Virgil L. Highland

Virgil Lee Highland (August 31, 1870 – August 9, 1930) was an American banker, newspaper publisher, coal operator and Republican political figure based in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He was president of the Empire National Bank and controlled the Clarksburg Telegram Company. In 1927, Highland and J. Hornor Davis organized the Clarksburg Publishing Company to publish the Clarksburg Telegram and Clarksburg Exponent.

Highland chaired the West Virginia Republican State Committee from 1912 to 1916 and served as West Virginia's member of the Republican National Committee. In 1913, he was appointed the first chairman of the West Virginia Public Service Commission.

Early life and county office Highland was born on August 31, 1870, at West Milford in Harrison County, West Virginia, the son of John Edgar Highland and Lucy Earl Patton Highland. He grew up on a farm and attended local common schools. He later took a business course in Delaware, Ohio, and attended Scio College in Ohio. Highland moved to Clarksburg in 1890, when he was 20 years old, and worked as a bookkeeper for R. T. Lowndes and Company for seven years.

The 1923 state history listed Highland as treasurer and a director of the Union Gas and Carbon Company, West Chevy Chase Land Company and Union Land Company. It also listed him as a director of the Valley Coal and Coke Company, Wilbur Coal and Coke Company, Monongahela Valley Traction Company, Elkhorn Coal Corporation and West Virginia Metal Products Company. He served as chairman of the state Republican committee from 1912 to 1916.

Highland also served as West Virginia's member of the Republican National Committee. The 1921 West Virginia Blue Book lists "Virgil L. Highland, Clarksburg" as West Virginia's member of the committee. The house combines Romanesque Revival, Queen Anne and Tudor Revival elements. It has a sandstone first story, buff-colored brick upper stories, a brownstone porch with Tudor-arched openings and a crenellated parapet, and a three-story tower with a conical roof.

The 1923 state history described Highland as a Baptist and a 32nd-degree Scottish Rite Mason. It also listed him as a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Clarksburg Rotary Club, the New York Bankers Club and the National Republican Club of New York.

Death Highland died on August 9, 1930, in Rochester, Minnesota, at the age of 59. The Associated Press described him at the time of his death as a former Republican National Committeeman and stated that his career had included banking, newspaper publishing and coal operations in Clarksburg.