David Sibray
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
Shepherd University, at Shepherdstown, West Virginia, is hosting two talks by The Nature Conservancy in West Virginia that will focus on actions for climate resiliency and forest conservation in the state and the Appalachian Mountains on Monday, February 28, at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium. The presentations, which are … Read more
Older folks who live in the valley of Paint Creek may recall legends about how the stream was named: an ancient warpath followed it through the mountains, and warriors celebrated their battles by painting trees along the trail a bloody red. According to late archaeologist Sigfus Olafson, the stories were true. The route was actually … Read more
National Park Service officials say that after careful consideration they propose permanently closing parking areas at Maryland Heights at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. The parking areas have been closed since March 2020, originally as a COVID-19 safety protocol, but park officials have maintained the closures because of parking safety-related incidents in the area. Such … Read more
BETHANY, W.Va. — A castle in West Virginia? You’ll find a few examples of castle-like structures scattered through its hills, but nothing compares to Old Main at Bethany College, one of the finest examples of “Collegiate Gothic” architecture in the U.S. A visitor’s first glimpse of the building is generally had from a distance: its … Read more
It might sound like a joke, but it’s true that a circus clown helped relocate the West Virginia capital from Wheeling to Charleston, its present location, in the late 1800s. They say that finding a location for the seat of government had been a bit of a circus anyway, and the capital city had shifted … Read more
Until just after the Civil War, large parts of the valley of the Ohio River in what’s now West Virginia were controlled by pirates. Sparsely settled, these marauders in watercraft hid easily in the river’s coves, sporadically raiding ships and riverside communities. The opportunity to plunder along the route, far from civil authority, was extremely … Read more
To see it now, a visitor might hardly guess the Ohio River at Parkersburg was a stretch of river that many boat captains feared. Long ago known as the “Graveyard of the Ohio,” it was considered one of the most dangerous sections on the 981-mile river. Now a popular destination for water recreation—fishing, kayaking, and water … Read more
MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — Tales of hidden treasure appear throughout the annals of West Virginia history. The legends of hoards buried by prehistoric peoples, retreating soldiers, and reclusive misers could fill a book. One of the best-known tales is that of the Branch Mountain Treasure, which allegedly included $40,000 in gold secreted by three deserting Rebels … Read more
Gov. Jim Justice announced today that West Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 3.7 percent for December 2021, breaking the all-time record for the lowest unemployment rate recorded in state history for the third consecutive month. December’s rate of 3.7 percent bested the previous state record of four percent, set just one month prior … Read more
