Drum Corps International. The band was known for its small size and huge sound. The band marches in a "corps-style" fashion, the only band of its type at an HBCU, as most have a "show-style" band. The band tries to do a different marching show at every home football game, with
9690-682: The mountains, traversing the Tioga River and reaching a tributary of the Allegheny River before floating down to the Shawnee towns along the Ohio River. Viele and his expedition spent most of 1693 exploring the Ohio River and its tributaries in northern Kentucky with their Shawnee hosts. Gerit Luykasse, two of Viele's Dutch traders, and two Shawnee reappeared in Albany in February 1694 "to fetch powder for Arnout [Viele] and his Company"; their party had been gone for fifteen months, but Viele
9804-546: The mouth of the Ohio, settlers would travel north on the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri . There, some continued on up the Missouri River , some up the Mississippi, and some farther west over land routes. In the early 19th century, river pirates such as Samuel Mason , operating out of Cave-In-Rock, Illinois , waylaid travelers on their way down the river. They killed travelers, stealing their goods and scuttling their boats. The folktales about Mike Fink recall
9918-596: The music of " Queen " with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra . The concert choir again sang with the WVSO for the symphony's 2012 holiday concerts, and have continued since. In March 2016, the concert choir again joined the symphony, along with three other West Virginia collegiate choirs, to perform the Brahms Requiem . Dr. Dirk Johnson is the Director of Choral Activities for WVSU and has been at that position since
10032-600: The original graduates of the aviation program, Rose Agnes Rolls Cousins , was the first African-American woman to become a solo pilot in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. During World War II, West Virginia State College was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program , which offered students a path to a Navy commission. In 1942, a college ROTC program
10146-493: The river and settled along its northern bank. Known as butternuts , they formed the dominant culture in the southern portions of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois with a society that was primarily Southern in culture. Largely devoted to agricultural pursuits, they shipped much of their produce along the river to ports such as Cincinnati. Because the Ohio River flowed westward, it became a convenient means of westward movement by pioneers traveling from western Pennsylvania. After reaching
10260-741: The river as a major transportation and trading route. In the five centuries before European colonization, the Mississippian culture built numerous regional chiefdoms and major earthwork mounds in the Ohio Valley like the Angel Mounds near Evansville, Indiana as well as in the Mississippi Valley and the Southeast. The historic Osage , Omaha , Ponca , and Kaw peoples lived in the Ohio Valley. Under pressure over
10374-578: The river in places like Paducah and Owensboro , Kentucky, closer to its confluence with the Mississippi, the Ohio is ice-free year-round. The name "Ohio" comes from the Seneca language (an Iroquoian language ), Ohi:yo' (roughly pronounced oh-hee-yoh, with the vowel in "hee" held longer ), a proper name derived from ohiːyoːh ("good river"), therefore literally translating to "Good River". "Great river" and "large creek" have also been given as translations. Native Americans , including
10488-675: The river on December 15, 1967. The collapse killed 46 people who had been crossing when the bridge failed. The bridge had been built in 1929, and by 1967 was carrying too heavy a load for its design. The bridge was rebuilt about one mile downstream and in service as the Silver Memorial Bridge in 1969. In the early 1980s, the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area was established at Clarksville, Indiana . The Ohio River as
10602-483: The river. The colonial charter for Virginia defined its territory as extending to the north shore of the Ohio, so that the riverbed was "owned" by Virginia. Where the river serves as a boundary between states today, Congress designated the entire river to belong to the states on the east and south, i.e., West Virginia and Kentucky at the time of admission to the Union, that were divided from Virginia. Thus Wheeling Island ,
10716-489: The school established itself as the center of black intellectual life in the state. From 1891 through 1915, the school provided the equivalent of a high school education, with vocational training and teacher preparation for segregated public schools. In 1915, it became the West Virginia Collegiate Institute and began to offer college degrees. In 1919, John Warren Davis became president of
