History / Prehistory
Denise Giardina to portray Minnie Pearl at Bramwell Sept. 13
Appalachian writer and former gubernatorial candidate
Browse
History / Prehistory
The history and prehistory of West Virginia reveal a fascinating journey from ancient Native American cultures to its role in America’s story. Prehistoric sites, such as the Grave Creek Mound, showcase the region’s mound-building cultures that left behind impressive burial mounds and earthworks. Later, European settlers ventured into the rugged Appalachian Mountains, forging frontier communities and thriving amidst challenging terrain. During the American Civil War, West Virginia famously seceded from Virginia to remain loyal to the Union, becoming the 35th state in 1863. Coal mining played a vital role in shaping West Virginia’s economy and identity, fueling America’s industrial growth and leaving a lasting legacy in the state’s communities and culture. Today, visitors can explore historic towns, Civil War battlefields, and preserved pioneer homesteads that tell the rich, enduring story of West Virginia’s resilient spirit and deep mountain roots.
History / Prehistory
Bee Line March celebrated in Shepherdstown July 21
In June 1775, Colonel William Morgan hosted a barbeque just outside Shepherdstown, West Virginia, at what’s now known as Morgan’s Grove Park. The event marked the beginning of a march over more than 600 miles to join George Washington’s Continental Army in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The beginnings of the Bee Line March will again come to … Read more
History / Prehistory
Historian looks for patterns in vanishing town names
Bacontown, Battleship, Black Oak Bottom — though they no longer exist, these vanished communities are among nearly 300 towns that historian Carl Wolfe has cataloged in Raleigh County. And he’s asking past and present county residents to help find more. Having witnessed the boom-and-bust economy of coal mining, Raleigh County, in southern West Virginia, is … Read more
History / Prehistory
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 Creek Park development between Oak Hill and Fayetteville, West Virginia. According to Billy Strasser, a spokesman for the New River Gorge Trail Alliance, the team is conducting a research project and … Read more
History / Prehistory
Red heart-shaped tubs attracting couples to W.Va. cabins
Red heart-shaped bathtubs gained world fame in the ’70s in Pocono resorts, and now three of these mementos of American romance are attracting a new clientele in West Virginia. Three tubs have made their way into luxury vacation cabins among the national parks of southern West Virginia, where they’ve become exceptionally popular draws, according to … Read more
History / Prehistory
Winter weekend at North Bend State Park to highlight ’60s
Scheduled for the weekend of Jan. 19-21, the annual Winter Wonder Weekend this year at North Bend State Park will feature hiking, crafts, and activities—all with a 1960s theme. Emily Fleming, deputy director of the W.Va. Division of Natural Resources, which sponsors the annual event, said the 1960s was an exciting decade in Ritchie County … Read more
History / Prehistory
B&O Railroad completed to Wheeling on Jan. 1, 1853
On January 1, 1853, the first train arrived in Wheeling, West Virginia, (then Virginia) on the newly completed Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the first rail line linking the Atlantic seaboard with the Ohio River. The event was groundbreaking—not only for what would become northern West Virginia, but for the nation. For more than a quarter … Read more
History / Prehistory
Foundation to establish black history museum in Huntington
The Huntington home of one of West Virginia’s pioneer black educators and civil-rights activists is being developed as a museum, according to officials at the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Foundation. The former home of Memphis Tennessee Garrison at 1702 10th Avenue has been stablized since being purchased in 2007, and foundation members are now seeking … Read more
History / Prehistory
Visiting the site of one of West Virginia’s legendary tragedies
The tale of the Green-Harrison Tragedy is among the most enduring legends handed down from the settlement of the lower Kanawha Valley region of West Virginia. As far as most sources are concerned, in 1813 settlers Charles Green and Alexander Harrison died while hunting bear on the upper waters of Eighteenmile Creek in Putnam County, West Virginia, … Read more
History / Prehistory
Log cabin researchers explore rare, mysterious circumstances in W.Va.
A pioneering team of scholars who are dating old log structures in West Virginia has discovered rare, previously undocumented examples of log construction and a mysterious lack of early cabins. Dr. Kristen de Graauw, of the Historic Timbers Project, says she and research partner Shawn Cockrell have notably found two extraordinary diamond-notched structures, of which, … Read more