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.
COWEN, W.Va. — Cowen today is a sleepy town of 500, perhaps best known for its location near a quiet lake. It was hardly so in 1900 when railroads were first being extended into the dark interior of the Allegheny Mountains. One of the last ancient forests in the eastern U.S. was being timbered, and … Read more
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — For pioneers in western Virginia, life was complicated enough without talk of “witches.” Any interruption in the business of avoiding hunger and disease might prove deadly. A blighted harvest, a twisted gun, or a broken limb could swiftly doom a settlement. But then there were witches. According to superstitious settlers, they lurked … Read more
SCARY, W.Va. — Though nothing remains on the battlefield along the Kanawha River today, the Battle of Scary Creek was one of the most significant engagements in what’s now West Virginia during the Civil War. Fought in 1861 near Saint Albans, West Virginia, it was also one of the first battles in the war and … Read more
PHILIPPI, W.Va. — Stored for years in an old barn, the creations of a rural mad scientist, the hardened cadavers known as the “Philippi Mummies” are as grotesque as anything you might imagine, and they’re attracting tourists to this quiet river town in the shadow of the Allegheny Mountains. Everything you’ve heard about them—it might … Read more
SPENCER, W.Va. — Before commercial dyes became readily available to mountain people in West Virginia, homespun yarn was colored with natural materials that could easily be obtained in the woods near any farm. The hulls of walnuts and butternuts were perhaps the most common. Both yielded a dark brown color, which could be rendered almost … Read more
BOOMER, W.Va. — Only one church of the Roman Catholic faith in West Virginia is venerated as a “shrine”—a place of special devotion that contains a saint’s relic. But church officials at the diocese in Wheeling, West Virginia, are at a loss to explain how the shrine was designated and what sacred relic may be … Read more
BASIN, W.Va. — Sharp-eyed motorists traveling Barkers Ridge in southern West Virginia may have noticed a faded sign that commemorates the burial of what appears to have been three children. But the origins of “The Little Graves,” now a local historic landmark, is a mystery yet to be recorded, according to two historians searching for … Read more
LEWISBURG, W.Va. — Windy nights such as those that sweep through the hollows in West Virginia may put residents of Lewisburg in mind of the legend of Sam Hart. It was here that the proud youth raced the Devil through the streets. Most have heard similar tales, often with a similarly unsettling outcome, though that … Read more
ATHENS, W.Va. — Farmers in the countryside near Concord University in West Virginia sometimes speak of a strange winter phenomenon. When conditions are just right, the sound of the school’s 48-bell carillon, often no more than a distant melody, swells to a thunderous intensity miles from its source. The effect can be haunting. Caused by air … Read more
BECKLEY, W.Va. — In almost every respect, the coal camp at Fireco was the end of the line. It was as far up the hollow as you were likely to get in a car in the 1930s when word of a prowling monster began to make the rounds. Then, as now, the community was a … Read more
