Visiting the Northern Panhandle: The Byrd Exhibit Opens in Wheeling

​On January 24, the traveling exhibit Robert C. Byrd: Senator, Statesman, West Virginian opened at a reception hosted by Wheeling Jesuit University. This venue marks the first stop for the traveling exhibit in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle. As we celebrate the centennial of Senator Byrd’s birthday in 2017, it is fitting to make a stop in the political birthplace of West Virginia.

​Wheeling is a historic industrial city and transportation hub, the site of the western terminus of the National Road and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The city was also the site of the Wheeling Convention of 1861, establishing the Restored Government of Virginia (1861-1863) which ultimately became the state of West Virginia in 1863. The convention and subsequent constitutional convention took place in the city’s customs house (today designated the West Virginia Independence Hall) and Wheeling served as the first capital for the new state.

The West Virginia Independence Hall, site of the Wheeling Convention (1861) and the West Virginia Constitutional Convention (1863).

The entrance to the art gallery in Kirby Hall on the Wheeling Jesuit University campus.

​The Byrd Exhibit is displayed in the art gallery of Kirby Hall on the campus of Wheeling Jesuit University. Established in 1954, Wheeling Jesuit’s campus is home to the Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center and the Erma Ora Byrd Center for Educational Technologies, both supported with funds appropriated by Senator Byrd and dedicated in 1997.

Senator Byrd addresses the audience at the dedication of the Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center and the Erma Ora Byrd Center for Education Technologies at Wheeling Jesuit University in 1997.

Senator and Mrs. Byrd attend the dedication of the Erma Ora Byrd Center for Educational Technologies along with university officials and Congressman Alan Mollohan (to the right of Mrs. Byrd) in 1997.

Senator Byrd’s involvement with Wheeling extended beyond the Wheeling Jesuit Campus, including the city’s Intermodal Transportation Center, post office, watershed, hospital, and creation of a National Heritage Area. This was recalled by several visitors at the reception on Tuesday, January 24th as they viewed the exhibit. As with so many of the stops made along our journey, the impacts of Senator Byrd’s efforts remain very present in the memories of West Virginians.
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We thank the faculty and students at Wheeling Jesuit University for welcoming us and the Byrd Exhibit to their campus. Visitors can view the exhibit in the Kirby Hall Art Gallery until Thursday, February 16, 2017.

Visitors view the Byrd exhibit on display in the Kirby Hall Art Gallery at a reception on January 24, 2017.