History

Gear up for a frightful jaunt into the darkest reaches of the ancient Appalachians.

Folk deep within Appalachian hollers lean close to share stories of the inexplicable with hushed awe. Monsters rumbling in the hills. Strange lights darting through the pitch-black night sky. Horrible occurrences, almost ineffable in their bizarre tragedy. "Tall tales," you might say. But tell that to the Flatwoods monster in Braxton County, West Virginia. Or the Goat Man of Louisville--look into his humanoid eyes and let him know you don't believe. And what of those apparitions in Mammoth Cave's Corpse Rock, or the Satan-spawn known as the Jersey Devil? How do you respond when those mysteries confront? From metaphysical energy that swirls near the Serpent Mound in Ohio to Point Pleasant's Mothman legacy, Mark Muncy and Kari Schultz explore the dark history lurking in the shadows of Appalachia..

“With previously unknown details, The West Virginia University Co-Ed Murders is a page-turning murder mystery.” --Hoppy Kercheval, Host, Talkline

Some said the killer couldn’t be a local. Others claimed he was the wealthy son of a prominent Morgantown family. Whispers spread that Mared and Karen were sacrificed by a Satanic cult or had been victims of a madman poised to strike again. Then the handwritten letters began to arrive: “You will locate the bodies of the girls covered over with brush--look carefully. The animals are now on the move.” Investigators didn’t find too few suspects, they had far too many. There was the campus janitor with a fur fetish, the “harmless” delivery man who beat a woman nearly to death, the nursing home orderly with the bloody broomstick and the bouncer with the “girlish” laugh who threatened to cut off people’s heads.

Local authors Geoff Fuller and S. James McLaughlin tell the complete story of the WVU co-ed murders for the first time.

The only state born as a result of the Civil War, West Virginia was the most divided state in the nation. About forty thousand of its residents served in the combatant forces about twenty thousand on each side.

The Mountain State also saw its fair share of battles, skirmishes, raids and guerrilla warfare, with places like Harpers Ferry, Philippi and Rich Mountain becoming household names in 1861. When the Commonwealth of Virginia seceded from the Union on April 17, 1861, leaders primarily from the northwestern region of the state began the political process that eventually led to the creation of West Virginia on June 20, 1863. Renowned Civil War historian Mark A. Snell has written the first thorough history of these West Virginians and their civil war in more than fifty years.

West Virginia in the Civil War chronicles the role West Virginians played in the Civil War through the use of vintage photograph

West Virginia, Child of the Storm, was the only state formed as a result of the Civil War. West Virginia witnessed battles, engagements, and guerrilla actions during the four years of the Civil War. The struggle between eastern and western Virginia over voting rights, taxation, and economic development can be traced back to the formation of the Republic. John Brown's 1859 raid on the United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry played a major role in the Civil War, which started in western Virginia with the destruction of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad property. When Virginia voted to secede and join the slave-holding Confederacy, the counties of western Virginia formed the pro-Union government known as the Restored Government of Virginia in Wheeling. West Virginia in the Civil War chronicles the role West Virginians played in the Civil War through the use of vintage photographs.

Follow Archaeologist Darla Spencer as she discovers the history and habits of 16 Native American sites in West Virginia.

Once thought of as Indian hunting grounds with no permanent inhabitants, West Virginia is teeming with evidence of a thriving early native population. Today's farmers can hardly plow their fields without uncovering ancient artifacts, evidence of at least ten thousand years of occupation. Members of the Fort Ancient culture resided along the rich bottomlands of southern West Virginia during the Late Prehistoric and Protohistoric periods. Lost to time and rediscovered in the 1880s, Fort Ancient sites dot the West Virginia landscape. This volume explores sixteen of these sites, including Buffalo, Logan and Orchard. Archaeologist Darla Spencer excavates the fascinating lives of some of the Mountain State's earliest inhabitants in search of who these people were, what languages they spoke and who their descendants may be.

Unlike many American towns, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia is a city so well-preserved that many of the archival photos show buildings that still exist today.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, sits in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountainsat the confluence of two rivers, the Potomacand Shenandoah.

