Governors of West Virginia

1. Arthur Ingram Borema 1863-18692. Daniel Duane Tompkins Farnsworth 18693. William Erskine Stevenson 1869-18714. John Jeremiah Jacob 1871-18775. Henry Mason Mathews 1877-18816. Jacob Beeson Jackson 1881-18857. Emanuel Willis Wilson 1885-18908. Aretas Brooks Fleming 1890-18939. William Alexander MacCorkle 1893-189710. George Wesley Atkinson 1897-190111. Albert Blakeslee White 1901-190512. William Mercer Owens Dawson 1905-190913. William Ellsworth Glasscock 1909-191314. Henry Drury Hatfield 1913-191715. John Jacob Cornwell 1917-192116. Ephraim Franklin Morgan 1921-1925

17. Howard Mason Gore 1925-192918. William Gustavus Conley 1929-193319. Herman Guy Kump 1933-193720. Homer Adams Holt 1937-194121. Matthew Mansfield Neely 1941-194522. Clarence Watson Meadows 1945-194923. Okey Leonidas Patteson 1949-195324. William Casey Marland 1953-195725. Cecil Harland Underwood 1957-196126. William Wallace Barron 1961-196527. Hulett Carlson Smith 1965-196928. Arch Alfred Moore, Jr. 1969-197729. John Davison Rockefeller IV 1977-198530. Arch Alfred Moore, Jr. 1985-198931. William Gaston Caperton III 1989-199732. Cecil Harland Underwood 1997-200133. Robert Ellsworth Wise, Jr. 2001-200534. Joseph Manchin III 2005-

Arthur Ingram Boreman

July 24, 1823 - April 19, 1896

(R) Wood CountyElected governor in 1863, 1864, & 1866

Boreman was elected West Virginia's first governor in 1863.

Boreman contributed effectively to the government of the new state, supporting legislation which instituted the West Virginia Code, Board of Public Works, and the public school system. During the Civil War, he organized state militia units to combat Confederate guerrillas in the southern part of the state.

Daniel Duane Tompkins Farnsworth

December 23, 1819 - December 5, 1892(R) Upshur CountyAppointed to serve from February 26, 1869 - March 4, 1869

On February 26, 1869, Arthur I. Boreman resigned as governor to join the United States Senate. Farnsworth, as state senate president, succeeded him, serving a seven-day term.

William Erskine Stevenson

March 18, 1820 - November 29, 1883(R) Wood CountyElected governor in 1868

As governor, Stevenson successfully advocated for the right of Confederate veterans to vote. Ironically, most Confederates were Democrats, leading to Stevenson's defeat for re-election in 1870.

John Jeremiah Jacob

December 9, 1829 - November 24, 1893(D) Hampshire CountyElected governor in 1870 (two-year term) and in 1872 (four-year term)

Jacob supported the elimination of all remaining legislation that discriminated against former Confederates.

Henry Mason Mathews

March 29, 1834 - April 28, 1884(D) Greenbrier CountyElected governor in 1876

As governor, Mathews dealt with economic problems associated with the national depression. In July 1877, four months into his term, Mathews sent the state militia to Martinsburg, Berkeley County, where Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers had been stopping trains to protest wage cuts.

Jacob Beeson Jackson

April 6, 1829 - December 11, 1893(D) Wood CountyElected governor in 1880

As governor, Jackson advocated improved education, re- writing the West Virginia Code, and tax reform.

Emanuel Willis Wilson

August 11, 1844 - May 28, 1905(D) Kanawha CountyElected governor in 1884

As governor, Wilson continued his opposition to monopolies and dealt with the issue of political corruption. He failed to secure legislation forbidding the pollution of streams. Wilson gained national attention by refusing to extradite members of the Hatfield family to Kentucky during the Hatfield-McCoy feud.

Aretas Brooks Fleming

October 15, 1839 - October 13, 1923(D) Marion CountyElected in 1888, assumed office Feb. 6, 1890Fleming served only a three-year term, 1890-1893, due to a dispute over the results of the 1888 election. The legislature finally selected Fleming in January 1890. Bitter over the results, Republicans blocked most of Fleming's initiatives.

William Alexander MacCorkle

May 7, 1857 - September 24, 1930(D) Kanawha CountyElected governor in 1892

As governor, MacCorkle advocated increased funding for state institutions and improved transportation. Through an advertising program, he actively promoted the state's natural resources to attract industry. MacCorkle opposed the growing labor movement among coal miners and dispatched the state militia to break a strike.

George Wesley Atkinson

June 29, 1845 - April 4, 1925(R) Ohio CountyElected governor in 1896

Despite the fact Atkinson was the first Republican governor in twenty-six years, his policies were similar to those of his Democratic predecessors. He advocated the growth of industry, improved transportation, funding for state institutions, and establishment of free public libraries. He was also the first governor to promote legislation to improve child welfare and labor conditions.

Albert Blakeslee White

September 22, 1856 - July 3, 1941(R) Wood CountyElected governor in 1900

As governor, White focused on revising the constitution and the tax code. He favored placing more of the burden of taxes on corporations. Despite opposition from industry, the legislature enacted a series of tax reforms during a special session in July 1904.

