West Virginia

Name: West Virginia Turnpike, The
Brand: William R. Archer
SKU: 9781467109819
Price: 12.0 USD
Availability: InStock

The remote valleys of West Virginia resound with the echoes of history. The Mountain State was birthed by the cataclysm of a Civil War, a disunion presaged by John Brown’s raid at Harpers Ferry. The earliest twangs of country music sound from hills and hollers that eavesdropped on ten-thousand years of unrecorded speech. Read the transcript of West Virginia history, from the inauguration of Mother’s Day in Grafton to the aftershocks of the Silver Bridge disaster in our catalogue of West Virginia history books. [View all West Virginia books]

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West Virginia Turnpike, The

Paperback

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

Huntington Chronicles

Paperback

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Haunted Potomac River Valley

Paperback

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

The Jamboree in Wheeling

Paperback

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

West Virginia Turnpike, The

9781467109819

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

The beautiful mountains of south-central West Virginia can be simultaneously challenging and rewarding to travelers. Pre-Columbian First Nations people traversed the Allegheny Mountain Range for thousands of years before European settlers arrived. The natural mountain barrier stood as a formidable challenge to the newcomers. Union and Confederate forces traversed West Virginia, but artillery trails and oxen paths were ill-suited for trucks and automobiles. During World War II, Allied forces witnessed the significance of Germany’s autobahn in terms of troop movement. Still, planning for a US interstate highway system evolved slowly. In 1947, leaders in the West Virginia State Legislature approved funds to build a turnpike from Wheeling to Princeton. Cost concerns prompted legislative leaders to modify the plan and select a route from Charleston to Princeton. The southern part of the two-lane version of the turnpike opened to nationwide acclaim in 1955. The unrivaled beauty of the 88-mile superhighway; the incredible travel time savings and attractions, including Tamarack—a marketplace for West Virginia artists and artisans; and a conference center have transformed the West Virginia Turnpike into an attractive destination excellent for visiting travelers as well as West Virginians.

Huntington Chronicles

9781625859662

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Founded in 1871 by railroad tycoon Collis P. Huntington, the city of Huntington has a dramatic and colorful past. The mystery of the daring 1875 holdup of the town's premier bank was never solved, and many suspected the infamous James Gang. The 1937 flood was the most devastating in city history. Of course, Huntington has had its share of famous residents, including Dr. Carter G. Woodson, widely recognized as the father of Black History Month, and Woody Williams, whose bravery at Iwo Jima earned him the Medal of Honor. Amateur historian and local journalist James E. Casto compiles fascinating and unusual stories from his long career at the Huntington Herald-Dispatch.

Haunted Potomac River Valley

9781467147781

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Before European colonists first dipped their toes in our "Nation's River," it succored generations of American Indians, who added their own stories and often stained its banks with their blood. Revolutionary War ghosts haunt its length, from Shepherdstown to Saint George's Island. Harpers Ferry is home to more than one nineteenth-century haunt, and ghosts of Civil War soldiers linger in the river's upper reaches. Former residents still reside in historic buildings in Sterling, Arlington and Alexandria. Point Lookout, at the mouth of the river, is the most haunted site in Maryland. While the Potomac has weathered horrors and tragedies, many residents did not. Author David W. Thompson tells their stories.

The Jamboree in Wheeling

9781467105682

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Beginning in the mid-1920s, radio stations that catered to rural audiences sponsored programs featuring country music, generically termed "barn dances." Ranking second in terms of longevity and perhaps in significance to the Grand Ole Opry from WSM Nashville came the Jamboree in Wheeling, West Virginia. It became the springboard for such country stars as Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper, Hawkshaw Hawkins, the Osborne Brothers, Doc and Chickie Williams, Lee Moore, Big Slim the Lone Cowboy, and most recently, Brad Paisley. Under slightly varying names, the Jamboree flourished from 1933 through 2005 over the airwaves of 50,000-watt WWVA 1170 AM and now airs on WWOV 101.1 FM.