From its founding as a frontier outpost through its role as the
birthplace of a new state during the Civil War and its evolution into a
manufacturing center, Wheeling has been home to a fascinating array of
personalities. The old legends feature Betty Zane's bold dash to save
Fort Henry and Samuel McColloch's daring leap on horseback from Wheeling
Hill. Businessmen like Henry Schmulbach and Michael Owens contributed to
Wheeling's industrial rise, while Augustus Pollack and Walter Reuther
earned fame as friends of labor. And even as notorious men like Big Bill
Lias capitalized on Wheeling's wide-open ways, community leaders like
James Doc White worked quietly for racial justice. On local ball fields
built in the shadows of steel mills, Wheeling's gritty sports heroes,
like Chuck Howley and Rose Gacioch, demonstrated their athletic prowess.
Notoriety in the arts was earned through the music of Doc and Chickie
Williams and opera star Eleanor Steber as well as the works of writers
like Keith Maillard and Marc Harshman, the current West Virginia Poet
Laureate.