Governor Howard M. Gore

HOWARD M. GORE was born on a family farm in Harrison County, West Virginia. Following his graduation from West Virginia University in 1900, he organized and operated a number of businesses involving farming and livestock breeding. He was president of the West Virginia Livestock Association from 1912 to 1916 and went on to serve in various state and federal positions that reflected his agricultural expertise, among them Assistant Food Administrator for West Virginia, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture in the federal government, and finally Secretary of Agriculture under President Calvin Coolidge, a position from which he resigned to become governor. During his governorship, improvements were made in West Virginia’s health and educational institutions. Gore went on to run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1928, but was appointed West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture in 1931.