Kanawha City History

Charleston residents, historically, often identify themselves by the community in which they live. From Kanawha City to South Hills, from the East End to North Charleston, the several communities within the City all have unique features that make them home to the people who live there. Kanawha City was developed to be a self-contained Community with a blend of residential, commercial and industrial uses. It still maintains that original design.

Kanawha City was originally annexed into the City of Charleston in 1929, with subsequent annexations to follow. The area is unique to the City in that it offers its residents most of the goods and services needed without having to cross the Kanawha River.

Two historic figures resided in what is currently referred to as Kanawha City. These were Daniel Boone and Colonel Andrew Donnally, Sr. Daniel Boone moved his family to the Kanawha Valley around 1788. They lived in a double log cabin on what is now Kanawha Avenue, opposite and slightly west of the mouth of Campbells Creek. Colonel Andrew Donnally, Sr. was one of the earliest and largest salt makers in the area and was a major landholder in Kanawha City.

Kanawha Citys first industrial plant was the Columbia Barbed Wire and Nail Works located in the 4800 block of Kanawha Avenue. The plant was started in 1893 by D.A. Chenowith. The plant employed more than 400 workers at the height of its business activity and shipped nails by rail and barge throughout the East. Most of its employees lived in boarding houses near the plant or traveled upriver by steamboat from Charleston.

The Kanawha City Company, a major landholder in its early land development, offered investors 6,000 square foot lots or 20,000 feet of river frontage for residential or industrial use.

Libbey Owens Company and Owens-Illinois Bottle Company opened manufacturing operations in Kanawha City in 1917. Libbey Owens Company built its first six units in 1916-1917. Six more units were added in 1918 and 1923, making it the largest plate glass plant in the world. In 1929, Ed Ford Plate Glass Company purchased an interest in the company and later changed its name to Libbey Owens Ford. The plant manufactured plate, window, windshield, and non-shattering glass. By 1929, Kanawha City was one of the largest glass producing areas in the world.

Charlestons first airport operated in Kanawha City in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It preceded construction of Wertz Field at Institute, which saw the introduction of the Citys first commercial ir service in 1933.

During the early 1900s Kanawha City was the location for National Guard encampments. The 2nd West Virginia Infantry Regiment of the Guard used the area during World War I and in 1925 it camped in the area bordered by the Kanawha River, MacCorkle Avenue, 35th Street, and 50th Street. The Guard had previously used the same area during the 1912 coal strike and the Mexican Border Crisis of 1916.

The 1915 construction of the original Kanawha City Bridge at 35th Street opened up the area for future development. Governor MacCorkle built the bridge to provide street car access to the Kanawha City and Cabin Creek areas. The bridge operated as a toll bridge from 1915 to 1928. After the bridge opened, the glass plants developed Kanawha City lots that were sold for construction of residential structures. All of the available lots were not, however, built upon until after World War II.

The Kanawha City Bridge was dismantled and dropped into the Kanawha River in 1975. It was replaced by the present 35th Street and 36th Street bridges connecting to Washington Street and the Interstate. MacCorkle Avenue was widened to four lanes and landscaped during the 1930s. In the late 1960s its treescape was removed when the street was again widened.

In recent years increased traffic, spot zoning, increased signage and illumination along the MacCorkle Avenue corridor have begun to overpower the Communitys essence. The Communitys infrastructure is in need of improvement. The Community also finds itself attending to an aging population and an aging housing stock.

Largely buoyed by its reputation as a family community, and benefited by its park-like setting and newly opened ridge top land for residential development, younger families are moving into the Community who appear willing to rehabilitate housing and continue the tradition of Kanawha City as a caring, interactive and involved community.

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Kanawha City Community Association, Inc. | Post Office Box 4423 Charleston, WV 25364 | info@kanawhacity.org