1. In 1777, the Battle of Cedar Creek occurred in present-day West Virginia during the American Revolutionary War. The British, led by General John Burgoyne, sought to push back the American forces, but were eventually defeated.

2. On January 3, 1861, the Virginia state convention voted to secede from the United States, igniting the American Civil War. Many western counties in Virginia opposed secession and formed a separate state, West Virginia, in 1863.

3. The first football game played in West Virginia between two college teams occurred on January 3, 1891. West Virginia University defeated Washington & Jefferson College with a score of 72-0.

4. On January 3, 1921, the first woman elected to the West Virginia Legislature, Lenna Lowe Yost, was sworn in. She served in the House of Delegates for one term.

5. January 3, 1960, the filming of the movie "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" began in Charleston, West Virginia. The movie, based on the play by William Inge, starred Robert Preston and Dorothy McGuire and was released later that year.