On June 7, 1926, a crew mining for sand in Morgan County was preparing an explosion when a spark set off what the Berkeley Glass Sand Company maintained was dynamite. Others, though, claimed it was more dangerous black powder. Six men were killed.
Their deaths inspired John Unger, a local blind singer, to write the ballad “The Miner’s Doom,” which was recorded in 1927 by early country music star Vernon Dalhart.
Sand mining first became a major industry in Morgan County after the Civil War due to the purity of the region’s silica sand, which was used to manufacture glass. In 1893, Henry Harrison Hunter of Berkeley Springs won a blue ribbon at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago for the quality of his sand.
The industry’s modern era began in 1929, when the Pennsylvania Glass Sand Corporation built the largest and most advanced silica facility of its time.
Today, the Berkeley Springs plant is the core of the U.S. Silica Corporation, which has 21 locations across the country and employs about 200 at the Berkeley Springs mine, processing plant, and laboratory.
On December 3, 1787, spectators gathered in Shepherdstown along the banks of the Potomac River to watch history being made. Inventor James Rumsey stepped aboard a crudely built wooden boat and fired up a steam engine. The waters of the Potomac started churning up, and, suddenly, the boat headed upstream, leaving a stunned crowd in amazement.
Rumsey had tinkered with his invention for years, but he’d struggled to find financial backing. Just three years earlier, he’d been an innkeeper at Berkeley Springs. One day, he showed a model of his steam-powered boat with a frequent visitor to the springs. George Washington formally endorsed Rumsey’s plans. As a result, Rumsey was able to raise the necessary funds for his demonstration on the Potomac three years later.
After the Shepherdstown demonstration, Rumsey traveled to Philadelphia and gained support from Benjamin Franklin, who formed a society to raise money for the venture. However, Rumsey died during a trip to England in 1792 at the age of 49. In 1807, Robert Fulton introduced a more practical design of Rumsey’s idea and is now remembered as the “father of the steamboat.”
Governor Jim Justice declared a state of emergency for a handful of counties in the Eastern Panhandle this weekend due to flooding from heavy rainfall.
Credit The Morgan Messenger / Courtesy Photo
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Courtesy Photo
Bevans Industrial Lane in Paw Paw, Morgan County has collapsed. Photo taken June 3, 2018.
Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral, and Pendleton counties are under the state of emergency.
Severe storms hit parts of the region on Saturday and brought with it flash flooding and high waters in some areas.
Morgan and Hampshire Counties were hit the hardest, seeing 6 to 8 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
More than 30 roads were closed in Morgan County and several sections of road have been damaged or washed out.
Stefanie Allemong is the Acting Director of the Morgan County Emergency Management Agency. She says there were 14 swiftwater rescues on Sunday – either out of vehicles or from homes, but no injuries were reported.
Credit The Morgan Messenger / Courtesy Photo
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Courtesy Photo
Bridge and construction equipment underwater on River Road in northeastern Morgan County. Sleepy Creek is backed up where it runs into the Potomac River. Photo taken on June 4, 2018.
She says most of the water began to recede on Monday, and most roads in the county have reopened.
“So basically, we’re looking at mostly road damage and debris cleanup and some bridges and culvert damage,” she said.
The extent of damages or estimated cleanup costs is still being determined by emergency officials.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has declared a state of emergency in eight counties for flooding from heavy rains.
The governor’s office says in a news release that some emergency evacuations were underway Sunday following severe storms.
The declaration is for Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan and Pendleton counties. It allows the use of state assets and directs the West Virginia State Police and the Army National Guard to help hard-hit areas.
The National Weather Service says moderate flooding is forecast along the South Branch of the Potomac River, which is expected to crest nearly 5 feet above flood stage by Sunday night.
It says minor flooding is occurring near the Cacapon River, which is expected to crest about 5 feet above flood stage. Minor flooding also is forecast along the Potomac River at Paw Paw.
A series of training seminars will be held around West Virginia aimed at boosting farmers markets and farm production.
The first seminar will be held Tuesday at the Country Inn in Berkeley Springs. Additional seminars are scheduled for Nov. 9 at Jackson’s Mill near Jane Lew and for Dec. 14 at the State Fairgrounds in Fairlea.
They are being hosted by the West Virginia Farmers Market Association and the West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition.
The Department of Agriculture said in a news release that among the topics for discussion will be branding and marketing, product pricing, regulatory compliance, access to capital and insurance, and social media.
The sessions are open to the public, but participants must register in advance. For more information, contact Erica Gallimore of the Farmers Market Association at (304) 412-6166.
All summer long, pipeline protesters have been camped along the Potomac River in Maryland and West Virginia. They don’t want to see a 3.5 mile long TransCanada natural gas pipeline built underneath the river. Supporters argue the line is critical to expanding natural gas resources to businesses and homes in the growing Eastern Panhandle.
Of the three outermost counties of the Eastern Panhandle, only Berkeley has access to natural gas as a utility source. That gas comes from West Virginia’s largest gas distribution company – Mountaineer Gas based in Charleston.
Mountaineer has over 220,000 customers throughout the state. It’s located in 49 of West Virginia’s 55 counties, and it maintains over 6,000 miles of distribution pipeline.
The company wants to expand distribution lines to Jefferson and Morgan counties. To do that, it’s relying on the completion of the TransCanada line in Maryland which would hook up to Mountaineer’s 22.5 miles of new line slated to begin construction in early 2018. The state’s Public Service Commission has already approved the first phase of the project.
But sections of that 22.5 mile pipeline will travel through private property – like this 600 acre farm owned by the Kesecker family in Berkeley Springs.
“It’s just very heartbreaking to know that you thought you owned something, and, you do until somebody else wants it, and they come in and they take it away from you,” said landowner Patricia Kesecker.
Kesecker and her husband raised their family in Berkeley Springs. Their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren all live nearby.
The Keseckers farm extensively and the property has been in the family for over 80 years. They also rent portions of land to about ten other people. For the past year the family has been very vocal about their disapproval of the Mountaineer Gas’ Eastern Panhandle Pipeline project.
In June, they were taken to court by Mountaineer Gas, and the Keseckers lost. Mountaineer obtained the right of eminent domain. This means the company is allowed on the Kesecker’s property without prior consent, but the company must compensate the family.
The Keseckers say, however, they don’t want money.
“I mean, we’re at the age, yeah, money would be nice, but it’s not nice to have to see our farm destroyed and it’s not worth it. There’s too much heritage, too much work that’s been done on this farm; blood, sweat, and tears.”
The family plans to appeal the court decision.
Credit Liz McCormick / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Kesecker in her pickup truck as she shows the land she and her husband have owned and farmed for decades.
Kesecker shows me the vast expanse of acreage from her pickup truck. She points to an 8 to 10 acre field slated to host the pipeline. She says if the line goes through her property, it’ll disrupt corn and hay farming operations. Her family and tenants are also concerned about possible explosions or gas leaks.
“Why should they have our property and use it to what they want to do, and we’re paying the taxes still on it, and the insurance on our farm is on it? If it blows up, we wouldn’t have enough money to put back what they destroy or whoever they might kill in the process if you go across it with a tractor or something,” Kesecker said.
The 10-inch, steel, low-pressure pipeline would be buried at least four feet underground. Mountaineer Gas would clear and maintain a 50-foot right of way.
Senior Vice President of Mountaineer Gas, Moses Skaff says it’s rare that his company has needed to use eminent domain to secure pipeline pathways. He says the case with the Keseckers was one of only two for the Eastern Panhandle Pipeline. Skaff says out of 146 land tracts, 138 have been secured through deals with landowners.
Skaff also points out that Mountaineer has been present in the Martinsburg area for over 50 years without any reported safety issues.
“We have a 24-hour monitoring system of all of our distribution lines that provide alerts to our corporate office here in Charleston, which is manned 24-hours,” Skaff noted, “We’re mandated by West Virginia Pipeline Safety to conduct surveys of all of our pipeline, meaning we actually walk pipelines to ensure the integrity of those pipelines.”
Skaff reports less than one significant incident a year occurs along their distribution system. He says his company also trains local emergency responders how to deal with incidents. He notes landowners near the pipeline also have the option to tap-in for access to natural gas.
John Reisenweber is the Executive Director of the Jefferson County Development Authority, and like residents of Morgan County, he doesn’t have access to natural gas. Reisenweber is a landowner, too, and says he understands concerns over eminent domain.
“If we didn’t at times use eminent domain, we wouldn’t get anything done,” Reisenweber said, “We wouldn’t be able to build roads, I mean, this route 9; go find somebody who’s doesn’t like route 9. Go find them. Well, they were here a few years ago, and some of that was eminent domain. But they are compensated for it. They may not like it, but you have to look at what’s in the greatest interest of the community at large, and we believe that this project is in the greatest interest of the community at large, cause we do believe it’ll be done safely, and we do believe it’ll allow us to grow the economy.”
Back at the Kesecker farm, the family is hopeful their appeal will be heard in court. They also hope the shorter TransCanada line is not built. They say if it isn’t, their property would be spared since the Eastern Panhandle Pipeline project would have to be reworked.
Mountaineer Gas says the TransCanada line is vital to the future of natural gas in the Eastern Panhandle.
Bishop Francis Asbury died on March 31, 1816, at age 70. Born in England in 1745, he volunteered to come to America in 1771 on behalf of the rapidly growing Methodist church. During pioneer days, Asbury was one of many Methodist circuit riders who spread the gospel from community to community. His travels often brought him into what is now West Virginia. And his diary provides some of the best early accounts of western Virginia life.
His first documented visit to the region was in 1776, just outside Berkeley Springs. He noted in his diary that the area was “good for the health, but most injurious to religion.” Likewise, after visiting Morgantown in 1788, he lamented the town’s “excesses, particularly drinking.”
In 1785 or ’86, he preached the dedication sermon at Rehoboth Church in present Monroe County. He later held sessions of the Methodist Greenbrier Conference at Rehoboth, which is reportedly the oldest church building west of the Allegheny Mountains. Thanks to his efforts in establishing Methodist churches, Asbury is considered one of the most significant religious figures of the region’s frontier era.
