245 years ago, on July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, announcing the colonies’ separation from Great Britain. A year later, in the most populous city in the “United Colonies” where the Declaration was signed, Philadelphians marked the first anniversary of American independence with a spontaneous celebration, which is described in a letter by John Adams to his daughter, Abigail.

“My dear Daughter Philadelphia, July 5th, 1777 Yesterday, being the anniversary of American Independence, was celebrated here with a festivity and ceremony becoming the occasion. I am too old to delight in pretty descriptions, if I had a talent for them, otherwise a picture might be drawn, which would please the fancy of a Whig, at least. The thought of taking any notice of this day, was not conceived, until the second of this month, and it was not mentioned until the third.”

4th of July Celebrations in Wheeling

Though surveyor William Crawford, writing in 1772 to George Washington, reported that settlers were arriving to the area “in such numbers the like was never seen,” by July 4th, 1777, Wheeling was still little more than an outpost on the western frontier of the colonies. By the time the first federal census was taken in 1790, the population of Wheeling was approximated to be between 200 and 250 residents. Eight years later, Tarleton Bates, a law clerk and newspaper publisher in Pittsburgh described a visit in his journal in 1798, writing that Wheeling consisted “principally of one street [and] about 60 houses one good looking brick one & 5 or 6 taverns —The Inhabitants appear tolerably Genteel & were they not Virginians might pass for decent people.” When Merriwether Lewis passed through in 1803, he wrote of Wheeling, “this is a pretty considerable Village contains about fifty houses…” Though Lewis’s estimation of houses in the village would indicate little growth had occurred, the federal census of 1800 recorded a doubling of Wheeling’s population to 500 residents. In 1806, the same year Wheeling was officially incorporated as a town, Thomas Ashe, author of Travels in America, counted “about two hundred and fifty houses; ten of which are built of brick, eighteen of stone, and the remainder of logs.”

It is a year later that the earliest mention of a 4th of July celebration in Wheeling has been found (if anyone knows of an early record, please let us know). The description of the July 4th, 1807 festivities was printed by Wheeling’s first newspaper, the Wheeling Repository, a weekly which had a short publication run from March 5, 1807 to November 5, 1808.

July 9, 1807 edition, pg 6 (excerpt).
“On the 4th inst. the Wheeling Light infantry company paraded, in order to celebrate the 31st anniversary of American Independence. A suitable repast was provided for the occasion, on the bank of the Ohio, where they were joined by several gentlemen of the Corporation… The day was spent with that conviviality and harmony which mark the character of genuine Republicans.

Even if this was the first 4th of July celebrated in Wheeling, it would seem that the fledgling town was ahead of its time. According to multiple sources, the observation of Independence Day only became commonplace across the United States after the War of 1812. Finding records of subsequent local celebrations in the early part of the 19th century, however, has been difficult.

Though containing no mention of a local celebration, in the Wheeling paper, the Virginia Statesman (Jan. 1828—June 1829) on July 16, 1828, the editor of the paper remarked that “On account of some of our hands wishing to celebrate the 4th of July at a distant place, there was no paper issued from this office last week.” The paper went on to report that, “The Washington and Baltimore papers are filled with descriptions of the pageantry of digging the first full spade full on the Ohio and Chesapeake Canal and the Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road, in the neighborhood of those cities, on the 4th of July. The coincidence in time of commencement is remarkable.”

The Wheeling Compiler (1829-1831) mentioned a July 4th, 1829 “young men’s” celebration, though attended by “a highly respectable audience of Ladies and Gentlemen.” Festivities commencing at the Methodist Meeting House included “an impressive prayer made the Rev. R. C. Hutton,” the reading of the Declaration of Independence by a Mr. Ewell in “a manly tone, and with scholastic correctness,” and “annexed toasts were drank with loud and repeated cheering” following an “excellent” afternoon dinner on the Island served by Mr. Thomas Bernard.

In his 1905 Reminiscences of his Schoolboy Days, then octogenarian Joseph Bell recollected that in the 1830s, when “The whole of Wheeling Island was then owned by the two Zanes” and “There being no bridges over the Ohio, alI crossing was done by ford or ferry,” that “Fourth of July public dinners and celebrations were commonly held on the eastern bank of the Island, just north of [then the yet to be built ] terminus of the Suspension Bridge. Thomas Bernard generally furnished the entertainment on these occasions.”

A circa 1840 wood engraving depicting Wheeling prior to the Suspension Bridge (source unknown). 

In 1842, The Wheeling Times and Advertiser (1839-1849) reported a July 4th celebration given by the Guards and Riflemen in a grove on Wheeling Island following a Battalion parade. The Declaration of Independence was read by Seargent A. S. Glenn of the Guards and an address delivered by Lieutenant J. S. Lowry of the Riflemen. The two companies were then “accompanied by a large number of Citizens” to the hotel of Mr. Glime where they “partook of one of the ‘best gotten up’ and most sumptuous dinners ever prepared about Wheeling.” Following thirteen toasts, Mr. Hiram Kaine delivered an original ode.

