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According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA history "can be traced back to 1636, when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony were at war with the Pequot Indians. The Pilgrims passed a law that stated that disabled soldiers would be supported by the colony" ("History-VA History"). During the Revolutionary War, veterans began to receive pensions; during the Civil War era, Veteran Homes were established; during World War I, formalized veteran benefit packages that included compensation, insurance, and rehabilitation services,&nbsp;were created. The Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers were the responsible parties for distributing these veteran benefits until they all joined forces under the condensed title of the Veterans Bureau in August 1921.From this time on, there were substantial&nbsp;efforts to establish VA hospitals.It was President Herbert Hoover's&nbsp;Executive&nbsp;Order 5398 that&nbsp;established&nbsp;the Veterans Bureau as&nbsp;a&nbsp;federal administration on&nbsp;July 21, 1930.

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The Veterans Administration Hospital is located in Huntington. Veteran hospitals were established in March 1865. The Huntington VA  was established in 1932. Facilities like these were established when Civil War soldiers and sailors were returning back home. It was initially known as the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. When the United States entered in wars such as World War I Congress developed new benefits and programs for veterans. It became a short-term treatment facility.  This historical marker is located along US Route 60 by Burlington Road.

Veterans Adminstration Hospital Marker

Originating first as a buffalo trail adopted by Native Americans for east-west tavel, today the Midland Trail remains an important route of travel across West Virginia.

Discover U.S. 60: The Midland Trail

Institution

After two years of defeats and setbacks, in the span of a few short months in 1863 the balance of the American Civil War shifted and Union forces at last gained the upper hand over the armies of the Confederate States. On June 20, 1863, the fifty-five counties of West Virginia were partitioned off from Virginia and became a new state within the Union. On July 3, the Union army in the eastern theater of war decisively defeated General Robert E. Lee’s seemingly invincible Confederate Army at Gettysburg, and on July 4, Ulysses S. Grant’s western army took control of Vicksburg, establishing unbroken Union control of the Mississippi River and cutting the Confederacy in twain. The newborn state of West Virginia needed law books to establish its new state courts, however, copies of which could only be obtained from a repository in Lewisburg--in Confederate-held Greenbrier County. Union cavalry commander General William Woods Averell, a career military officer, was given the task on August 12. Recently made a scapegoat for General Joseph Hooker’s disastrous defeat at Chancellorsville a few months before, Averell had only been reassigned to his new command in late May 1863, but in a few short weeks drilled 1,300 West Virginia and Pennsylvania cavalrymen into an effective fighting unit.Averell’s force, the Fourth Separate Brigade, soon headed southward from Petersburg, Virginia, criss-crossing the state line on its route toward Lewisburg while making detours to destroy bridges of the Virginia &amp; Tennessee Railroad and saltpeter works near Franklin. Their march was beset from dawn to dusk by guerillas and bushwackers, who fired at the long columnn of cavalry from concealment. Also attempting to delay Averell’s advance was a small force of Confederates under William Lowther “Mudwall” Jackson, a cousin of the famous Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson who had been killed at Chancellorsville that May. Mudwall and his troops, however, were soon brushed out of the way as Averell pushed southward from Warm Springs, Virginia.Confederate resistance in the region, however, soon began to take shape. Along with various commands scattered around the Shenandoah Valley and southward, a force stationed in Lewisburg under the command of Colonel George S. Patton (grandfather of the famous World War II general) was ordered northward to make contact with the elusive Averell. As Averell’s position and objectives were unknown to the Confederates on August 25, the Union troops nearly slipped past Patton’s men--but at 2am on August 26, Patton received updates on Averell’s line of advance, and quickly ordered a forced march back toward White Sulphur Springs.Shortly after dawn, Averell’s advance guard emerged from “Rocky Gap,” a narrow defile whose steep sides prevented any flanking movements around the strong defensive positions Patton by then occupied with a force similar in size to that of Averell. The Union commander formed rapidly up for an attack all along Patton’s line, pushing forward fresh troops all day in a series of costly advances. Patton’s men, protected behind barricades of wooden fenceposts, suffered less, but it was far from an easy fight. Indeed. Finally at 4pm, after hours of attack and counterattack along the length of the line, Averell ordered a mounted charge by a company of Pennsylvania troopers:<blockquote>“This brave body of men made one of the most daring charges of the war, not only facing a murderous storm of leaden hail from the front but also, to their surprise, received an enfilading fire along their flank from a large body of infantry concealed in a cornfield to the left of the road. On they dashed, regardless of death and danger, and reached the breastworks of felled trees and fence rails thrown across the road.”1</blockquote>Three hundred Confederates fled before the charge, but additional forces rallied and annihilated the charge before it could break the back of Patton’s line. Averell also ordered the rest of his line to support the charge, along with a second mounted assault by more Pennsylvanians. All were repulsed with heavy losses. Another mounted charge was made later in the evening, also doomed to fail. Fighting died down with darkness. Both sides had nearly exhausted their ammunition, and slept in their battle lines only 300 yards apart.The commanders of both sides, unbeknownst to each other, elected to stay and fight the next morning. For Averell, a night attempt to withdraw would have been confused and disastrous. He had also been promised reinforcements and ammunition from Union garrisons on the march from the Kanawha Valley.Instead, it was Patton who received five cavalry companies during the night. As dawn broke, Averell saw his enemy reinforced in strength, with no word from the Union troops supposedly on their way. Averell chose to retreat, a contingency for which he had vigorously prepared during the night, including sending out men to chop through the trunks of trees along his line of withdrawal, so that after his troops passed the trees could be felled with just a few axe strokes. This proved instrumental in delaying Confederate pursuit and allowing his command to extricate itself in an exhausting fighting withdrawal beset by detachments of Rebel cavalry and bushwackers. The campaign was bloody for such small forces involved, with 218 casualties from Averell’s 1,300-man brigade and 167 from Patton’s total of 2,000.Though the battle bought a reprieve for Confederate control of southeast West Virginia (the law books in Lewisburg were moved to Richmond for safekeeping), the victory was short-lived. Averall was back in November at the head of a new raid, and swept aside the last organized Confederate resistance in the state at the Battle of Droop Mountain.Part of the battlefield resides on the present-day grounds of the Greenbrier Resort, where some of the fallen soldiers’ graves can also be found. Three markers near Route 60 tell a fraction of the battle’s story, and nearby the Miller House still stands on private property, bearing the scars of bullets, small arms, and the impact of a ten-pound solid shot.