10830-496: The school, and in 1899 West Virginia's legislature passed a bill to admit up to 60 cadets. In 1909, African-American educator and statesman Booker T. Washington recommended his friend, Byrd Prillerman , as the institution's president. Washington had been instrumental in locating the institution in the Kanawha Valley , visited the campus often, and spoke at its first commencement. During Prillerman's 10-year administration,
10944-544: The state's youth to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network (STEM) fields to become engineers, scientists, researchers, teachers, and leaders. WVSU is located on land once occupied by mound builder Native Americans. The British government granted the site to George Washington for his service in the British military during the French and Indian War . It was subsequently sold and operated as
11058-516: The topographical details of the course of this River to M. de Lery, Engineer, who surveyed it with the compass at the time that he descended it with a detachment of French troops in 1729. A map of the Ohio River valley, drawn by Bellin from observations by de Lery, is in Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix 's History of New France . The 1744 Bellin map, "Map of Louisiana" ( French : Carte de La Louisiane ), has an inscription at
11172-531: The university's 12th president who was also the first female president of WVSU, resigned following controversy. Her cabinet called for her termination due to allegations of a hostile work environment under her leadership. A vote of "no confidence" was taken and the Board of Governors unanimously accepted her resignation letter. East Hall and the Canty House , home of "Colonel" James M. Canty , were listed on
11286-725: The university, officially taking office in 2022. Past presidents of the university include: James Edwin Campbell (1892–94), John H. Hill (1894–98), James McHenry Jones (1898–1909), Byrd Prillerman (1909–19), John Warren Davis (1919–53), William J.L. Wallace (1953–73), Harold M. McNeill (1973–81), Thomas W. Cole, Jr. (1982–86), Hazo W. Carter, Jr. (1986–2012), Brian O'Harold Hemphill (2012–16), Anthony L. Jenkins (2016–20), and Nicole Pride (2020–21). . Several buildings on campus are named after them: Campbell Conference Center, Hill Hall, Jones Hall, Prillerman Hall, Davis Fine Arts Building, Wallace Hall, McNeill Facilities Building, Cole Complex, and
11400-466: The water level and have turned the river largely into a series of reservoirs , eliminating shallow stretches and allowing for commercial navigation. From its origin to Cincinnati, the average depth is approximately 15 feet (5 m). The largest immediate drop in water level is below the McAlpine Locks and Dam at the Falls of the Ohio at Louisville, Kentucky , where flood stage is reached when
11514-443: The water reaches 23 feet (7 m) on the lower gauge. However, the river's deepest point is 168 feet (51 m) on the western side of Louisville, Kentucky. From Louisville, the river loses depth very gradually until its confluence with the Mississippi at Cairo, Illinois , where it has an approximate depth of 19 feet (6 m). Water levels for the Ohio River from Smithland Lock and Dam upstream to Pittsburgh are predicted daily by
11628-476: The west since the trek east over the Appalachian Mountains was long and arduous. The need for access to the port of New Orleans by settlers in the Ohio Valley is one of the factors that led to the United States' Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Because the river is the southern border of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, it was part of the border between free states and slave states in the years before
11742-574: The younger, de Gannes, Chev. Benoist, de Morville, de Selles, and seventeen others. The rank and file consisted of three sergeants, six corporals, six lance corporals, twenty-four soldiers, forty-five habitants , one hundred and eighty-six Iroquois from the Sault, forty-one from the Lake of Two Mountains , thirty-two Algonquin and Nipissing , fifty Abenaqui from St. Francois and Bécancour, Quebec; Father La Bretonnier, Jesuit; Queret, missionary. One of
11856-982: Was 75% white and only 8% African-American. The university's Gus R. Douglass Land-Grant Institute is divided into three programmatic divisions: WVSU Extension Service, WVSU Agricultural and Environmental Research Station, and The Center for the Advancement of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (CASTEM). The WVSU Extension Service (1890 Extension) provides community and agricultural outreach throughout West Virginia via 4-H Youth Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Community and Economic Development, and Family and Consumer Sciences programs. The WVSU Agricultural and Environmental Research Station (1890 Research) focuses on Aquaculture , Environmental Microbiology & Biotechnology , Horticultural Crops & Production Systems , Urban Forestry & Natural Resource Management , and Vegetable Genomics & Plant Breeding research programs. CASTEM programs encourage