ANNIVERSARY ODE (excerpt only).

When o’er our fathers, tyrants sought
To bind the chain their wrong had wrought,
And weave around each symbol dear
The emblem of oppression drear.
They scoffed, the sceptred King to scorn,
And bared the rustic blade,
And sounded Freedom’s battle horn,
Through every mountain glade;
Till roused by the inspiring peal,
And fired with flame that patriot’s feel,
They poured upon the plain—
Wild, sweeping as a river on—
Lo! the invading hosts were gone
With banner, plume and chain.

In 1843, “The anniversary of our national birth was duly observed, we believe, by almost all of our citizens in some form, and so far as we can learn all appeared to enjoy it,” according to the Times and Advertiser. A crowd of approximately 4,000 took part in a celebration and picnic hosted by the Temperance Society and Sunday Schools while others gathered on Wheeling Hill and informed the newspaper that “they will not yield the palm of enjoyment to any.”

The first recorded instance of the Wheeling Suspension bridge being involved in the festivities doesn’t come until 1853. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (Aug. 1852— ) reported that the programme for the “Celebration of the Anniversary of American Independence, by the German citizens of Wheeling” included a 5 a.m. national salute of thirteen rounds to be fired, followed by a 9 a.m. parade “to be formed in Market Square, which will move through several of our principal streets, and then proceed over the Suspension Bridge to a selected spot on the Island, where the festivities will take place.” A reading of the Declaration of Independence and speeches in English and German were given, along with toasts followed by gun shot, so it’s just as well that, as the the paper noted, “no strong liquors shall be sold on the festival ground.” The afternoon was filled with music and further speeches, and at 6 p.m., three rounds of a cannon signaled a procession to move back to the city, which dissolved at Market Square.

As early as 1845, notices of “An ordinance to prevent certain improper practices” were printed in the local newspaper in the days leading up to the 4th of July, reminding citizens that “If any person shall fire or discharge within such parts of the city…limits, any cannon, gun, pistol or fire arms, or any cracker, squib, rocket or fireworks… such person for every such offense shall forfeit and pay to the city not less than one more than ten dollars (between $35-350 dollars in today’s money).” It seems some things never change, as Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger was quoted in the June 25, 2021 edition of the Wheeling Intelligencer as saying “Each year, especially the first week of July, the Wheeling Police Department becomes inundated with fireworks complaints. We are asking everyone to be courteous of others and not ignite (illegal fireworks).” City Council recently amended its fireworks code to make the ignition of illegal fireworks within city limits to now carry a $500 fine, making it more expensive to set off illegal fireworks downtown than it was in 1845. 

Though we can infer from the above that fireworks were part of the revelry in the 1840s, the first reported instance of their inclusion in any official 4th of July celebration in Wheeling comes from the July 04, 1856 edition of the Wheeling Intelligencer. “Do not forget the exhibition of fire-works to be given by the employees of the B. & O. Railroad from the roof of the Depot tonight… We learn that most a powder car load of rockets, ‘fly arounds,’ ‘blue, red, and white’ have been brought out from the East for the occasion.”

Following the start of the Civil War in April of 1861, the 4th of July took on a somber tone. The Daily Intelligencer reported, “Today is the 85th anniversary of American independence. It comes to us this morning unlike all that have preceded it… With heavy hearts our patriotic people will go to the woods and the groves today, to hear orations and sing national anthems.”

Wheeling’s first celebration of the 4th following West Virginia’s admission as to the Union as the 35th state was marked by a contemplative editorial in the July 4th, 1863 issue of the Daily Intelligencer. The reflection came a mere two weeks following  President Lincoln’s June 20 proclamation that West Virginia would officially be recognized as a state in a country still at war.

“To-day is the eighty-seventh anniversary of American Freedom. How different is the situation when compared with this day one year ago. Last 4th of July the nation was oppressed with the disastrous tidings that the army of the Peninsula had been defeated and perhaps destroyed. Everything looked dark around us and above us. It seemed as if our country’s birth day was soon to be a thing of memory. With heavy hearts the people went forth to the groves to seek relief from their painful anxieties and their gloomy forbodings. To-day the scenes are changed and the prospects also… Rest assured this day, loyal fellow citizens, that the cause for which our liberty loving countrymen are in arms will prevail. The day of overwhelming victory is very near. Take courage in your hearts and resolve anew to never abandon the glorious traditions and associations of this sacred anniversary.“

Following the end of the Civil War in April of 1865, the occasion of the 4th returned to celebratory. The Wheeling Daily Register (1863—[currently News Register]) printed, “The anniversary of our national independence will be celebrated today with more genuine heartiness than for many years heretofore. It has more meaning to-day than the present generation of Americans has heretofore attached to it. The blessings of civil liberty and the grandeur of the work accomplished by our fore fathers are better appreciated today than ever before. The peril in which our liberty has been placed has awakened us to a keener sense of its value, and, now that the danger is past, we have a greater incentive to rejoicing than before.” The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer devoted its entire front page to the reprinting of the Declaration of Independence, the 1862 Proclamation of Freedom, and the lyrics to America, The Star-Spangled Banner, Columbia! Arise to Glory!, and other patriotic songs.

