David Sibray

David Sibray is the founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of West Virginia Explorer, a news and travel magazine devoted to the state’s history, tourism, outdoor recreation and economic development. For more information, he may be reached at 304-575-7390 or at editor@wvexplorer.com
Visitors at Glade Creek Grist Mill

Retired administrator warns against state parks privatization

The West Virginia Legislature this week is considering the privatization of the state’s park system. Mark Wylie, retired parks district administrator and long-time superintendent at Babcock and Watoga state parks is warning West Virginians that the bills have dire implications. “The recent legislative introduction of Senate Bill 485 and its companion, House Bill 4408, means … Read more

Trail riders on the Hatfield-McCoy Trails

Hatfield-McCoy Trails set historic growth record in 2021

The Hatfield-McCoy Trail System in southern and southwestern West Virginia sold nearly 95,000 trail permits in 2021—the highest number of annual permits sold in a single year, which was also the system’s 21st consecutive year of growth in ridership. Permit sales enjoyed a 46-percent lift over 2020 sales, according to Gov. Jim Justice, and 68 … Read more

W.Va. forestry officials urge caution with outdoor fires

Friday’s high winds and warm temperatures have officials at the W.Va. Division of Forestry asking West Virginians to avoid outdoor burning until conditions improve. Forestry officials cite media reports of multiple brush fires in south-central West Virginia, including Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, and Putnam counties. Forestry fire personnel also continue to fight a fire in a … Read more

Forbes names West Virginia among best U.S. employers

The State of West Virginia has been named to the Forbes list of America’s Best Employers 2022, Gov. Jim Justice announced. The list includes businesses from all industries, not only governments, according to the governor, and West Virginia was one of only two states to crack the list’s top 250. Justice said the honor was … Read more

" I’ve had the opportunity and play with some of the finest blues and jazz musicians in the country right here in Mercer County," Sternloff says.

Bluefield State welcomes Sternloff Center for W.Va. music

Bluefield State College announced today the founding of the Pete Sternloff Center for West Virginia Musicology, which will archive and promote the history of music created and performed in southern West Virginia. College President Robin Capehart says the center will fill a much-needed gap in the preservation of and education about the music that flourished … Read more

Farmers converse near old Fort Henry at Wheeling, c. 1777.

Many early almanacs printed out of Wheeling, West Virginia

Thanks to the Internet, almanacs aren’t printed as they once were, but in West Virginia, where communications were hampered by the mountains, these useful guides were vital to farmers and all who depended on their brand of calendared information. Wheeling, in what’s now the northern panhandle of West Virginia, was a principal source of printed … Read more