Northern Panhandle Businesses Celebrated For Century Of Service
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FOLLANSBEE - The Northern Panhandle has a lengthy history of business, from the trading of the early frontier and the rise of commerce by way of the Ohio River to the introduction of major manufacturing and a variety of family-owned operations.
As a result, there also are several area businesses which can trace their lineage to a century or more. West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner was in Follansbee Wednesday to recognize some of those legacy businesses with the presentation of the West Virginia Centurion Chamber of Commerce award.
"It’s always great to be back in Brooke County and see so many friends," Warner said, speaking during the monthly luncheon of the Brooke County Area Chamber of Commerce.
Warner noted there are more than 1,000 active businesses operating in Brooke County today, with several able to reach the milestone of having their doors open for at least 100 years.
They range from heavy manufacturing to locally owned small businesses to social organizations and more.
Honorees in attendance Wednesday included representatives of Eagle Manufacturing, founded in 1897; Cross Creek Cemetery, founded in 1926; and the Mutual Benevolent Society of Joseph Garibaldi, founded in 1926.
Other businesses set to be recognized, but without representation in attendance Wednesday, were the Chester Lumber Company, founded in 1903, and the Brooke County Review, founded in 1911.
"It just shows the variety in our community," Chamber President Eric Fithyan said.
The West Virginia Centurion Chamber of Commerce award was established in 2019 through the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office.
Since then, other local honorees have included Greco-Hertnick Funeral Home, American Legion Post 10, Psi Chapter House Corp., Bethany College, Municipal Mutual Insurance Co., Chambers General Store, James Funeral Home, the Newell Company, the Newell Bridge and Railway Company and National Church Supply Company.