By the 1870s, as the nation reunified, the Fourth of July was the most important secular holiday on the calendar and Congress passed a law making Independence Day a federal holiday on June 28, 1870. “No Paper To-Morrow,” noted the Intelligencer on July 4, 1870, “To-day being not only the ‘glorious Fourth,’ but a legal holiday under present enactment of Congress, no work will be done in this establishment to-day and no Intelligencer will be issued to-morrow.” The first celebration as an official federal holiday went well according to the July 6 edition. “Altogether, we doubt if a more quiet and orderly Fourth of July is remembered in this city. To the credit of our people we are gratified to be able to state that very few intoxicated persons were visible on the streets.”

In 1876, Wheeling, once again the state capital following Charleston’s stint from 1870 to 1875, became the official headquarters for organizing the West Virginia display at the United States Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia that year. Planning for the national celebration led to local interest in creating a “once-in-a-lifetime” local centennial celebration, according to an article by Dennis E. Lawther in the July 1977 issue of West History History.

“Plans called for the firing of a canon to open the gala event, a two-day concert, a gigantic picnic on the Island, and an exciting fireworks display to climax the day’s event… The ‘Red, White, and Blue’ flew briskly in the wind from balconies, businesses, and residences. National flags honoring forty-one nations decorated the windows of the City Building. City workers placed 506 Chinese lanterns on the Suspension Bridge for illumination during the night hours… At 12:00 a.m., a ‘100-gun’ salute by West Virginia University Cadets echoed across the hills announcing that Independence Day had arrived. Quickly Wheeling came alive. On the surrounding hills, people ignited bonfires which lit up the night sky. Bells rang from all sections of the city. People continued to celebrate throughout the night.“

Following an early morning parade, townsfolk gathered on the Island for the picnic and entertainment from various bands and singing societies, enjoying such games as greased pole climbing, egg racing, and stilt racing. A mid-afternoon thunderstorm left the picnic grounds “a sea of mud,” but didn’t dampen spirits. It did, however, dampen the fireworks. As night fell crowds began to gather along the river bank and on the Suspension Bridge. “The display was less than spectacular, however, since most of the fireworks had been destroying during the afternoon storm.”

One hundred years later, Wheeling put on another grand celebration. The Wheeling News-Register and Intelligencer released a massive eighty-page supplemental Bicentennial Edition on July 2, 1976, documenting 200 years of Wheeling History with sections on the Wheeling of “Yesterday,” “Today,” and “Tomorrow.” Nurses and orderlies at Ohio Valley General Hospital dressed in colonial garb from July 4th through the 7th to “make the bicentennial a little special for the patients.” On the day of the 4th itself, “Ohio Valley residents turned out by the tens of thousands Sunday to participate in the bicentennial activities…” A boat parade was held on the Ohio River along with canoe and flatboat races. Human kite flying was also listed as one of the festive activities of the day (if anyone remembers what this involved, please let us know). The Wheeling Area Firefighters held a “water battle” at the Wharf Parking Garage, spraying a keg suspended on a wire between two city trucks. Daredevil divers leapt from the railing of the suspension bridge into the Ohio River, one performing a swan dive, the other a back dive. The Intelligencer reported that “When the divers emerged from the water with clenched fist indicating to the crowd that they were ‘O.K.,’ roars from the crowd and wails from the sirens and horns on the pleasure boats could be heard cheering the divers.” Later that night, the Wheeling Suspension bridge was officially dedicated as a National Historic Landmark as part of the city’s bicentennial celebration.

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For many years, the city’s 4th of July fireworks had been set off from the Suspension Bridge, ending with a waterfall of sizzling lights cascading from the deck to the river. In 2013, however, the West Virginia Department of Transportation Division of Highways began the ban on fireworks being set off from the Suspension Bridge. Smaller fireworks shells were set off from Wheeling Island that year while larger shells were fired from just south of WesBanco Arena. Viewers of the fireworks were unhappy with the “dueling” fireworks and were disappointed the cascading waterfall on the Bridge would no longer be a part of the display. Fireworks today are frequently now set off at the location near WesBanco Arena, just south of Wheeling Creek, close to where the first reported 4th of July fireworks would have been launched from the roof of the B&O Depot in 1856.

Todays’ 4th of July festivities at Wheeling Heritage Port will kick off with a 7:30 pm concert by the Wheeling Symphony followed by fireworks at dusk.

Happy 4th of July!