On August 26th, 1863, Union cavalry under the command of General William Woods Averell clashed with Confederate troops led by Colonel George S. Patton in Greenbrier County--only two months after West Virginia achieved statehood by “seceding” from Virginia. Its nascent statehood was, in fact, the cause of the battle, as Averell’s 1,300 men had been ordered to secure law books from the Virginia State Supreme Court in Rebel-held Lewisburg. The fierce fight that followed was, for its size, spectacularly bloody, and involved one of the few “classic” cavalry charges of the American Civil War, in the style of the Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800s. Now named for the nearby town of White Sulphur Springs, the battle has also been known by a multitude of other titles, including the Battle of Dry Creek, Howard Creek, Rocky Gap, and "The Battle of the Law Books."

Battle of White Sulphur Springs / Battle of Dry Creek

Katherine Coleman Johnson was born in the town of White Sulphur Springs on August 26, 1918. From a young age, her parents noticed that young Katherine was&nbsp;gifted in mathematics. After finishing high school at 15, Johnson attended college classes at the&nbsp;historically Black West Virginia State College, where she double-majored in Mathematics and French. She completed both bachelors degrees at the age of 18. Johnson&nbsp;was chosen as one of the first three African American students to attend West Virginia University when West Virginia integrated its graduate schools in 1939, making history in the Civil Rights movement. She was the first Black female to attend West Virginia University, where she pursued a graduate degree in mathematics. Johnson found West Virginia University&nbsp;more hostile than West Virginia State College. She learned of a job opening at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in an all-Black section, where she began working in 1953. Johnson's incredible math skills and her work on flight test data was needed several years later as NASA undertook the task of putting astronaut John Glenn into orbit.&nbsp;Glenn himself told the team to&nbsp;"get the girl" to hand-check the equations the computers had worked out just prior to his launch into orbit.2 The&nbsp;computers that had been used to calculate the math needed to send spacecraft into orbit&nbsp;were still in infancy stages, and were erratic at times. Johnson's accuracy was often called upon to identify and&nbsp;prevent malfunctions. Her work helped make the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing a success, and she&nbsp;was part of the team&nbsp;responsible for safely returning the Apollo 13 spacecraft when it malfunctioned in space. Johnson's long list of achievements&nbsp;led her to receive a number of honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in&nbsp;2015. NASA awarded her with the Lunar Orbiter Award, three NASA Special Achievement Awards, and she was chosen as Mathematician of the Year in 1997. As stated by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, "Katherine's legacy is a big part of the reason that my fellow astronauts and I were able to get to space; it's also a big part of the reason that today there is space for women and African-Americans in the leadership of our nation, including the White House."&nbsp; As of May 26th, 2017, the street between the White Sulphur Springs Public Library and the St. Thomas Episcopal Church is named Katherine Coleman Johnson Way. The street was selected because Johnson's father worked at the city library in its previous location, and because the library was an important part of the future mathematician's life. Johnson lived on Church Street in White Sulphur Springs until she was 10 years old. Mayor Lloyd Haynes called Johnson "one of the best-kept secrets ever," as Johnson's contributions to NASA, mathematics, women's rights, and the Civil Rights Movement were widely unknown until the release of the book and film "Hidden Figures." The small&nbsp;ceremony commemorating the dedication of Katherine Coleman Johnson capped off a series of honors following the public's growing interest in her life following the popularity of the Hollywood film "Hidden Figures."&nbsp;The state of West Virginia now celebrates&nbsp;the 26th of August as Katherine Johnson Day.&nbsp;

