The Sultana Disaster

America's biggest maritime disaster occurred at the end of the Civil War on the Mississippi. A steamboat contracted by the federal government to take prisoners returning from Southern prison camps, exploded killing 75% of the approximately 2300 people on board.

Among the Wheeling survivors were Henry Foster, a brickmaker who was rescured five hours after the explosion; George Loy, who served with Carlin's Battery and is buried at Mt. Wood cemetery; James McKendry, a blacksmith and toolmaker who lived until 1893; Theophilas Richardson spent three hours in the freezing water before rescue; George Smith, a machinist with Hobbs, Taylor & Co survived five hours in the water and lived until 1912; Zachary Taylor Woodyard contracted scurvy, rheumatism, and catarrh while at Andersonville, but survived the explosion. Those who did not survive included William Cruddas, Alexander Manners, and Allen Stephens

One of the heroes of Andersonville was a baker from Wheeling named James Duncan who was in charge of the camp's bakery and employed many soldiers from Wheeling to prevent them from starvation. He was tried in the South after the War for misappropriation of foodstuff and murder. He was convicted, jailed at Fort Pulaski and escaped with help from former prisoners whom he had helped at the prison camp and who knew him to be innocent of the charges.

Thomas Haskins – Born on a farm in Wetzel County, Haskins became Superintendent of Schools before enrolling in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore. Eventually he moved to Benwood and treated mill workers from his tiny apartment. In 1891 he began building a grand mansion and hospital at 33rd and Eoff Sts. The private hospital soon proved too small and an annex was added. The Haskins hospital served mostly very rich clients. All were required to have a Turkish bath before surgery. Their luxurious rooms costs from $10 to $25 per week. A nursing school and pharmacy were also on the premises.

In 1902, Haskins purchased a glass factory in Martin's Ferry and began producing a large variety of cut and pressed glass for illumination. His Haskin's Natural Eye Auto Lens for automobiles proved so popular that the plant could hardly keep up.with demand. When Haskins moved to Oklahoma in 1918 he sold the hospital to the Salvation Army to be used for transients and storage.

Jesse Reno - Though born in Wheeling, Reno lived only seven years of his life in Wheeling before moving to Pennsylvania with his large family. He enrolled at West Point and became close friends with “Stonewall” Jackson. Upon graduation, he fought and was wounded in the Mexican-American War. After a brief stint as a surveryor, Reno taught math at West Point where he was known as a “soldier's soldier” always putting his men first. He was second in command to General Burnside at the Battle of South Mountain where he rallied the men to defend the right gap from invading Confederates. Easily seen in his generals uniform in the front lines, he was killed by a sharpshooter. The town of Reno, Nevada was named by Charles Crocker, the railroad magnate for Jesse Reno.

James Edmund Reeves, MD – Though not born in Wheeling James Reeves gave his all to the city serving as the first Public Health Officer, writing the State Health Laws, founding the first West Virginia Medical Society, the American Association of Public Health, and writing several papers which catalogued the various industries of the city and warned owners of the health dangers to their workers. He organized the first International Medical Congress which was attended by the renowned and famous in the medical world of 1876. For his service in teaching sanitation to her soldiers, Queen Victoria presented him with a medal at a reception in his honor. When he diagnosed himself with terminal liver cancer, eight doctors from Wheeling rushed to his side in Chattanooga, TN, but were unable to help. He is buried at Greenwood cemetery.

Frederick Faris - Born in St. Clairsville in 1870 to the noted artist J.A. Faris, he attended public schools in Wheeling and had no formal training for his profession. After working in the office of Edward Wells, another Wheeling architect and builder, Faris formed a partnership with Joseph Leiner. Six years after joining with Millard Giesey in 1902, historian Gibson Cranmer said that Faris had been “personally interested in and designed…most of the prominent buildings and residences in the city”. The 1915 issue of Ohio Architect magazine was devoted to his work.

Using many different architectural styles, Faris provided Wheeling with a plethora of beautiful buildings. Among the prominent Wheeling edifices by this architect that are still standing are the Wheeling Steel Building, now the Severstal Building; the YWCA; Madison School on Wheeling Island; the Main Street Bank, formerly Wagner Wholesale Grocery; the Laconia Building, formerly the German Bank; Triadelphia Middle School; the Scottish Rite Cathedral; the Howard Mansion and Apartments; and the YMCA.

Buildings of his design that are no longer standing include: Wheeling High School, North Wheeling Hospital, the Market Auditorium (West Virginia’s longest building at the time), and the Gothic-styled Children’s Home in Woodsdale.

Probably the most unusual of Faris’ work is the Mount Carmel Monastery, a Mission-style edifice built in 1917 and located on Carmel Road in the Woodsdale section of Wheeling. To honor the memory of St. Teresa (of Spain), Faris designed the monastery with a distinctive Spanish flavor.