William Francis Hite was born in Guyandotte in 1867. Thirty years later, in 1897, he won election as mayor. Hite was a Republican and his election as mayor also saw the Republicans capture all the seats on City Council.
Hite had started out in life at age 14 as a railroad worker and later became assistant general freight agent for the C&O at Huntington. Leaving the railroad, he turned to the coal industry, ultimately becoming secretary-treasurer of a trio of coal companies. Taking an interest in banking, he became a major stockholder in the First Huntington National Bank. From 1913 until 1919 he was owner and publisher of The Herald-Dispatch newspaper.
On August 7, 1930, Hite he and his wife Anna, the daughter of Ely Ensign, were traveling to their summer home at New Castle, New Hampshire, when their large, chauffeur-driven car collided with a lumber truck and then hit a light pole. Hite was killed and his wife seriously injured.
