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.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Daniel Boone is remembered as a great figure of the Kentucky frontier, but a surviving document in his own hand illuminates a lesser-known chapter of his life. The famed frontiersman spent years in what’s now West Virginia, where he surveyed land, served in the militia, and represented Kanawha County in the Virginia … Read more
NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. — More than 20 brick plants once crowded what’s now a scenic stretch of the Ohio River, producing millions of bricks shipped to Pittsburgh and to cities hundreds of miles away, transforming a small West Virginia community into a nationally important industrial center. The concentration became so extensive that riverboat crews called … Read more
RICHWOOD.. W.Va. — For generations, one of West Virginia’s most remarkable frontier stories held that a white boy born in western Virginia was captured by the Shawnee Indians, adopted their way of life, and eventually became Blue Jacket, one of the most important Native American leaders to resist U.S. expansion into the Ohio Valley. The … Read more
BEAVER, W.Va. — West Virginia’s abundance of place names ending in Run and Fork is not simply a local impression. A nationwide study of stream names found that both terms occur in West Virginia at rates far above the national average. Geographer Jon C. Campbell analyzed more than 221,000 stream names recorded in the federal … Read more
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — Sheltered near where the Kanawha River empties into the Ohio, one of West Virginia’s most unusual surviving pieces of prehistoric art stands. Carved into a large stone is the outline of a four-legged creature with a long body and an enormous tail curling inward upon itself. Known today as the Panther … Read more
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Fall officially begins Tuesday for meteorologists, but someone apparently forgot to tell West Virginia’s weather. The first day of meteorological fall is expected to feel decidedly like summer across much of the state. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high near 94 degrees Tuesday in Charleston, following highs around 91 Sunday … Read more
Editor’s note: The following historical account by the late historian Nathan Goff Carter contains graphic descriptions of injuries and death. DUNBAR, W.Va. — On the morning of July 4, 1891, a passenger train departed Charleston for Columbus, carrying families, railroad employees, and excursionists bound for Independence Day celebrations. About eight miles into the journey, engineer Pat … Read more
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — As darkness falls over the Ohio River, a sternwheeler departs from the Ohio shore, carrying passengers toward a West Virginia island lit by hundreds of candles and lanterns. For two nights this October, visitors to Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park will step off the Island Belle into a landscape of period music, dancing, … Read more
WHEELING, W.Va. — Long before Dolly Parton‘s name began arriving on packages of children’s books in West Virginia homes, the young country singer was coming to the Mountain State to perform. Parton’s documented associations with West Virginia span 57 years, beginning with appearances alongside Porter Wagoner at Wheeling‘s WWVA Jamboree in 1969 and continuing through … Read more
OAK HILL, W.Va. — Runners and walkers will be showered with colored powder as they cross part of the New River Gorge landscape Saturday during a 5K that raises money for addiction recovery efforts across Appalachia. The Color Dash for Hope returns Aug. 29 to ACE Adventure Resort near Oak Hill, where participants will follow … Read more