Without the influence of John Brown and his raiders, Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clarkfame, and Thomas Jefferson, Harpers Ferry might have remained a sleepy little village. Instead, it became a frequently contested location for troops during the Civil Warand changed hands eight times. Many of the current shops and restaurants are housed in the restored original buildings, built in the 1800s.

A visit to Harpers Ferry is like stepping back in time to the year 1859, because the town has been restored to that period. It has been designated a National Historical Park, with many buildings owned and maintained by the National Park Service.

Author Robert Thompson recounts the harrowing story of Phebe Tucker Cunningham, from her marriage at Prickett's Fort to her return to the shores of the Monongahela.

Life on the West Virginia frontier was a daily struggle for survival, and for Phebe Tucker Cunningham, that meant the loss of her four children at the hands of the Wyandot tribe and being held captive for three years until legendary renegades Simon Girty and Alexander McKee arranged her freedom. Thompson describes in vivid detail early colonial life in the Alleghenies and the ways of the Wyandot, providing historical context for this unforgettable saga.

The first Europeans to arrive in the Ohio Valley were intrigued and puzzled by the many conical earthen mounds they encountered there. They created wild theories about who the mysterious “mound builders” might be.

It was not until the 1880s that Smithsonian Institution investigations revealed that the mound builders were the ancestors of living Native Americans. More than four hundred mounds have been recorded in West Virginia, including the Grave Creek Mound in Marshall County, once the largest conical mound in North America. Join archaeologist Darla Spencer and learn about the Grave Creek Mound and sixteen additional Adena mounds and groups of mounds from the fascinating Woodland period in West Virginia.

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is a jewel of America’s National Park Service.

Established by legislation and signed into law by President Roosevelt in 1944, today the park encompasses thousands of acres spanning three states as well as the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers.While the town was ravaged by repeated floods and war, it rose like a phoenix from the ashes.As a Civil War soldier presciently wrote, “In future years travelers and tourists will eagerly resort [here] ...and history will point out [this] spot where many acts of the great tragedy, not yet closed, took place.” This book chronicles the creation and development of the national park in Harpers Ferry, a park that now affords hundreds of thousands of visitors each year the opportunity to marvel at the same scenery Thomas Jefferson said was worth a voyage across the Atlantic to see and to be able to walk the old streets where so many major acts of American history took place.

From a civil war medical outpost to oil-boom town, Parkersburg's fascinating history in rich, historic photographs and first-hand accounts.

The history of Parkersburg is, essentially, the history of the United States. Founded shortly after America's independence, Parkersburg grew from a small river town in what was once wilderness to a thriving industrial city to one that is currently redefining itself. Industrial giants, such as Camden and Cabot, made Parkersburg a leader in the oil and gas industry by the early 20th century. The maturing city boasted numerous factories, luxury hotels, upscale stores, and several ornate theaters while also serving as a rail hub. Parkersburg also took pride in education, with architecturally stunning primary and secondary schools and the building of a branch campus of West Virginia University. High school sports contributed to the city's reputation, with a lengthy list of statewide championships won by local schools.

In the early 1790s, a Lutheran family in Appalachia fell victim to a menacing spirit that Lutheran, Methodist and Episcopal clergy as well as Folk magic practitioners failed to remove. The entity, which came to be known as the Wizard Clip, was said to cut or slice anything made of cloth or leather. Was it a ghost or a demon? After years of torment, the deeply Protestant family finally found respite from a seemingly impossible ally, a Catholic exorcist. This legend has eerie parallels to lore of ghosts and witches from the Old World as well as the early American Republic. As American religious leaders sought to find a place for their congregations in a post-Revolutionary time of enlightened secularism, tales like these helped churches define themselves, and this particular story was used to distinguish Catholic supernaturalism from later spiritualism. /Author Michael Kishbucher tells a spooky and incredibly compelling story that shines a light on the region’s religious history.

