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Friday, July 26, 2024

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.

Many early almanacs printed out of Wheeling, West Virginia

Farmers converse near old Fort Henry at Wheeling, c. 1777.
Thanks to the Internet, almanacs aren't printed as they once were, but in West Virginia, where communications were hampered by the mountains, these useful...

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...

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...

How a circus clown helped relocate W.Va. capital to Charleston

Lolo, the clown, helped establish Charleston as the capital of West Virginia.
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...

Struggle for religious freedom in U.S. unfolds in tale of Eckerlins

A historic marker along the Cheat River recalls the settlement of Dunkards in the mid-1700s.
DUNKARD BOTTOM, W.Va. — The history of West Virginia is filled with stories of religious diversity — of hermits and prophets who escaped the...

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...

Ancient West Virginia forests once a mosaic of landscapes

Forests in what became West Virginia were managed in ways we're only beginning to understand.
Historians once assumed that West Virginia had been shaded by a vast unbroken forest, but an expert on old forests in the Mountain State...

Rare memoir recalls national park before Thurmond ghost town

Riding horseback, Captain William Thurmond was a familiar site in the New River Gorge.
THURMOND, W.Va. — Perhaps no small town in West Virginia has gained the worldwide notoriety that the tiny Town of Thurmond has enjoyed. A...

What historians get wrong about frontier heroine Mary Draper Ingles

Mary Draper Ingles is immortalized in bronze at Radford, Virginia.
HINTON, W.Va. — The tale of Mary Draper Ingles—of her escape from Shawnee captors and her return through the mountains—is the ideal American frontier...

Wolf Moon recalls West Virginia 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....

Open house set at historic Dunlap farm, cemetery

The Dunlap farmhouse appears much as it did in 1830.
Historians and history buffs are invited to an open house at the historic Dunlap farm and cemetery at Red Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in...

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...

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