William Mercer Owens

DawsonMay 21, 1853 - March 12, 1916(R) Preston CountyElected governor in 1904During Dawson's term, the legislature increased the powers and duties of the state tax commissioner and gave the governor the right to remove tax assessors for refusal to comply with new tax laws. In 1909, state educational, charitable, penal, and correctional institutions were reorganized under a board of control.

William Ellsworth Glasscock

December 13, 1862 - April 12, 1925(R) Monongalia CountyElected governor in 1908

The last year of his term was marred by a violent coal strike in the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek area of Kanawha County. On three separate occasions, Glasscock declared martial law and sent in troops. He refused to release Mary Harris "Mother" Jones.

Henry Drury Hatfield

September 15, 1875 - October 23, 1962(R) McDowell CountyElected governor in 1912

As governor, Hatfield's first act was to dictate a settlement to the coal miners on strike in the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek area of Kanawha County.

John Jacob Cornwell

July 11, 1867 - September 8, 1953(D) Hampshire CountyElected governor in 1916

One month after Cornwell took office, the United States entered World War I. Due in part to the governor's efforts, West Virginia had one of the highest percentages of volunteers of any state.

Ephraim Franklin Morgan

January 16, 1869 - January 15, 1950(R) Marion CountyElected governor in 1920At the time Morgan became governor, a virtual state of war existed between union coal miners and coal operators. The United Mine Workers union was protesting for the right to organize miners in the southwestern part of the state. In late summer 1921, the governor called upon President Warren G. Harding to dispatch federal troops to end an armed miners' march in Boone and Logan counties. After the conflict ended, Morgan used National Guard troops to discourage miners from again taking up arms.

Howard Mason Gore

October 12, 1887 - June 20, 1947(R) Harrison CountyElected governor in 1924

As governor, Gore improved the state's agricultural programs and acted on requests from rural areas for reforms in handling state funds. Through a bipartisan commission, he was able to disperse more tax money to counties and municipalities. In addition, his support of road construction earned Gore the nickname, "road building governor."

In 1927, fire destroyed the temporary "pasteboard capitol," built after the old capitol burned in 1921.

William Gustavus Conley

January 8, 1866 - October 21, 1940(R) Kanawha CountyElected governor in 1928

During the Conley administration, the legislature established a public unemployment bureau, library commission, bridge commission, water commission, athletic commission, and raised taxes to pay for the main building of the new state capitol.

Herman Guy Kump

October 31, 1877 - February 14, 1962(D) Randolph CountyElected governor in 1932

Kump became governor at the height of the Great Depression, inheriting a state treasury deficit of $4 million. The legislature spent a record 240 days in session in 1933, developing a new tax program.

Homer Adams Holt

March 1, 1898 - January 16, 1975(D) Fayette CountyElected governor in 1936

As governor, Holt instituted a program to improve the facilities of state institutions. He drew criticism for his attacks on school lobbyists and the labor movement, resulting in a split within the Democratic party.

Matthew Mansfield Neely

November 9, 1874 - January 18, 1958(D) Marion CountyElected governor in 1940

Neely's candidacy was the result of a split within the Democratic party. With the support of labor, he backed improvements in unemployment compensation and the establishment of a human rights commission.

Clarence Watson Meadows

February 11, 1904 - September 12, 1961(D) Raleigh CountyElected governor in 1944

More than any of his predecessors, Meadows used radio to convey his message to the people. He helped mediate a number of labor disputes. Meadows reorganized the state's Board of Education, Conservation Commission, Industrial Publicity Commission, and West Virginia University's Board of Governors.

Okey Leonidas Patteson

September 14, 1898 - July 3, 1989(D) Fayette CountyElected governor in 1948As governor, one of Patteson's most important and controversial decisions was to locate the state School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Nursing in Morgantown. During his term, the legislature created the position of state Tax Commissioner and authorized cities to levy sales taxes. In 1952, Patteson organized the state Turnpike Commission to oversee the construction of the West Virginia Turnpike.

William Casey Marland

March 26, 1918 - November 26, 1965(D) Wyoming CountyElected governor in 1952

Three days after becoming governor, Marland proposed a severance tax on extractive industries, most notably coal. The legislature, heavily backed by the coal industry, blocked this tax and others which would have benefitted schools and roads. Marland advocated the desegregation of schools, expansion of the state parks and other recreational facilities, improved unemployment and workers' compensation laws, and an industrial development program.

After his term as governor he moved to Chicago to work for a coal company. Several years later, he was discovered driving a taxi cab following a battle with alcoholism.

Cecil Harland Underwood(R) Tyler County

Elected governor in 1956In 1957, he became the youngest governor in the history of the state and the first Republican governor in twenty-four years.

In his first term as governor, Underwood worked to improve roads and assist those impoverished by rapid technological changes, particularly the mechanization of the coal industry.