One of the most notoriously dangerous and deadly correctional facilities in the US, this history of the legendary penitentiary in West Virginia will make you reconsider a life of crime.

In 1863, the newly formed West Virginia lacked a state penitentiary to house convicted felons. As a result, construction began in July 1866 on the West Virginia Penitentiary, the second public building constructed in the state. The infamous and foreboding West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville was known as one of the bloodiest institutions in the United States. With an extensive history of violence, the prison was ranked on the Department of Justice's Top Ten Most Violent Correctional Facilities list. Nearly 1,000 inmates perished within the stone walls of the prison, many of whom are said to still be serving their sentence, even after death. Many inmates were tortured, executed, murdered, or committed suicide. Plagued by these horrific events, the prison is a hotspot for paranormal activity. Images of America: West Virginia Penitentiary chronicles the fascinating history of a notorious prison from the planning stages to present day.

Dive into this riveting tale and discover just how deadly a pen and paper can be when wielded by a master manipulator.

In the 1930s, in the sleepy town of Quiet Dell, West Virginia lonely, wealthy women began to disappear. Under the guise of charming love letters, con man Harry F. Powers lured them into a sinister web of deceit. When correspondence evolved into promises of romance, and then face-to-face meetings, these women would mysteriously vanish. As the number of missing women grew, the authorities finally took notice. Investigators unearthed a murder garage with a custom-made concealed dungeon, revealing the appalling evidence of multiple murders. The horror of Powers’ crimes gained statewide notoriety, and shook the community to its core.

Local author Angela Fielder tells a riveting tale of one of history’s most cunning serial killers.

Vintage images bring to life the pioneer era, the bustling development of the twentieth century, and the people who made it happen.

Preston County, West Virginia, is the only county in the United States with that name. It lies nestled into a corner of the state bounded on the north by Pennsylvania and the Mason-Dixon Line, and on the east by the state of Maryland. This scenic Appalachian region has a variance in elevation from a low of 870 feet to a high of 3,236 feet. With more tillable land than any other county in the state, Preston County is naturally a farming community, although mining, timber, recreation, and tourism are vital contributors to the county's economy. In this vibrant retrospective, local author Charles A. Thomas brings the county's past to life, covering the period from 1890 to the mid-1900s.t. We visit turn-of-the-century schools and mills, and see the trains and railroaders who made this area prosper in the late 1800s.

The playground of figures like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Buffalo Bill, Wheelingis filled with memorable snapshots documenting famous (and infamous) moments in American history.

When most people think of Wheeling they remember Independence Hall and the birth of West Virginia, but Wheeling's history goes back even further to the frontier legends of Lewis Wetzel and Maj. Samuel McColloch. Including photographs of both Wetzel's cave, Major McColloch's smokehouse, and a multitude of historic photographs Images of America: Wheelingdepicts the way life used to be. Famous visitors like Babe Ruth, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Charles Lindbergh, President John F. Kennedy, actress Sarah Bernhardt, and Buffalo Bill are featured.

Within these pages memorable snapshots document some famous moments in the history of the 20th century, such as when President Eisenhower decided to keep Senator Nixon on the ticket at the Ohio County Public Airport and Sen. Joseph McCarthy's famous speech about Communists in the State Department at Wheeling's McLure Hotel. However, the real stars of this book are Wheeling's own buildings, industries, and people, from machine workers on the job to millionaires at play. A chapter devoted to the African-American experience in Wheeling includes Center Market's slave auction block as well as an image of the great jazz saxophonist Leon ""Chu"" Berry. This collection highlights some of the horrific natural disasters that occurred at the turn of the century as well as Wheeling's Victorian architectural treasures, which were erected during the same era.

Images of America: The Great Ohio River Flood of 1937 brings together 200 vintage images that offer readers a look at one of the darkest chapters in the region's history.

