Two U.S. Presidents Visit Parsons – Parsons Advocate

By Belva Dilly

Tucker County Historical Society

 The first President of the United States to visit Parsons was President Harrison back in the 1890’s.  He was not well received by the citizens of the town.  The crowd was a rough bunch and it was feared that he could have been in danger of losing his life.  It is said that he left almost as fast as he arrived.  There is not much information on this visit.

  The second President was President F.D. Roosevelt as he was traveling to the Forest Festival in Elkins, WV, on October 1, 1936.   The citizens of Parsons did not know that he was going to stop in Parsons until about an hour before he arrived.  Even though they had very little notice of this visit there was between three and four hundred people out to hear his speech.  The speech lasted for about five minutes.  I have talked to several people that attended that speech and they spoke of the President with great respect.  It is said that he mentioned how beautiful the scenery is here in Tucker County.  

  President Roosevelt’s wife, Eleanor, also visited Parsons and gave a speech from the Courthouse Steps in front of the Courthouse.  She was here in 1934 along with US Congressman Jennings Randolph.  The crowd was close to a thousand people.  The people came from all over the county to see her and listen to her talk about her homestead projects.  The band from Thomas came to play for the occasion.

  This information came from the Parsons High School Echo.

This article appeared in the April, 2022 edition of the Tucker County Historical Society quarterly newsletter. The TCHS is a tax-exempt non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It meets monthly in Parsons with membership open to anyone for annual dues of $10 mailed to PO Box 13, Hambleton, WV 26269. 

  [Editor’s note: A search of the October 8, 1936 issue of The Parson’s Advocate showed not a single mention of Roosevelt’s visit the previous week. Staunchly Republican at that time, the paper instead ran a front page article about why coal miners should vote against Roosevelt in the upcoming election. It argued that Roosevelt’s New Deal of economic relief for the country was putting a burden of more taxes on miners to fund the construction of electric-generating dams such as those of the Tennessee Valley Authority. If miners voted for Roosevelt it would mean less reliance on coal-fired electric generation which would bring a loss of jobs in the coal mining industry.]