On what date did the society that was established in 1819 reorganize?
The Romney Literary Society, which built Literary Hall between 1869 and 1870, was organized by nine prominent men in Romney on January 30, 1819. With its establishment in 1819, the Romney Literary Society became the first literary organization of its kind in the present-day state of West Virginia, and one of the first in the United States. On February 4, 1819, the constitution of the society was adopted, which provided that the organization should be known as the "Polemic Society of Romney". The society founded its library in 1819 with the acquisition of two books, and by 1861 the society's humble library had grown to contain approximately 3,000 volumes, consisting of books on literature, science, history and art.
The Romney Literary Society commenced a movement to establish an institution for "the higher education of the youth of the community". As a result of this initiative, the teaching of the classics was introduced into the curriculum of Romney Academy in 1820, thus making the institution the first school of higher education in the Eastern Panhandle. In 1846, the society constructed a new building to house the Romney Classical Institute and its library, both of which fell under the society's supervision.The Romney Literary Society and the Romney Classical Institute both flourished and continued to grow in importance and influence until the onset of the Civil War in 1861. During the war, many members fought for the Confederate States Army forces and were killed during the conflict. The contents of the society's library were plundered by Union Army forces, and many of its 3,000 volumes were either scattered or destroyed. Following the war's end, only 400 of those volumes could be recovered, with just 200 remaining on the library's shelves.The Romney Literary Society reorganized on May 15, 1869. Following the reorganization, the society built Literary Hall between 1869 and 1870 while also undertaking an initiative to bring the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind to its old Romney Classical Institute campus. The construction of Literary Hall was part of the society's effort to revive the organization and reassemble its original library. The society set about recovering original volumes and purchasing new ones, and the library reopened with 700 volumes. For a period of ten years between 1870 and 1880, much of Romney's intellectual life centered on Literary Hall. As older members died, interest in the society began to dwindle. The society's meetings were held less frequently, and its last recorded meeting was held on February 15, 1886.
May 15, 1869