Oliver P. Chitwood (1874-1971)

In 1874, Oliver P. Chitwood was born in Franklin County, Virginia. He attended Williams and Mary College, where he was also a librarian. From 1902-1903, Chitwood served as headmaster of Richmond Academy before completing a history PhD at John Hopkins University in 1905. Following this, Chitwood taught history and economics at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. After teaching for only two years, Chitwood received a letter from Daniel B. Purinton – a former president at West Virginia University (WVU) who is also buried in Oak Grove Cemetery – asking Chitwood to apply for a vacant position in the history faculty. That Chitwood was courted, rather than independently seeking the position, speaks to his renown. In fact, in a letter responding to Purinton, Chitwood requested that Purinton write to Chitwood’s current boss explaining that Chitwood had been contacted directly and was not unhappy with his current position.

By 1907, Chitwood had resettled in Morgantown. He led a highly successful academic career at WVU, authoring several seminal works. Chitwood’s textbooks were some of the most popular college textbooks of his time, while his works on Colonial America set the standard for years to come. Chitwood continued to teach at WVU until retiring in 1946, though he remained involved on the WVU campus. On February 3, 1971, Chitwood died in Morgantown. The following year, Science Hall on WVU’s downtown campus was renamed Chitwood Hall in the former professor’s honor. 

LaBarbara, Jane Metters. Oliver P. Chitwood, Namesake of Chitwood Hall, WVU Libraries. June 8th 2019. Accessed September 25th 2020. https://news.lib.wvu.edu/2019/06/18/oliver-p-chitwood-namesake-of-chitwood-hall/.

Rice, Otis K. Oliver Perry Chitwood, The West Virginia Encyclopedia. October 4th 2012. Accessed September 25th 2020. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1170.