On May 26, 2017, the city of White Sulphur Springs declared this previously unnamed street in honor of NASA mathematician Katherine Coleman Johnson. Now known as "Katherine Coleman Johnson Way," this street the leads to the city library honors the life of the mathematician from White Sulphur Springs whose contributions to the American space program were highlighted in the movie "Hidden Figures." Katherine Coleman was born in White Sulphur Springs and demonstrated an incredible aptitude for math. Johnson quickly earned a degree in mathematics from West Virginia State University and became one of the first three African American graduate students to be admitted to West Virginia University in 1939. Her work for NASA in the 1950s played a critical role in the calculations needed to place spacecraft into orbit, and later, on the Moon. Johnson was awarded many honors for her work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 2016, the film "Hidden Figures" detailed her contributions to NASA. 

Katherine Coleman Johnson Way

The first guest came to White Sulphur Springs in 1778. They visited the spring to “take the waters” and restore their health. It was in the 1830s the resort first became prominent. Politicians, judges, editors, lawyers, diplomats, ministers, planters and merchants, most who came from the South, made annual trips to meet at the “village in the wilderness”. Their trips to the resort took place during the summer. The reason for this is the 2,000 foot elevation of the resort which offered the travelers relief from the lowlands heat and humidity.Between 1830 and 1861 there were five sitting presidents who stayed at the resort. In 1858, due to White Sulphur Springs’ success the first large hotel, named the Grand Central Hotel (also known as “The Old White”) was constructed. From 1861-1865 the resort closed due to the Civil War. The grounds were occupied by both Union and Confederate troops who used the hotel as a hospital and military headquarters. Not long after the end of the war the resort reopened. Given its geographic location in the Appalachians, it was, and still is difficult to differentiate its allegiance between the North and the South. The newly built central hotel was a popular place for northerners and southerners alike to vacation. During the civil war, the hotel was nearly destroyed by changing ownership from the Confederate Army to the Union Army. When the Civil War ended, the resort reopened. Once again, it was a popular place for northerners and southerners to vacation. From a cultural standpoint, this is important to consider because many places were deemed either Northern OR Southern in culture and visitation. Most importantly, Robert E Lee delivered the White Sulphur Manifesto here which called for the unification of both societies, North and South, after the war.In 1873 the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was completed and improved the resorts prospects. In an effort to expand, the C&amp;O purchased the resort property in 1910. The Greenbrier Hotel was added by the C&amp;O in 1913. They also added a Mineral Bath Department and an 18-hole golf course. Charles Blair, the most prominent contemporary golf architect of the time designed the golf course with is now called The Old White Course.In 1914 the Greenbrier opened for the first time year round. President Woodrow Wilson and his wife spent their holiday here while Joseph and Rose Kennedy travelled from Boston to spend their October honeymoon at The Greenbrier. In the 1920s The Greenbrier became a traveling network within high society. The network stretched all the way from Palm Beach, Florida to Newport, Rhode Island. In 1922 the Old White Hotel was removed from the property. Its removal led to the rebuilding of The Greenbrier Hotel in 1930. The renovation created more space, adding twice as many guest rooms which increased the number to 500. The hotel’s main entrance was redesigned by an architect from Cleveland, Ohio named Philip Small. Small added the Virginia Wing (inspired by Mount Vernon) and the North Entrance façade.In 1941, after the United States entry into World War II, the hotel was leased out to the U.S. State Department for seven months. German, Japanese, and Italian diplomats, along with their families, were moved from Washington, D.C. to The Greenbrier until exchanges for U.S. Diplomats stranded overseas were completed. A year later, in 1942 the U.S. Army purchased the hotel and converted it into a hospital with 2,000 beds. The hospital became known as Ashford General Hospital and over a four year period, over 24,000 soldiers were admitted and treated in the surgical and rehabilitation center.The C&amp;O Railway took the hotel back in 1946 after the U.S. government was done using it. The C&amp;O commissioned for the interior to be redecorated by a noted designed named Dorothy Draper. After its renovation The Greenbrier reopened in 1948. It was not long until the U.S. government would ask for The Greenbrier to assist them once again. In 1950 they ask the hotel to allow the construction of an Emergency Relocation Center (bunker or bomb shelter) for Congress to occupy in the event that a war broke out. The underground facility was built along with an above ground addition to the hotel called the West Virginia Wing. The bunker remained ready in case of an emergency for thirty years. The project was terminated in 1992 and the bunker decommissioned after the Cold War ended and the project was exposed by the press.The Greenbrier Course was redesigned in 1978 by Jack Nicklaus, allowing it to be ready for the 1979 Ryder Cup Matches. The course has also served as the venue for three PGA Senior tournaments in the 1980s and the Solheim Cup competition in 1994. In 1999 Bob Cupp redesigned, rerouted and upgraded the older Lakeside Course creating the new Meadows Course. The project also created a new Gold Academy. Custom designed home neighborhoods were created by the Greenbrier Sporting Club beginning in 2000. These homes included a panoramic view of the Allegheny Mountains. In 2004 the infinity edge outdoor pool was opened also offering a breathtaking view of the Allegheny’s.The Old White Course was revamped by Lester George who created a challenging new version of the old course in 2006. The Greenbrier changed ownership on May 7, 2009 when Jim Justice, an entrepreneur from West Virginia bought the resort from the CSX Corporation (successor of the Chessie System and the C&amp;O). In August 2009 construction was set to build a casino and The Casino Club at The Greenbrier opened on July 2, 2010. Also in 2010, Mr. Jim Justice arranged for the PGA Tour to be relocated with a multi-year contract under the name The Greenbrier Classic. The first Greenbrier Classic was held July 26-August 1, 2010.On March 28, 2011 The Old White became a Tournament Players Club Network course. The Greenbrier Champions Tennis Classic held in September 2012 was won by Pete Sampras. Two years later, in April 2014 Sampras was named The Greenbrier’s first Tennis Pro Emeritus. In July 2014, the New Orleans Saints relocated their training camp to The Greenbrier and in June 2015 the Center Court at Creekside professional tennis stadium was opened.

The Greenbrier Resort dates back to the late 18th century, when visitors to the area would "take the waters" of the local spring that contained minerals believed to restore health. In the years leading up to the Civil War, the resort was a gathering place for Southern politicians and hosted five sitting U.S. Presidents and influential families. 

Greenbrier Resort 

This expansive bunker is housed in
the historic Greenbrier resort. Founded in 1778, the hotel garnered recognition for the healing properties
of their sulfur springs. It gained prestige&nbsp;as important political
figures from the South began to come for yearly trips. During World War II the
resort was leased by the government to house foreign diplomats for several
months and was then converted into a hospital for four years – the hotel's first
stint as a government associate. It was then returned to commercial business 1948 and
transformed into a pro-golf resort.

In December of 1958 construction began on a government-funded Emergency Relocation Center designed to house part of Congress in case
of nuclear disaster during the Cold War. To avoid suspicion, the Greenbrier
Resort simultaneously built a new addition called the West Virginia Wing.

The bunker itself covers approximately 112,000 square
feet, and has walls made out of concrete two feet thick which were reinforced
with steel. The facility is wedged 750
feet into the hillside, helping to mask its presence and offer protection from
missiles. There were four blast doors, the largest measuring fifteen feet high,
twelve feet wide, and nineteen and a half inches thick; it&nbsp;weighs about 28
tons. A grand total of $14 million&nbsp; was spent on construction of the bunker and the West Virginia Wing.

