H. R. 30
(Delegate Compton)
Designating and commemorating the Bicentennial of Monroe County,
West Virginia. During the year 1999, Monroe County is
celebrating its 200th Anniversary with special activities
and events each month.
Whereas, The General Assembly of Virginia, along with
Governor James Monroe on January 14, 1799, passed an act for the
separation of Greenbrier County, creating the county of Monroe.
The county is named after Governor Monroe, who later became the
fifth President of the United States; and
Whereas, the town seat of Union was created in 1799, out of
land given by Revolutionary War soldier James Alexander; and
Whereas, Monroe County
, because it is the only county in West
Virginia situated on the Great Eastern Divide
, has waters
flowing both to the Atlantic and to the Gulf of Mexico; and
Whereas, The county was popular throughout the 19th century
for its many mineral springs, the major ones being
Sweet
Springs, Salt Sulphur Springs and Red Sulphur Springs. These
springs were
once utilized by individuals who sought health in
the curative power of the waters; and
Whereas, Monroe County has produced a number of notable figures including two U.S. Senators: Allen Taylor Caperton, who
also served as a Senator to the Confederate Senate, and who is
the great great uncle to Governor Gaston Caperton; and Frank
Hereford of Union, who was appointed to fill Senator Caperton's
term when he died in 1876; and
Whereas, Monroe County was the birthplace and boyhood home
of Colonel Andrew Summers Rowan, the hero who carried the
message to Garcia in the Spanish American War; and
Whereas,
Matthew Clair,
the first Bishop of African-American
descent in the Methodist Episcopal Church,
was born in Union,
Monroe County; and
Whereas, Anne Royal, nationally recognized as one of the
first women journalists in America, grew up in Sweet Springs,
Monroe County; and
Whereas, Ann Edgar Randolph, a former educator in Union,
became a Presbyterian missionary to China and Japan and later
founded a school that became a university in Nagoya, Japan; and
Whereas, Monroe County is a leader for counties of its size
in West Virginia in the number of buildings and sites on the
National Register of Historic Places, some of which include
Elmwood, home of Hugh Caperton, Old Sweet Springs Resort, a
classical example of Jeffersonian architecture, and the log
structure of Rehoboth Church, the oldest Methodist Church west
of the Alleghenies; therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Delegates:
That in recognition of these contributions, the House of
Delegates hereby designates June 5, 1999, as Monroe County Day
throughout West Virginia and encourages its citizens to
celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the creation of Monroe
County. In honor of this occasion, the Monroe County Historical
Society will have accessbible to the public a special
commemorative envelope which will be available and can be
canceled with a special cancellation stamp; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House is hereby
directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the County
Commission of Monroe County, the Monroe County Historical
Society, and the Monroe County Landmarks Commission.