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Welcome to the History news directory at West Virginia Explorer, where you’ll find an archive of the most recent West Virginia history news published at West Virginia Explorer.

Scientists say mysterious carvings in W.Va. are native, not Irish

Historian David Sibray in the 1990s visits ancient inscriptions near Lynco, West Virginia.
Scientists who are studying ancient carvings in West Virginia say stories that propose a non-native origin for prehistoric landmarks ignore evidence and may dishonor...

The Great Seal of West Virginia: what its symbols mean

An illustration of the West Virginia Coat of Arms includes elements set for by the state in 1863.
The Great Seal of West Virginia may be as fascinating to some West Virginians as the U.S. dollar bill is for other Americans. It's...

Scholars debunk myth of prehistoric giants in West Virginia

An 1907 article in the Wheeling News helped popularize the ancient giants myth.
This month, I had the opportunity to talk with the lead curator at Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex about a prevailing myth in West Virginia...

Did the first U.S. serial killer live in a quiet corner...

Harry Powers, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, appears calm in this police photo.
On the morning of March 18, 1932, Harry Powers plummeted through the gallows at the West Virginia Penitentiary and dangled for 11 minutes before...

Prehistoric relic on display in Ceredo was discovered by accident

CEREDO, W.Va. — On the south side of Main Street in the town of Ceredo, West Virginia, a small community along the Ohio River...

Ancient stone walls on Armstrong Mountain no old-timer's tale

A historic marker along U.S. 60 promotes the location of the Mount Carbon Walls.
If you grew up listening to the lore of old-timers in southern West Virginia, chances are you've heard of mysterious stone walls atop Armstrong...

Battle of Scary Creek near St. Albans one of first in...

Scary Creek meanders through the Teays Valley.
SCARY, W.Va. — Though little remains to be seen of the battlefield today, the Battle of Scary Creek was one of the most significant...

Word "hillbilly" once a term of endearment in Appalachia

"Dance" by Porte Crayon, an illustration for Harper's New Monthly Magazine; May 1872.
According to some authorities, the word "hillbilly" was a term of endearment in the Appalachian Mountains in the early 1800s, though it later developed...

Strange carvings greeted early West Virginia explorers

Images of beasts and men decorate a boulder at the Half-Moon archaeological site, now submerged beneath the Ohio River.
When pioneers and other explorers first ventured into what would become West Virginia, they encountered artifacts of a much earlier age — carvings, burial...

Wolf Moon recalls W.Va. as last domain of wolves

The Wolf Moon customarily rises over the West Virginia hills in January.
The Wolf Moon of January recalls a time when the howls of wolves haunted the Mountain State, the final eastern stronghold in the U.S....

How Pruntytown reformatory became a bogeyman in W.Va.

A farmhouse at Pruntytown was once part of the infamous boys' reformatory complex.
PRUNTYTOWN, W.Va.—If you were an unruly boy growing up in West Virginia before the 1980s, there's a chance your misbehaviors were met with the...

West Virginia uniquely tied to Thanksgiving Day celebration

Union soldier Larkin Goldsmith Mead holds a Thanksgiving turkey at Camp Griffin, Virginia, c. 1861.
The anniversary of the first Thanksgiving was not nationally celebrated until 1863, when Abraham Lincoln declared a day of "thanksgiving and praise" to be...

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