History of Huntington West Virginia
- Published on Wednesday, 03 August 2011 12:51
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About Huntington
Huntington, is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Its population was 49,138 at the 2010 census. Huntington is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of 2009, the MSA's population was 285,624. Huntington is the largest city within the MSA and the second largest city in West Virginia, behind Charleston.
The city was named for Collis P. Huntington, who founded Huntington in 1870 as the western terminus for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. The first permanent settlement in what is now modern-day Huntington was founded in 1775 as "Holderby's Landing." At the time of Huntington's founding, Holderby's Landing was already the home of Marshall College, a normal school that had been founded in 1837 as Marshall Academy by John Laidley in honor of his friend, US Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Marshall.
Huntington has a central business district, located directly south of the Ohio River, east of the Robert C. Byrd Bridge, and west of 11th Street. It has another smaller business district, known as "Old Central City," that is well known for its antique shops. There are several heavy industrial plants that line the Ohio River and the Guyandotte River, but the dominance of Marshall University's research prominence and the growing service sector, especially in the medical field is an important factor in the economic development of Huntington.
Kinetic Park is a 95-acre technology park being developed along Interstate 64 in Huntington. There are two sections of Kinetic Park. The lower section of the park will be used for commercial businesses, and the upper section of the park will be used for technology startups and corporations. Currently, there are 3 commercial and 11 technology lots available. In 2011 Amazon.com a fortune 500 company opened a customer service center which will allow Kinetic Park to experience rapid growth.
Sporting Events
Marshall's Universities sports teams are known as the Thundering Herd. The school colors are Kelly green and white. Marshall participates in NCAA Division I (FBS for football) as a member of Conference USA. The name Thundering Herd came from a Zane Gray novel released in 1925, and a silent movie of the same two years later. Marshall teams were originally known as the Indians, and the green-white colors came in 1903, replacing black and blue. Sports at the school include women's softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, and track & field; men's football, baseball; and teams for both genders in basketball cross country, golf, and soccer. Marshall also fields club teams, not affiliated with the MU Athletic Department, in rugby union for both women and men, and a men's lacrosse team.
The Marshall University football stadium is named the Joan C. Edwards stadium. The Joan C. Edwards Stadium is a football stadium located on the campus of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. It can hold 38,019 spectators and includes twenty deluxe, indoor suites, 300 wheelchair-accessible seating, a state-of-the-art press-box, fourteen concession areas, and sixteen separate restrooms. It also features 90,000 sq. ft. of artificial turf and 1,837 tons of structural steel. It also houses the Shewey Athletic Center, a field house and a training facility. The new stadium replaced Fairfield Stadium, a condemned off-campus facility built in 1927 in the Fairfield Park neighborhood. Marshall has a 118-19 overall record at Joan C. Edwards’s stadium for a winning percentage of .866. That is the highest home winning percentage in NCAA Division 1 FBS.
The basketball arena named the Cam Henderson Center was built in 1981 and seats over 9,000 people but plans are in the works to expand the basketball arena further due to the high demand of Marshall Basketball fans.
The Huntington Hammer is a professional indoor football team that began play as a charter member of the Ultimate Indoor Football League for its inaugural 2011 season. The Hammer is based in Huntington, West Virginia, with home games played at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena.
Shopping and Dining
With the recent addition of the Pullman Square Plaza downtown Huntington has been revitalized. Pullman Square opened on November 19, 2004 with Marquee Cinemas. Others, such as Empire Books & News, EB Games and Starbucks, opened in early December. In June 2005, the Funny Bone Comedy Club opened, followed by Cold Stone Creamery in July and pizzeria Uno Chicago Grill and Max & Erma's in August. Today, Pullman Square has Grown leaps and bonds with new stores.
Heritage Village was completed in 1977 with the goal of creating a unique downtown shopping, dining, and entertainment complex with a mix of historical structures relocated from other sites in Huntington. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad donated two boxcars and the railroad historical society donated a steam engine and a Southern Railway sleeping car, which gives Heritage Village a distinct atmosphere.
There is no doubt that you can find World Class Food and Entertainment with Huntington Hospitality!
Entertainment
The Big Sandy Superstore Arena was completed in 1977 sits on a five-acre tract overlooking the Ohio River in downtown Huntington and is just one block west from Pullman square. The Exhibit Hall is 60,000 square feet of space, which can be expanded to 86,000 square feet by incorporating the lobby and concourse areas.
The Big Sandy Superstore Arena hosts events from concerts to expos. The Big Sandy Superstore is also the home of the professional indoor football team the Huntington Hammer.
Notable people from Huntington
- "Big Ben" Bowen: a child who raised awareness of childhood cancer
- William C. Campbell: golfer & twice president of the
- United States Golf Association
- Don Chafin: The sheriff of Logan County, and a commander in the Battle of Blair Mountain
- Justice M. Chambers: Medal of Honor recipient
- Larry Coyer: NFL and college football coach, currently Defensive Coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts
- Dagmar: 1950s television personality
- Brad Dourif: Academy Award nominated actor
- Joan C. Edwards: singer, entrepreneur
- Delos Carleton Emmons: Lieutenant General, US Army Air Force
- Robert E. Femoyer: Medal of Honor recipient
- David Ginsburg: (1912–2010), presidential adviser and executive director of the Kerner Commission.[28]
- Hal Greer: former professional basketball player
- Jim Grobe: college football coach, currently with Wake Forest University
- Chase Harrison: professional soccer player
- Henry D. Hatfield: former governor of West Virginia
- Hawkshaw Hawkins: Country music singer
- Eloise Hughes Smith: survivor of the RMS Titanic
- Jackie Hunt: College Football Hall of Fame member
- Albert G. Jenkins: Confederate Brigadier General
- Katie Lee Joel: celebrity and television personality
- Craig Johnson: novelist
- Carwood Lipton: WW2 military officer, prominently featured in the book and television series Band of Brothers
- Peter Marshall: actor, singer, television personality and game show host
- O. J. Mayo: Memphis Grizzlies basketball player
- Jeff Morrison: professional tennis player
- Dwight Morrow: businessman, politician and diplomat
- Patrick Patterson: Former University of Kentucky and current Houston Rockets basketball player
- Rick Reed: former major league baseball pitcher
- Soupy Sales: comedian
- Michael W. Smith: singer
- Ruth C. Sullivan: co-founder of Autism Society of America, founder of the Autism Services Center in Huntington
- Bill Walker: New York Knicks basketball player.
- Kayla Williams: US gymnast, World Vault Gold Medalist
- Carter G. Woodson: founder of Black History Month
- Steve Yeager: former major league baseball catcher