A resolution recognizing the semiquincentennial of the community of Wheeling, West Virginia.

III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 310 Recognizing the semiquincentennial of the community of Wheeling, West Virginia. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 Mrs. CAPITO (for herself and Mr. MANCHIN) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Recognizing the semiquincentennial of the community of Wheeling, West Virginia. Whereas 2019 marks 250 years since the September in which pioneer Colonel Ebenezer Zane used an axe to notch, gir- dle, and strike his name into a gathering of trees, mark- ing a plot of land through tomahawk rights; Whereas, in the spring of 1770, Zane returned with his brothers, Jonathan and Silas, to inhabit the clearing he created above the mouth of Wheeling Creek and they, along with the families who soon followed, formed the nu- cleus of the community that would become the city of Wheeling; Whereas, in 1782, Native American and British forces at- tacked Fort Henry in Wheeling to drive out colonial set- tlers; VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR310.ATS SR310 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 310 ATS Whereas the ammunition supply at Fort Henry was ex- hausted, and Betty Zane courageously volunteered to re- trieve gunpowder from the Zane family homestead, gath- ered the gunpowder in a tablecloth, and safely returned, resulting in a victory for the citizens of Wheeling; Whereas, in 1810, Conrad Cotts, an experienced miner from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, opened the first commercial coal mine in the area that is now West Virginia in Wheel- ing; Whereas the territory of Wheeling was originally part of the Commonwealth of Virginia; Whereas the First Wheeling Convention took place from May 13 to May 15, 1861, at West Virginia Independence Hall, located at the corner of 16th Street and Market Street; Whereas, on May 23, 1861, voters in Virginia ratified the Se- cession Ordinance to leave the United States and join the Confederacy; Whereas, in June 1861, pro-Union Virginians met for the Second Wheeling Convention and— (1) declared all State offices in Virginia vacant and all acts of the General Assembly to be null and void, thus creating the Restored Government of Virginia that sought to rebuild ties with the Union; and (2) installed Wheeling as the provisional capital; Whereas, on October 24, 1861, residents of the area that is now West Virginia voted to approve statehood for West Virginia; Whereas, on April 20, 1863, during the middle of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation on the admission of West Virginia to the Union; VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR310.ATS SR310 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 310 ATS Whereas the city of Wheeling became the first capital of the State of West Virginia, and Wheeling served intermit- tently as the capital until Charleston was selected by a vote of the citizens of the State; Whereas the city of Wheeling served as an early transpor- tation epicenter, connecting the Ohio River with the Po- tomac River via the National Road, opening further ex- pansion to the West; Whereas ‘‘Nail City’’ became an early nickname for Wheel- ing, reflecting the strong steel industry and the growing manufacturing presence of the State in the region; Whereas the Wheeling Suspension Bridge was once the long- est suspension bridge in the world, and construction mechanisms of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge were used while building the Brooklyn Bridge in New York; Whereas, on September 23, 1952, General Dwight D. Eisen- hower telegrammed Senator Richard M. Nixon, request- ing to meet face-to-face the following day in Wheeling where General Eisenhower was holding a presidential campaign rally and would ultimately approve of Senator Nixon as the Republican nominee for Vice President; Whereas the Wheeling Jamboree, utilizing local country music talent, was first aired on WWVA at 11 p.m. on Saturday, January 7, 1933, revolutionizing the way radio appealed to listeners; Whereas participants of the Ogden Newspapers Half Mara- thon run 13.1 miles on one of the toughest courses in the United States; Whereas the Wheeling Nailers, a member of the East Coast Hockey League and an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pen- VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR310.ATS SR310 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 310 ATS guins, is the oldest surviving minor league franchise below the American Hockey League; Whereas the Winter Festival of Lights at the Oglebay Resort in Wheeling attracts more than 1,000,000 visitors annu- ally for one of the best holiday light shows in the United States; and Whereas DiCarlo’s Pizza took advantage of the post-World War II economic boom and expanded across the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, becoming famous for cold cheese piled on top of a rectangular pizza slice: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) recognizes the semiquincentennial of the 2 community of Wheeling, West Virginia; and 3 (2) encourages the citizens of Wheeling to ob- 4 serve and celebrate the semiquincentennial with ap- 5 propriate ceremonies to commemorate this historic 6 occasion. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Sep 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR310.ATS SR310 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS