History Story Archives - Page 3 of 14 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Salt Baron’s Trash Is W.Va. Archeologist’s Treasure

Nine college students have been working throughout the summer to dig up historic artifacts in Malden. The students and faculty finished their dig on Thursday and hosted a dig celebration.

One man’s trash can be another man’s treasure – or at least that is the case for this West Virginia State University (WVSU)-led archeology team. The project’s field director, Mike Workman, said they are looking into the life of salt baron John Hale through objects that he might have thrown out more than 150 years ago.

Hale owned and operated a salt mine in Malden that was one of the largest salt works in North America at the time, according to the West Virginia Encyclopedia.

“Well, most artifacts are in people’s trash. Just throw aways, just take what people throw away today,” Workman said.

He said they are able to piece together the things they find on these digs to fill in information about the past.

“Archaeology is pretty much the same as history, except the documents are found in the ground. And you know, we’re still building a chronology of the past learning about people from the past,” Workman said.

They have found things like a gold coin, a baby doll arm and a pig femur. All things that give insight to the wealth in the area at the time and what kinds of foods people were eating as well.

Workman said the gold coin in particular gave insight into how much wealth John Hale had during his ownership of the salt mine in Malden.

“You know, seeing a gold coin in 1853 It was really something, and the fact that it was just laying around, what was it doing laying around?” Workman said.

They also found things that pre-date colonization of the land. Things like arrow heads made from natural flint stone by Native Americans. Workman said Native Americans used it as a place to hunt the animals that would frequent the natural salt lick that would later become Hale’s salt mine.

“When Native Americans came in, they used this as a hunting area, a hunting camp,” Workman said. “They had this Kanawha black flint, just right up on the mountain. So they could quarry there and come down here and shape their arrowheads or spears, and then hunt down there.”

Hayden Kreitzer, a student at Shepherd University and one of the nine students working to uncover West Virginia’s history, said at first he didn’t find the work meaningful, but then:

“The more I’ve dug, the more I’ve just learned about this place, and the history in general, the more I realize how much power these things have,” Kreitzer said. “And how much you can just tell about the way people lived just by looking at the small fragments of their lives, say just 130-150 years ago.”

This is the second year that WVSU has hosted the dig at the historic Hale House in Malden. Organizers say this year’s work was made possible with a grant from the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation. They are hopeful they can continue this work next summer.

Berkeley County Turns Civil War Battlefield Into Historical Park

The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation is working with the Berkeley County government to create a new battlefield park in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle.

West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle saw major military activity in the Civil War. But, driving through the region today, it can be hard to tell many historic sites exist.

Over the years, local historic preservation groups have worked to erect markers and monuments across Civil War grounds to spread awareness of the history they contain.

Now, one preservationist group is partnering with the local government to create the first battlefield park in Berkeley County, and preserve the site for years to come.

Keven Walker is CEO of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, the Virginia-based nonprofit leading the park’s construction. The park will be erected on a 10-acre plot of land where the Battle of Hoke’s Run was fought.

“You’re going to have all of the visitor facilities that you would expect at a state park,” he said. “You’re going to have restroom facilities here, parking facilities. You’ll have a pavilion here. There’ll be an outdoor learning area for youth.”

The 1861 battle marked the first Civil War conflict in the Shenandoah Valley, according to Gary Gimbel, president of the Falling Waters Battlefield Association.

“They hadn’t come across the line into West Virginia before,” he said. “This is the very first time.”

The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation is currently undertaking construction on the future battlefield park in Berkeley County, with a goal of completing construction this fall.

*Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Gimbel’s group works to preserve and interpret the history of the Falling Waters Battlefield, located near the Hoke’s Run site and West Virginia’s Maryland border.

The new park will also feature an “interpretive and recreational trail” that connects with the battlefield’s history, according to Walker.

“It will bring you face to face with the history of the site through outdoor exhibits, panels and interpretative signage,” he said.

Gimbel said using the park as an opportunity to spread awareness about West Virginia’s Civil War history like this is a “big deal” for local Civil War buffs and the community at large.

The historic element of the park marks an opportunity to tell residents, “Look, something happened here,” Gimbel said.

“This isn’t just where you live. There’s actually history here that you probably don’t know about, and we would like to explain it to you,” he continued. “The idea [is] being able to combine education with this park.”

The announcement of the new park also comes as counties in the Eastern Panhandle grapple with new development.

West Virginia has the third-highest percentage of forest cover among the fifty states, according to a 2016 survey from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Down the road from the new battlefield park, a historic marker denotes a site where Union soldiers were captured by Confederate soldiers in 1861.

*Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

But the Eastern Panhandle is one of the only regions in the state that experienced population growth last year. Some residents worry the rate of development could jeopardize their access to the greenspaces that make West Virginia feel like home.

Berkeley County Commissioner Steve Catlett says counties in the Eastern Panhandle need to plan ahead, which makes the creation of new outdoor recreation spaces like the battlefield park even more important.

“We’re growing too fast and our infrastructure can’t keep up. As we keep building more and more homes and more and more development, we need to set aside more acreage for public recreation and parks,” he said. “People can go and enjoy their well-being … [and] being outdoors.”

Walker said his organization hopes the park can offer more than just an educational opportunity or a new outdoor venue.

As political divides make people feel more distant, he said sitting with American history and examining our place in it can help overcome barriers to understanding one another.

“We are a nation that is constantly being told that our history should divide us, and that’s just not the case,” he said. “Our history is what should bring us together as a people, remind us of the struggles of past generations [and] give us inspiration and strength for the struggles in our own time.”

Walker said his organization aims to complete construction this fall, and to open the park to the public in 2025. From there, he’s excited to see how local community members connect with the history all around them.

“These quiet little pockets of history, these battlefield parks, these outdoor classrooms are places where all of that remembrance can happen,” he said.

Preserving W.Va. History And How To Read And Socialize In Silence, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, the Eastern Panhandle saw major military activity in the Civil War. But, driving through the region today, you wouldn’t know some of these historic sites exist. Also, in this show, one group in Morgantown has found a way to read and socialize in silence.

On this West Virginia Morning, the Eastern Panhandle saw major military activity in the Civil War. But, driving through the region today, you wouldn’t know some of these historic sites exist. One county’s government is partnering with a historic preservation nonprofit to change that. Together, they’re creating a new battlefield park that commemorates local history.

Jack Walker visited the battlefield site to discuss plans for the park, and why preserving West Virginia history matters.

Also, in this show, from movies and TV to live music, there are a lot of options for entertainment in your free time these days. As Chris Schulz reports, one group in Morgantown has found a way to read and socialize in silence.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Chris Schulz produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Free Poster Of W.Va. Covered Bridges Available Through Department Of Transportation

The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) has created a free, digitally accessible poster depicting 17 different covered bridges around the state to raise awareness about the sites.

The Philippi Covered Bridge, which spans 286 feet across the Tygart River in Barbour County, takes the most prominent position in the center of the poster, the WVDOT said. The Civil War-era bridge, with its iconic double arches, is a local landmark and remains in use today as part of U.S. Route 250.

Covered bridges typically include wooden walls and a roof. But constant exposure to the elements means these sites require frequent upkeep, the WVDOT said in a press release Monday.

Many covered bridges around the Mountain State and the nation at large were first constructed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, making them historic sites, too.

The WVDOT said it created the poster to offer a glimpse into West Virginia history and remind residents of the work that goes into preserving the centuries-old structures.

The poster also features the Carrollton Covered Bridge in Barbour County, the Staats Mill Covered Bridge in Jackson County and more than a dozen other covered bridges from around the state.

Residents can access and download the poster online at the WVDOT website.

The Appalachian Forager And Crosswinds, Inside Appalachia

The woman behind the popular TikTok account “Appalachian Forager” makes jam from wild pawpaws … and jewelry from coyote teeth. We also talk with the hosts of a new podcast that looks at coal dust exposure beyond the mines, affecting people far downstream from Appalachia. You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

This week, the woman behind the popular TikTok account “Appalachian Forager” makes jam from wild pawpaws … and jewelry from coyote teeth.

We also talk with the hosts of a new podcast that looks at coal dust exposure beyond the mines, affecting people far downstream from Appalachia.

And, in some places, slavery continued in different forms well after the end of the Civil War. A new marker in Western North Carolina acknowledges that history and commemorates a disaster that killed 19 Black prisoners.

You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

Appalachian Forager Found In TikTok
Let’s Talking About Taxidermy
Downstream Dangers Of Coal Dust
Remembering The Continuation Of Slavery
The Last Of The Ramps

Appalachian Forager Found In TikTok

The Appalachian Forager brings native know-how to TikTok with a side of silly.

*Photo Credit: Amanda Page/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Gathering wild foods has long been a way to put food on the table in the Appalachian mountains. In recent years, the practice has gone digital, with online communities devoted to foraging in the wild, springing up like wild mushrooms after a spring rain.

One woman in eastern Kentucky is sharing what she knows (and some humor) with the TikTok generation through an account called “Appalachian Forager.”

Folkways Reporter Amanda Page has the story.

Let’s Talking About Taxidermy

Taxidermist Amy Ritchie is sharing the love of her craft with other enthusiasts.

*Photo Credit: Margaret McLeod Leef/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

A lot of folks are fascinated by the results of taxidermy. The preservation and mounting of dead animals has been around since at least the middle ages.

In 2023, Folkways Reporter Margaret McLeod Leef visited a modern practitioner in Yadkin County, North Carolina.

Downstream Dangers Of Coal Dust

The Dominion terminal and coal storage facility in Newport News, Virginia, where residents in nearby neighborhoods have complained of blowing coal dust.

*Photo Credit: Adrian Wood*

Appalachia plays an important part in the world economy. The region produces less coal than it used to — but it’s still a hot commodity for steel makers. That demand creates problems for people living near the terminals where coal is moved from train to ship, to then be carried overseas. Residents of Norfolk and Newport News, Virginia, say airborne coal dust from export terminals is coating their cars and houses — and getting into their lungs.

A new podcast called Crosswinds links that fight on the coast to communities in West Virginia.

Host Mason Adams spoke with spoke with Crosswinds producer Adrian Wood, and Lathaniel Kirts, a pastor and activist in one of the affected communities.

Remembering The Continuation Of Slavery

No known photographs remain of the convict labor crew that the Cowee 19 worked on, but historians say this crew working on the Western North Carolina Railroad in the late 1800s was similar.

*Photo Credit: Hunter Library Special Collections, Western Carolina University*

North Carolina is unveiling a roadside historical marker that officially acknowledges the 1882 Cowee Tunnel disaster. Nineteen prisoners were drowned when their boat capsized in a river west of Asheville.

The marker also acknowledges a form of de facto slavery, used for decades following the Civil War. We heard from Jay Price at WUNC.

The Last Of The Ramps

Toward the end of the season, ramp leaves begin to shrivel and die off.

*Photo Credit: Bill Lynch/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Ramp season is winding down in central Appalachia, but before the last ramp was picked, Producer Bill Lynch followed a friend out for a late harvest at her secret ramp patch.

——

Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Tyler Childers, Sierra Ferrell, Bob Thompson, Dinosaur Burps and Tim Bing.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from folkways editor Jennifer Goren.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Harpers Ferry, Bolivar Residents Unite To Restore Black Baptist Church

A local history preservation group is working to rehabilitate the battered First Zion Baptist Church, a historic Black church in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Harpers Ferry is a hotspot for Black history in West Virginia. The town was home to an 1859 abolitionist uprising, a 1905 conference on Black civil rights and a historically Black college that operated for nearly a century.

For many residents, a first step toward preserving Harpers Ferry’s Black history is rehabilitating and preserving sites of historic significance.

When community members noticed a traditionally Black Baptist church in town fall into disrepair, they rallied behind an effort to restore the building to its former glory.

Now, a local preservation nonprofit called the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation has secured a $100,000 grant to rehabilitate the church.

Reporter Jack Walker spoke with the organization’s incoming chair Lynn Pechuekonis about where the project is today, and the future of First Zion Baptist Church.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

First Zion Baptist Church has been worn down by the elements and pests, according to Lynn Pechuekonis, incoming chair of the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation.

*Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Walker: To begin, could you tell me what First Zion Baptist Church is, and why it’s important to Harpers Ferry history?

Pechuekonis: Harpers Ferry harbored a very vibrant Black community between 1870 and 1970, partially because of Storer College. That brought education to Black families here. It also helped with job training. It also engendered a summer resort industry, which ended up nurturing the Hill Top Hotel, which was a Black-run hotel from 1890 to 1926. It was Black-owned. So there was a large population, comparatively, of Black people in Harpers Ferry — Black families who could own homes. They were encouraged to own homes here. And so they wanted to worship here as well. There were actually altogether four African American churches in Harpers Ferry at one time. Two of those were on West Ridge Street, and First Zion Church was built in 1894 by some of the very early Black families who came to live in our town.

Walker: I know that you and some other local community members have rallied around First Zion Baptist Church and preserving the historic building for future generations. How did that project come to be?

Pechuekonis: So, several years ago, some folks in town, both in Bolivar and Harpers Ferry, were concerned about the fact that we had two former African American churches actually on the same street, just about within three lots of each other, that had been abandoned, and were just really deteriorating quickly. And so it was part of the foundation’s mission to preserve and beautify our communities. So they chose the building that was in better shape between the two, and also one that was on the market to be sold. We were able to buy First Zion Baptist Church, and we’ve been working slowly ever since then, trying to raise money and making improvements and protecting the church where we can ever since.

The Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation is currently soliciting community feedback on what type of establishment to convert the battered First Zion Baptist Church into.

*Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Walker: As this project progresses, what vision do you have for the future of the church? What function will it serve for the local community?

Pechuekonis: We’re actually holding a community charrette on May 15 to get some ideas from the community about what they feel they need, because we want this to truly be a Harpers Ferry and Bolivar community center. We have some ideas, but we want to hear what the community has to say. We would like to have some kind of display honoring the Black community that lived here, and especially the history of that church. We also see it as a community or cultural center, to provide programming, to provide community space for events that the community wants to have. We are limited by the town of Harpers Ferry because it’s in a residential neighborhood to having it as a community center or religious institution. So we don’t have a lot of freedom to do other things with it. So that’s kind of why we’re going down that avenue, but we want to shape it in a way that the community most feels the need.

Walker: Obviously this is a long-term project, but do you have a sense of how long it will take to complete the church’s rehabilitation?

Pechuekonis: I think it’s a few years out, just because it’s going to involve so much — so many resources financially. The $100,000 that’s going to help us work on the exterior is just a drop in the bucket compared to what will need to be done to the interior to make it safe and also fit modern standards for a facility that the community can best use. So I think it’s maybe at least three to five years out. That’s just a wild guess.

First Zion Baptist Church, a historic Black church in Harpers Ferry, has become run down over the years. Community members hope to change that.

*Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Walker: And now that the project is underway, what are your hopes for what it can bring to the local community?

Pechuekonis: One of the things that we’re hoping is that, as a secular community center, the foundation can bring together residents from both the towns of Harpers Ferry and Bolivar to help build a more cohesive community from the fellowship and shared experiences people have in this space.

On May 15, the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation will host a community charette to receive public input on the First Zion Baptist Church rehabilitation project. For more information on the event, visit the foundation’s website.

Residents interested in providing feedback on the project can do so through an online survey operated by the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation.