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Thursday, December 7, 2023

History

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.

Hikers, paddlers can visit New River's lost "Island of the Dead"

Headstones hide in the dim light of wooded Red Ash Island in the New River Gorge.
THURMOND, W.Va. — Victims of a smallpox pandemic that swept through the New River Gorge in the late 1800s may have been buried in...

Nightmarish mummies attracting curious to rural Philippi

The fingers of a Philippi Mummy are drawn into crippled fists.
Stored for years in an old barn, the creations of a rural mad scientist, the hardened twin cadavers known as the "Phillipi Mummies" are...

Civil War initiative clarifies Stonewall role at historic tavern

Installing the new signboard from left to right are David Sibray, Becky Sullivan, Dr. Scott Keffer, and Randy Burdette.
Historians working with a landmark tavern near America's newest national park are clarifying the role of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson at the site, which served...

September 27-29 welcomes historical tours of New River region

New River Gorge at Beauty Mountain, WV, Fayette County, New River Gorge Region
Falling leaves in autumn reveal a landscape in which old farms, ghost towns, and other historic sites have been cloaked through summer. That's why it's...

Bizzare 'Wild West' massacre erupted in Cowen, W.Va., in 1905

Richwood, West Virginia (WV) in 1910 was the center of a booming timber industry.
Cowen today is a sleepy town of 500, perhaps best known for its location near a quiet lake, but it was hardly so in...

New River Gorge region in W.Va. once a bloody "Wild West"

Montgomery, West Virginia, as it appear about 1910. (Photo: Joe Green Collection)
FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — For millions of tourists, Fayette County and its New River Gorge is a destination for healing and rejuvenation—a wonderland of hiking...

WV, W.Va.: which abbreviation for West Virginia is correct?

Abbreviation for West Virginia
Throughout West Virginia Explorer you'll find West Virginia abbreviated as both WV and W.Va. Which is the correct abbreviation for West Virginia? According to official...

Historian reclassifies Civil War "skirmish" as an all-out battle

Far more than a few soldiers were engaged in the Battle of Hurricane Bridge.
HURRICANE, W.Va. — Early research on a Civil War engagement at Hurricane Bridge tended to underestimate the number of soldiers involved, leading historians to...

Civil War-era mystery of Burning Springs remains unsolved

Visitors gather at Burning Springs Park.
BURNING SPRINGS, W.Va. — Curious motorists traveling the valley of the Little Kanawha River southwest of Parkersburg may or may not stop at historic...

New River Gorge region in W.Va. a classroom for Black History

The Quinnimont Missionary Baptist Church served the needs of segregated mining communities in the early 1900s.
FAYETTEVILLE, W. Va. — America's newest national park is also a classroom for Black History, says a spokesman for an adventure resort bordering the...

Restoration of historic Blue Sulphur Springs pavilion expected soon

Editor David Sibray visits the pavilion at Blue Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Now undergoing restoration.
One of the state's most evocative historic landmarks, the pavilion at Blue Sulphur Springs could be restored to its original appearance by 2023 and...

On the Ohio River, Wheeling, W.Va., was once proposed U.S. capital

There was a time when Wheeling was being proposed as the location for a new capital of the U.S. At the junction of the Ohio...

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