11970-603: Was away for about two years. He and his companions returned from the Pennsylvania wilderness in August 1694, accompanied by diplomats from "seven Nations of Indians" who sought trade with the English (or peace with the powerful Iroquois nations of New York and Pennsylvania), and hundreds of Shawnee who intended to relocate in the Minisink country on the upper Delaware River . In 1729, Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry ,
12084-491: Was established as an artillery unit. The ROTC tradition continues today, and the school has claimed 15 general officers who have graduated from West Virginia State, including Major General Charles C. Rogers and Major General Harvey D. Williams . In 1951 the Drain-Jordan Library opened, named in honor of librarian Leaonead Pack Drain-Bailey and Lawrence Victor Jordan. West Virginia State College underwent
12198-409: Was held in the P.A. Williams Auditorium of Ferrell Hall, while the May commencement was either on the large lawn in the center of campus (also called the quad), or in the P.A. Williams Auditorium, pending weather. Commencements are now held in the D. Stephen and Diane H. Walker Convocation Center (Walker Convocation Center for short), a new addition/renovation to Fleming Hall. The Spring 2014 commencement
12312-536: Was moved that same year to the south shore where Fort-on-Shore was constructed. It proved insufficient within 3 years, and the mighty Fort Nelson was constructed upriver. The town of Louisville was chartered in 1780, in honor of King Louis XVI of France. The first locks on the river – the Louisville and Portland Canal – were built between 1825 and 1830 to circumnavigate the falls. Fears that Louisville's transshipment industry would collapse proved ill-founded: but
12426-559: Was murdered shortly after the American Civil War and the creation of the state of West Virginia. Two decades later, his daughter Maria Cabell-Hurt sold some land to the new state to permit creation of the West Virginia Colored Institute , since Sam's descendants and neighbors had to send their children across the Ohio River to Ohio for higher education. Sam and Mary Cabell and their children are buried on
12540-500: Was renamed the "West Virginia Collegiate Institute". John Warren Davis focused on recruiting the best black faculty members he could find and developing the curriculum. He persuaded noted historian Carter G. Woodson to assist him as Academic Dean. During his tenure, the school was first accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1927, and became West Virginia State College in 1929. Davis
12654-405: Was restored, a quest then began for West Virginia State to be designated a university, which became a reality in 2004; he became the first president to serve under the "university" status. These achievements, accompanied by two highly successful accreditation's by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the addition of graduate programs, highlight his administration. In August 2011,
12768-598: Was separately accredited as the West Virginia State Community and Technical College but remained administratively linked to West Virginia State College. In 2008, the legislature fully separated the community and technical college. However, both schools continued to share the same campus. In 2009, the Community and Technical College went through a name change and it was announced on April 20, 2009, as Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College . In
12882-486: Was the best known of the anti-slavery novels that portrayed such escapes across the Ohio. The times have been expressed by 20th-century novelists as well, such as the Nobel Prize -winning Toni Morrison , whose novel Beloved was adapted as a film of the same name. She also composed the libretto for the opera Margaret Garner (2005), based on the life and trial of an enslaved woman who escaped with her family across
12996-548: Was the first commencement held in the Walker Convocation Center. The athletic teams are known as the Yellow Jackets. WVSU athletic teams include men's football, baseball, basketball, golf, and tennis, and women's basketball, golf, softball, tennis, volleyball and soccer. During the segregation era, the school competed in athletics as "West Virginia" and played other segregated schools as a member of
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