West Virginia culture is a captivating blend of rich Appalachian traditions and vibrant high culture infused with the jazz of surrounding U.S. cities like Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. The state is renowned for its deep-rooted Appalachian heritage, which is showcased through folk music, storytelling, and traditional crafts such as quilting and woodcarving. Visitors can experience this authentic culture at local festivals and heritage museums throughout the Mountain State. At the same time, West Virginia also embraces high culture, with world-class performances at the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, acclaimed theater productions at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre, and art exhibitions at the Huntington Museum of Art. This unique mix of mountain traditions and refined artistic offerings makes West Virginia a true cultural gem in the heart of Appalachia.
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — Some of the most chilling tales of hauntings in West Virginia are based on actual events, and one of the most horrific is that of the Screaming Lady of Mason County. Her ghost is said to haunt or to have haunted the woods south of the Great Bend in the Ohio … Read more
WHEELING, W.Va. — After more than 100 years, a West Virginia-based glassware manufacturer is carrying on the legacy inherent in a more-than-century-old pattern—the Moon & Star. Produced since the 1880s by several glassmakers (the L.E. Smith Glass Company, L.G. Wright Glass Company, the Adams Glass Company, and Fenton Art Glass Company), Weishar Enterprises began reproducing … Read more
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — There’s little doubt that the world’s first teddy bear was crafted by toymaker Morris Michtom, who was inspired by a 1902 panel cartoon that teased President Teddy Roosevelt for saving the life of a cub. However, at least one West Virginian claimed that the first teddy bear was a real … Read more
BULLTOWN, W.Va. — During the first years of the U.S. Civil War, marauding bands of guerillas roamed the hills in what’s now central West Virginia. Most were loyal to the Confederacy, though they often acted in their own interests, raiding towns and farms at will. To counter their activities, the Union established a fort on … Read more
FRAZIER’S BOTTOM, W.Va. — How did a great-nephew of George Washington come to be buried in a virtually forgotten graveyard in the Kanawha Valley near Winfield, West Virginia—more than 400 miles from the family’s Potomac Valley plantations? Historian and environmental geographer Alex Cole says that the cemetery’s elusive past and why the landmark is not … Read more
QUIET DELL, W.Va. — On the morning of March 18, 1932, Harry Powers plummeted through the gallows at the West Virginia Penitentiary and dangled for 11 minutes before being pronounced dead. His body hung limp, his lips still, never revealing his thoughts about the violent murders with which he had been charged. Who was Harry … Read more
NEW MANCHESTER, W.Va. — Some say that the ghost of Judge John Hoke Reddick still haunts his grave, and that’s not hard to believe, given its remarkable nature. The judge had himself buried in two states—half in Virginia (now West Virginia) and half in Pennsylvania. Though the state boundary has shifted slightly west since he … Read more
THOMAS, W.Va. — The Allegheny Mountains in eastern West Virginia grow treacherous in winter—and hardly more so than along the western front of that range, which bears the brunt of blizzards coming off the Monongahela Valley.In 1885, twenty-year-old James B. Helmick came face-to-face with the savagery of the Alleghenies while hunting on Backbone Mountain. His … Read more
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — What makes for a good arts community? Good arts communities are those in which affordable housing, entrepreneurial spirit, and the availability of arts venues—such as galleries and coffeehouses—are reversing economic downturn, according to John Villani, the author of “The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America.”“In places that got their start as … Read more
SAINT ALBANS, W.Va. — Might Edgar Allen Poe have written his poem “The Raven” while visiting the Kanawha Valley? Though nothing’s been proven, the mansion in which Poe might have lodged is named Raven’s Court. Jim Mullooly, of Avella, Pa., once reported to the newspaper that on a visit to Georgetown, Pa., he once saw … Read more