From the time settlers first pushed into the Ohio Valley, floods were an accepted fact of life. After each flood, people shoveled the mud from their doors and set about rebuilding their towns. In 1884, the Ohio River washed away 2,000 homes. In 1913, an even worse flood swept down the river. People labeled it the granddaddy of all floods. Little did they know there was worse yet to come. In 1937, raging flood waters inundated thousands of houses, businesses, factories, and farms in a half dozen states, drove one million people from their homes, claimed nearly 400 lives, and recorded $500 million in damages. Adding to the misery was the fact that the disaster came during the depths of the Depression, when many families were already struggling.

The history of West Virginia is the story of coal and the people whose lives are forever changed by it.

Coal was mined in Southern West Virginia even before the state's birth in 1863 but was mostly consumed within a few miles of where it was dug. When the railroads arrived on the scene, they not only provided a means of getting that coal to market, they also brought in trainloads of workers to the sparsely populated region. With the mines generally located in remote, out-of-the-way spots, operators were forced to build housing for those workers and their families, as well as company stores, schools, and churches- everything needed in a small community. Overnight, the nation's demand for coal turned sleepy, little places in Southern West Virginia into boomtowns and helped cities such as Charleston and Huntington grow and prosper as gateways to and from the coalfields.

Uncover the true stories behind some of West Virginia’s most famous haunts.

West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle holds a rich legacy of folklore and ghostly legends firmly rooted in the region’s history. In Harpers Ferry, rumor has it that fiery abolitionist John Brown still haunts the scene of his notorious siege, and reports of otherworldly encounters in Harpers Cemetery abound. Shepherdstown, the oldest town in West Virginia, draws in those fascinated by the paranormal with tales of haunted crime scenes and even an infamous exorcism. The historic Apollo Theater in Martinsburg hosts the town’s famous cigar-smoking ghost, George, and the little village of Middleway overflows with bewitching tales of specters and odd happenings.

Author Justin Stevens explores the haunted side of historic landmarks in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

See how Charles Town, West Virginia, retains its original small town charm while attracting visitors today.

Charles Town, located in the Shenandoah Valley of West Virginia, was petitioned in 1786 and founded on January 7, 1787, by Charles Washington, George's youngest brother. Many of this historic community's streets are named for Washington family members, including Mildred and Samuel. The Jefferson County Courthouse, made famous as the location for the 1859 treason trial of the abolitionist John Brown and the 1922 Miners' Trials, sits in the center of town on one of the original four lots platted by Charles for community use. Today, Charles Town retains its original small town roots while attracting visitors with such diverse activities as The Charles Town Races and Slots and nearby hiking and whitewater rafting.

A compelling first-hand chronicle of a modern-day triumph of labor organization in West Virginia.

On February 22, 2018, nearly 20,000 West Virginia teachers, bus drivers, and service personnel walked out on their jobs in solidarity. After thirteen hard days, the workers, largely women, won higher pay and better benefits. Beyond that, the strike sparked a revolution in education across the United States.

What compelled West Virginia's education workers to strike? How did they organize? What were teachers and allies doing during the walk-out? And how was this strike connected to West Virginia's long history of labor organization and unions?

55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers' Strike answers these questions and offers unique, on-the-ground insights into this historic labor stoppage. The book includes essays by teachers from around the state, images from the picket lines, organizing documents, and material on the history of the labor movement in West Virginia. Edited by Jessica Salfia, a West Virginia public school teacher, Emily Hilliard, a West Virginia-based folklorist, and Elizabeth Catte, author of What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia and Pure America.

A necessary and urgent rallying cry for anyone interested in the future of organized labor in America.

Doddridge and Ritchie Counties revisits these West Virginia counties during their formative years, acknowledging past citizens and celebrating a way of life prior to the rapid onset of technology. Time seemed to move much slower then, and people were not always in a hurry. Images of clay main streets, rustic farm houses, and horses whose hooves readily click against rocks entice readers to take a closer look, to see for themselves the people and the events that have molded these two Mountain State counties into communities where residents feel safe and blessed and visitors find unprecedented tranquility.

Discover the rich history of Jackson County, West Virginia through vintage images in this pictorial history.

