- William A. MacCorkle
Infobox Governor
name= William A. MacCorkle
caption=
order=9th
office= Governor of West Virginia
term_start= 1893
term_end= 1897
predecessor=Aretas B. Fleming
successor=George W. Atkinson
birth_date=May 7 ,1857
birth_place=Lexington, VA
death_date=September 24 ,1930
death_place=Charleston, WV
spouse=
profession=Politician
party= Democrat
religion=
footnotes=William Alexander MacCorkle (b.
May 7 ,1857 , d.September 24 ,1930 ), was aUnited States teacher ,lawyer ,prosecutor ,governor andstate legislator ofWest Virginia , andfinancier .He was born near
Lexington, Virginia . After briefly teaching school inPocahontas County, West Virginia , he attendedWashington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Returning to West Virginia, in 1879, he established a law practice in Charleston and also taught school. From 1880 to 1889, he served as the Kanawha County prosecuting attorney.In 1892, as the Democratic Party's candidate, he was elected governor of
West Virginia . 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 amongcoal miners and dispatched the state militia to break a strike.After leaving office, MacCorkle returned to his Charleston law practice. In his numerous travels, he continued to publicize the state's resources. In 1910, he was elected to the West Virginia Senate. MacCorkle was also a founder and president of the
Citizens National Bank , which later merged with theCharleston National Bank . He wrote anautobiography , "The Recollections of Fifty Years", which was published in 1928. He died at his home, Sunrise, in 1930.Legacy
Maccorkle's mansion, Sunrise, became home to a children's museum in the early 1960s. In Charleston, a major arterial road, Maccorkle Avenue, was named for him and carries
U.S. Route 60 through the area. His papers form a valuable research resource at the [http://www.wvculture.org/history/maccorkle.html MacCorkle Collection of the West Virginia State History and Archives website] .The children's museum (now called Avampato Discovery Museum) was relocated to The Clay Center aboout two miles away in downtown Charleston in 2003. The Sunrise estate currently houses a law firm.
* [http://www.wvculture.org/history West Virginia Archives and History]
External links
* [http://www.wvculture.org/history/maccorkl.html Biography of William A. MacCorkle]
* [http://www.wvculture.org/history/maccorkleia.html Inaugural Address of William A. MacCorkle]
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