William Wallace Barron

December 8, 1911 -(D) Randolph CountyElected governor in 1960

In Barron's first year as governor, the legislature created the Public Employees Retirement System, the Department of Natural Resources, the Air Pollution Control Commission, the Human Rights Commission, the Industrial Development Authority, and the Department of Commerce.

In 1971, he was indicted on jury tampering charges associated with the 1968 trial. He was sentenced to prison, fined, and stripped of his law license.

Hulett Carlson Smith

October 21, 1918 -(D) Raleigh CountyElected governor in 1964

During Smith's term, the legislature enacted measures to control air and stream pollution and protect human rights, as well as passing some of the state's first strip mining legislation. In his first year as governor, Smith signed into law a bill repealing the death penalty.

Arch Alfred Moore, Jr.

April 16, 1923 -(R) Marshall CountyElected governor in 1968, 1972, & 1984

With the passage of the Governor's Succession Amendment in 1970, Moore became the first governor to succeed himself since 1872.

The 1968 Modern Budget Amendment also gave him more budgetary powers than any previous governor. Moore presided over the establishment of the Department of Highways and the construction of modern interstate systems, begun during the administration of Governor Cecil Underwood. The Board of Regents was created to manage all state colleges and universities. Other accomplishments of his first term included designation of "black lung" as a coal mining disease and the development of public kindergartens

Arch Alfred Moore, Jr.On February 26, 1972, an earthen dam broke on Buffalo Creek , unleashing 135 million gallons of water, near the community of Man, Logan County. The resulting flood killed 125 people and 4,000 lost their homes and possessions.

Governor Moore negotiated a $1 million settlement, while the state eventually paid the federal government $9.5 million in clean-up costs and interest.

During Moore's second term, new state medical schools were established in Lewisburg and at Marshall University in Huntington. One of his pet projects was the West Virginia Science and Culture Center on the State Capitol Complex.

In 1975, Moore and his campaign manager were indicted for extortion, the first seated governor to be officially charged with a crime. Both were found not guilty.

In 1990, Moore was found guilty of mail fraud. He served over two years in federal prison and paid a settlement to the state.

John Davison Rockefeller, IV

June 18, 1937 -(D) Kanawha CountyElected governor in 1976 & 1980

As governor, Rockefeller promoted the state's energy resources and chaired the President's Commission on Coal. He cut the size of state government and dealt with the issues of inflation, fuel shortages, a lengthy coal strike, floods, and the effects of two severe winters.

In 1984, Rockefeller was elected to the United States Senate.

Arch Alfred Moore, Jr.April 16, 1923 -(R) Marshall CountyElected governor in 1968, 1972, & 1984

At the beginning of Moore's third term, West Virginia had the highest unemployment rate in the nation due to a recession in the coal industry. Moore expanded corporate tax credits to attract businesses to the state. In addition, the legislature reduced the amount coal companies were required to pay into workers' compensation.

William Gaston Caperton III

February 21, 1940 -(D) Kanawha CountyElected governor in 1988 & 1992

As governor, Caperton reorganized state government to reduce a large debt incurred during the 1980s. To combat this public debt, he secured legislation to raise taxes and supported a constitutional amendment to adopt a state lottery. Caperton advocated placing computers in all schools.

Cecil Harland Underwood

(R) Cabell CountyElected governor in 1996

In 1996, Underwood defeated Democrat Charlotte Pritt to become the state's oldest governor, forty years after being the state's youngest executive. In a 2000 bid for re-election, he was defeated by Bob Wise.

WISE, Robert Ellsworth, Jr., Governor of West Virginia, 2000-2005.

a Representative from West Virginia; born in Washington, D.C., January 6, 1948; B.A., Duke University, Durham, N.C., 1970; J.D., Tulane University School of Law, New Orleans, La., 1975; admitted to the West Virginia bar in 1975 and commenced practice in Charleston; member, State senate, 1980-1982; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-eighth and to the eight succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1983-January 3, 2001); was not a candidate for reelection to the United States House of Representatives in 2000; Governor of West Virginia, 2000-2005.

Joseph "Joe" Manchin III (born August 24, 1947)[2] is an American politician who has been Governor of West Virginia since January 17, 2005. He won the November 2010 U.S. Senate election in West Virginia and will leave office as Governor to take his seat in the Senate. He is a member of the Democratic Party and a member of a Democratic political family in his home state.

Earl Ray Tomblin is West Virginia’s 35th governor. He was born March 15, 1952, in Logan County. He received his undergraduate degree from West Virginia University, an M.B.A. from Marshall University and attended the University of Charleston.

A self-employed businessman and former school teacher, Governor Tomblin was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1974 at the age of 22 and held that position until he was elected to the West Virginia Senate in 1980. Governor Tomblin is the longest serving Senate President, a position he has held since his election in 1995. He was named the state’s first Lieutenant Governor in 2000. He has dedicated his professional career to public service for the betterment of West Virginia.

He started acting as Governor in November 2010, when Governor Manchin resigned the position to fill the unexpired term of U. S. Senator Robert C. Byrd.

Earl Ray Tomblin

Compiled by the West Virginia State Archives