Herds of wild hog once roamed the West Virginia hills
On occasion, you might hear old-timers speak of a time when herds of wild hogs were hunted in the West Virginia hills. Chances are, they...
Mine Wars scholar: new generation rediscovering conflict
A new generation is discovering the history of the West Virginia Mine Wars, says a scholar who will speak as a guest lecturer Oct....
Story of heroic slave who defended frontier fort varies
Settlers who pushed across the Alleghenies in the 1700s were engaging in a deadly gamble. Some called them foolhardy, though the daring few who...
September 27-29 welcomes historical tours of New River 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...
Lost Mercer Saltworks known to only a few locals, adventurers
The legend of the Mercer Saltworks may be remembered now by only a few, and its ruins—tumbled stones along an isolated stream—may be known...
Civil War lecture series set for Sept. 28 in Charleston
West Virginia Archives and History will present a series of four hour-long lectures regarding West Virginia during the Civil War on Saturday, Sept. 28,...
Annual Mountain Games competition tests pioneer skills
Survival on the Appalachian frontier required unique skills around which the fourth annual Mountain Games competition September 21 at Heritage Farm near Huntington, West...
William "Mudwall" Jackson led failed attack on fort at Bulltown
During the first years of the U.S. Civil War, Braxton County, now in central West Virginia, was notably troubled by marauding bands of guerillas,...
Word "hillbilly" once term of endearment rather than disdain
The word "hillbilly" was a term of endearment in the Appalachian Mountains in the 1800s, though it later took on negative connotations. The term was...
Bizzare 'Wild West' massacre erupted in Cowen in 1905
Cowen today is a sleepy town of 500, perhaps best known for its location near a quiet lake, but it was hardly so in...
Did a clown help relocate West Virginia's capital to Charleston?
Though it might sound like a superb Wheeling joke—Wheeling having been West Virginia's first capital—it's true that a circus clown helped relocate West Virginia's...
Historians seek information on Wolf Creek area in Fayette County
Historians from West Virginia State University are seeking historical information about the Wolf Creek plateau area in central Fayette County, particularly the 1,000-acre Wolf...