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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.

Haunting statue recalls role of W.Va. mountaineers in U.S. Civil War

A statue of the Mountaneer stands at the West Virginia Capitol.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The late historian and journalist Jim Comstock battled ceaselessly to keep alive the memory of the West Virginia "mountaineer," the independent,...

Little-known Battle of Scary Creek in West Virginia one of first...

Scary Creek meanders through the Teays Valley.
SCARY, W.Va. — Though nothing remains on the battlefield along the Kanawha River today, the Battle of Scary Creek was one of the most...

Bizarre 'Wild West' massacre erupted in Cowen, West Virginia, in 1905

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

Think you've found an archaeological site in W.Va.? Here's what to...

Americorps members assist at an archaeological site in West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Some of the most common requests fielded by the Council for West Virginia Archaeology come from members of the public who...

Thanksgiving Day anniversary was first celebrated in West Virginia

Union soldier Larkin Goldsmith Mead holds a Thanksgiving turkey at Camp Griffin, Virginia, c. 1861.
WHEELING, W.Va. — Thanksgiving Day was first celebrated in West Virginia before being celebrated nationally, thanks to a politician who hoped to provide some...

How the "Tug Fork" in southern West Virginia got its name

Ostenaco prepares for council on New River, West Virginia
WILLIAMSON, W.Va.—Of all the placenames associated with West Virginia, that of the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River may be the subject of...

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...

1863 map reveals change in the West Virginia landscape

Historic map showing West Virginia 1864
How has West Virginia changed over the last 150 years? Three counties in the southern state had yet to be created and two had yet...

Mysteries surround lost Washington graves on Hurricane Creek in W.Va.

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...

Roosevelt's first social experiment remains in Preston County

The center hall at Arthurdale , West Virginia
The Kingwood Pike climbs slowly from the valley of the Monongahela River at Morgantown into the Allegheny highlands atop the Chestnut Ridge, and from...

Legend of ancient warpath along the W.Va. Turnpike is fact

The West Virginia Turnpike follows part of an ancient warpath through the West Virginia hills.
Older folks who live in the valley of Paint Creek may recall legends about how the stream was named: an ancient warpath followed it...

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...

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