The tradition started in 1897 when Governor George Wesley Atkinson appointed Emory F. Smith as the state’s first Game Warden. “Smith started back when they rode horses.

For the last five years, New Hampshire Wardens have been in the competition, but this year they will face off against West Virginia’s Natural Resources Police. “Its been a popular game, we ...

WVDNR Law Enforcement officers, friends, family and the public gathered in Hinton on Saturday to dedicate a monument to Captain E.F. Smith, West Virginia’s first game warden. × This page ...