Editing Benwood, West Virginia (section)

==History==

Benwood was chartered in 1853 and incorporated in 1895.  The name of the city is derived from "Ben's Woods", as Benjamin McMechen  inherited that portion of land from the estate of his father, William McMechen, and built his homestead upon it.  The neighboring city of [[McMechen, West Virginia|McMechen]] is named after William McMechen and his family, who were among the earliest settlers of this area.

[[Benwood Mine Disaster|Benwood]] was the location of the third worst mine disaster to occur in the state of West Virginia.  At approximately 7:05 AM EST on Monday, April 28, 1924, the coal mine of the Wheeling Steel Corporation's mill located in Benwood exploded, killing all 119 men who were working in the coal mine at the time.  The majority of the miners killed were recent immigrants of Polish, Italian, Greek, Croatian, Serbian, Hungarian, Russian, Ukrainian and Lithuanian descent.

Eighteen years after the devastating 1924 explosion at the Wheeling Steel mine, Benwood was once again the location of another tragic coal mining disaster.  On Monday, May 18, 1942, the coal mine of the Hitchman Coal & Coke Company exploded, killing 5 men.