When Mayor Wiles died in the influenza epidemic, Ira J. Harshbarger was appointed to finish his term.
In his “Cabell County Annals and Families,” George S. Wallace praised Harshbarger
as “one of the substantial and outstanding men of Cabell County.” He was born in Barboursville in 1858. His family moved to a farm near Ona, then to a Milton farm. Young Ira worked on the farm and after he grew up his father gave him an interest in the farm.
He farmed and raised cattle until he was 30 years old when he and his half-brother, John, embarked in the milling business at Milton. In 1903, Ira Harshbarger organized the Bank of Milton and became its long-time president. He later was active in the oil and gas drilling business.
