How a circus clown helped relocate W.Va. capital to Charleston
It might sound like a joke, but it's true that a circus clown helped relocate the West Virginia capital from Wheeling to Charleston, its...
Devil's Saddle poem tells of girl's meeting with "granny witch"
Throughout the history of Appalachia, one may encounter the legend of granny witches—solitary women believed to possess uncanny powers. Many served in very real...
Wheeling in the 1820s was proposed as new 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...
WV, W.Va.: which abbreviation for West Virginia is correct?
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...
Lost W.Va. saltworks known to only a few locals, adventurers
The legend of the lost Mercer Saltworks near the New River in southern West Virginia may be remembered now by only a few locals...
Untangling the tale of frontier heroine Mary Draper Ingles
The tale of Mary Draper Ingles—of her escape from Shawnee captors and her return through the mountains—is in many senses the ideal American frontier...
Tale of Eckerlin Brothers portrays struggle for religious freedom
The history of West Virginia is filled with stories of religious diversity—of hermits and holy men and women who escaped the clamor and confines...
1863 map reveals change in the West Virginia landscape
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...
Wolf Moon recalls W.Va. as last domain of wolves
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....
Rare memoir recalls national park before Thurmond ghost town
Perhaps no small town in West Virginia has gained the worldwide notoriety that the tiny Town of Thurmond has enjoyed. A ghost town located...
Mother's Day: the holiday Anna Jarvis created — then tried to...
More than a century has passed since West Virginia native Anna Jarvis planned the first Mother's Day service, and the second Sunday of May...
Hikers, paddlers can visit New River's lost "Island of the Dead"
THURMOND, W.Va. — Victims of a smallpox pandemic that swept through the New River Gorge in the late 1800s may have been buried in...
