Wheeling in the 20th Century

by Tom Dunham


Formats

Softcover
£8.31
Softcover
£8.31

Book Details

Language : English
Publication Date : 14/07/2003

Format : Softcover
Dimensions : 8.25x11
Page Count : 132
ISBN : 9781410744760

About the Book

Within the context of a laissez-faire, urban economy and ineffective city planning, Wheeling’s early economic growth, decline, and attempts at revival are highlighted in this survey of West Virginia’s first capitol.  Wheeling’s early diversified and manufacturing economy is discussed within the framework of the nail, steel, glass, tobacco, and brewery industries.  Reasons for their demise and the city’s subsequent decline are offered.  Alongside the economic swings, Wheeling’s attempts to deal with the problems of pollution, housing, city parks, and downtown revitalization receive treatment.

Chapters on music and entertainment, parks, and the city’s sporting life of prostitution, gambling, and illegal liquor demonstrate Wheeling’s diversified and colorful early 20th century past.  As the city attempted revival in the 1950s and 1970s, Wheeling’s love-hate relationship with the federal urban renewal program is explored.  Missed opportunities have characterized much of Wheeling’s past, and attempts in the late 20th century to overcome its economic stumbles round out this brief history.


About the Author

Author of Charleston (West Virginia) in the 20th Century, Tom Dunham, graduated from West Virginia University’s graduate school, and has worked as a librarian in West Virginia and a reporter elsewhere.  For a number of years, he edited the Highlands Voice, a West Virginia environmental publication.  He has also contributed a selection to a history of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.