On October 28, 1770, George Washington entered present-day Jackson County by traveling south down the Ohio River. The Sachem tribe camped with Washington's party and expressed a desire to barter with the Virginia traders. Washington made extensive notes of the terrain, animals, and timber. By 1772, Washington had patents on more than 6,800 acres in Jackson County. This led to the Ohio River being the source of trade, entertainment, and survival early in the history of Jackson County. Named after the seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, Jackson County was established by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on March 1, 1831, out of parts of Mason, Kanawha, and Wood Counties. The terrain is sandy with fertile bottomlands along the Ohio River and gently rolling hills toward the east. Ripley is the county seat, situated in the central part of the county, and is named in honor of Harry Ripley, who drowned in Big Mill Creek in 1830.

It’s not everyone who can look at the violent white caps of river rapids and think, “I want to master that.” Whitewater rafters are not just anyone.

A certain confidence and devil-may-care attitude must be required to set off on West Virginia’s New or Gauley Rivers, nothing to protect the riders from the rough waters aside from a helmet and life vest, but to successfully accomplish their mission would be to master some of the most popular and treacherous rapids in the country. Jay Young, a raft guide turned writer, leads readers through the local lore and history of the rivers, where the ordinary almost never occurs.

Today's non-military, coeducational Linsly School continues to enrich students in grades five through twelve with values of honesty, sportsmanship, hard work, and discipline. Through rare and never-before-seen vintage photographs, The Linsly School chronicles the fascinating and inspiring story of the tribulations and successes of the school itself, and the people who worked, sacrificed, and dreamed to make it happen.

Local historian Paul J. Zuros weaves a rich narrative of the region, reliving these tales as only a local can.

The Upper Ohio River runs along the border between West Virginia and Ohio, where the cities of Weirton and Steubenville face each other across the flowing water. The history of these two municipalities has been intertwined from their earliest days. Discover stories of the early pioneers on both sides of the river and what they learned about their Native American predecessors. Tales of bygone celebrations will entertain, and rumors of local haunts will chill readers to the bone. The stories of these industrial centers as well as their preindustrial past will intrigue and delight young and old.

Vintage images showcase the fruition of John F. Kennedy's vision to provide economic revitalization to areas in need and the lasting impact it has had on Mercer County.

John F. Kennedy was profoundly moved by the tragedy of generational poverty after touring southernmost West Virginia during his presidential campaign. Six months after his election in 1961, President Kennedy established the President’s Appalachian Regional Commission with the governors of all eight Appalachian Mountain states. On October 12, 1961, the Mercer County Commission joined forces with the president and the US Forest Service to donate a portion of the former Mercer County Poor Farm to develop the nation’s first Forestry Sciences Laboratory. President Kennedy selected well-known forester Frank Longwood as director, and Longwood assembled a group of forest scientists who were dedicated to the task of restoring and marketing the Appalachian hardwood forest. With the same dedication that rocket scientists applied to fulfill Kennedy’s dream of sending an American to the moon and back, timber scientists restored and marketed the great Appalachian hardwood forest. The US Forest Service left the site in 2016 but worked with the Mercer County Commission, the US General Services Administration, and the National Park Service's Historic Surplus Properties program to establish a site dedicated to history and public service.

William R. “Bill” Archer, an established southern West Virginia historian, has authored nine previous books with Arcadia Publishing. Sources for images and information in this book include the US Forest Service, West Virginia Division of Forestry, Mercer County archives, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, and local residents.

Life was good, but work was hard. When diesel engines became the norm in the 1950s, Summers County's fabric began to change. Today tourism and recreation are the greatest industries in the area, but residents have not forgotten their past. Each year the county taps into its railroading heritage with festivals and celebrations, and efforts are being made to preserve some of Hinton's unique architecture.

Then & Now: Morgantown depicts the history of this city's transformation from an agricultural community to industrial workhorse.

Morgantown has played a role in nearly every important period in American history. Words and images are combined in Then & Now: Morgantown to depict that legacy and the city's transformation from sleepy agricultural community to industrial workhorse to home of cutting-edge education, medicine, and research.