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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.

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...

Hidden waterfall near W.Va. capitol linked to remarkable manuscript

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Tucked away in a wooded gorge near the West Virginia Capitol, one of the highest waterfalls in the region also powered...

Herds of wild hog once roamed the hills and mountains of...

GRANTSVILLE, W.Va. — Occasionally, you might hear old-timers speak of a time when herds of wild hogs were hunted in the West Virginia hills....

Little "Two Mules and a Pony" rail line ran in eastern...

BURLINGTON, W.Va. — Railroads in West Virginia are most often associated with the export of coal and timber, but at least one small railway...

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...

The Great Seal of West Virginia: what its symbols mean

An illustration of the West Virginia Coat of Arms includes elements set for by the state in 1863.
The Great Seal of West Virginia may be as fascinating to some West Virginians as the U.S. dollar bill is for other Americans. It's...

Scrap marker remains to recount the tale of terrifying "Likker Charlie"...

CAMP CREEK, W.Va. — Only a few local historians may remember the obscure and chilling tale of Charles Anderson Mills, more infamously known in...

Stonewall Jackson's cousin "Mudwall" led failed attack on fort in W.Va.

A line of trees follows a breastwork at the Bulltown Battlefield at Bulltown, West Virginia, in Braxton County.
BULLTOWN, W.Va. — During the first years of the U.S. Civil War, marauding bands of guerillas roamed the hills in what's now central West...

Lost W.Va. saltworks known to only a few locals, adventurers

David Sibray inspects stonework in a thicket near the old saltworks.
The legend of the lost Mercer Saltworks near the New River in southern West Virginia may be remembered now by only a few locals...

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...

Only ruins remain of Blue Sulphur Springs resort east of Huntington

ONA, W.Va. — In a nondescript woodland along US-60 (with a modern concrete bridge looming in the background) lies the site of what was...

Mystery surrounds tale of frontier slave who defended fort

A historic marker recounting a version of the Dick Pointer tale stands near his monument.
LEWISBURG, W.Va. — Settlers who pushed westward across the Alleghenies in the 1700s engaged in a deadly gamble. Despite the threat of attack by...

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