Numerous rooms were built to accommodate Congress,
including space to live and work.&nbsp; The
thick blast doors lead to 18 dormitories which can accommodate 1,100 people,
several decontamination chambers, a cafeteria, a pharmacy, a clinic with 12
hospital beds, meeting rooms for the House and Senate, a power plant with purification
equipment, three 25,000 gallon water storage tanks, three 14,000 gallon diesel
fuel storage tanks and a communications area that includes a TV production
studio and audio-recording booths.

Once completed in 1961, the hotel kept the bunker
stocked with supplies and food for 30 years. Food trucks would come in the dead
of night, and drivers were told they were just delivering food for the hotel. The
delivery men backed their trucks up into the first section of the bunker to
unload their food; this was all they saw of the bunker. The others that worked
and maintained the bunker were told to blend in with the community, to avoid rousing suspicion. The men and women
who ran the bunker worked undercover as hotel employees.

In its thirty years as an up kept, commissioned
government bunker, the closest the Greenbrier Bunker ever came to being used
was in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis,yet it was never put into action. The hidden fortress remained a secret until May 31,
1992, when The Washington Post published
an article exposing the facility. After the article’s release, the Greenbrier
lost its contract with the government and the bunker was decommissioned. Today
the bunker is no longer used by the government, but West Virginia’s nuclear
safe house is now available for public and private tours.&nbsp;

Hidden in the rolling hills of West Virginia, the United States Congress built a secret nuclear bunker within the nationally acclaimed Greenbrier resort in West Virginia. In light of the Cold War, Congress moved to build this extensive bunker where they could be protected from a nuclear disaster. After the war, pressure from the media led to the location of the bunker to be revealed. The resort has since opened the bunker for tours. 

The Greenbrier Bunker

This house was &nbsp;built in 1834 by William and Elizabeth Jenkins. &nbsp;Jenkins was a hatter and kept a tavern near the center of Lewisburg.&nbsp;&nbsp;In 1835, the house was sold to Thomas Craig, Sr. who conveyed the house to&nbsp;Dr. Thomas Creigh (1812-1877) in 1837. &nbsp;Creigh attended Lewisburg Academy, Ohio State University, and the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. &nbsp;He was Delegate to the Assembly of Virginia in 1844 and 1857-1858, and served as a surgeon in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Dr.&nbsp;Creigh is attributed with making the first of many additions to the house, and the work may have been done by John Dunn, a local brick mason. The house was purchased in 1874 by State Supreme Court Justice Homer A. Holt (1831-1898). Judge Holt attended Rector College and the University of Virginia. In 1862, &nbsp;Holt was arrested as a Confederate sympathizer. &nbsp;Following an exchange of prisoners, he served out the war as a private under the command of General McCausland. In addition to being a lawyer Judge Holt was a co-founder of the Bank of Lewisburg.&nbsp;&nbsp;His namesake and grandson was born here and later elected the 20th&nbsp;governor of West Virginia in 1936. He attended Greenbrier Military School, Washington and Lee University, and Washington and Lee University Law School. He practiced law in Fayetteville, WV. During the mid-nineteenth century, the structure operated as the Colonial Inn by Mrs. Marcus L. Dillon.

It is thought the house was built in 1834 according to a date cut into a brick in the wall.  A number of alterations have been made to the house through the years, the most conspicuous being the replacement of the original double portico with the present colonial entrance and an open terrace. Colonel C. E. Turley, historian, describes the house as, "...been occupied, over the years, by six of Greenbrier County's most prominent families.  All of them, it seems, made numerous and conspicuous alterations. In size the house is imposing and its workmanship inside and out is of the finest."

Justice Homer A. Holt House

The first deed for this property in 1807 describes the house as being used by Benjamin Carman as a tavern. &nbsp;In 1894 the house was bought by Henry T. ("H. T.") Bell (1857-1915) and Lucy Walton Bell ((1857-1930). H. T. Bell owned a clothing house where the downtown fire of 1897 started (see Greenbrier Valley Bank Building). Bell strung a telephone line from his house to his store, and he may have had the first telephone service in town.&nbsp; Charles Gardner Mathews (1869-1923) bought the house in 1906. He was a lawyer, graduate of the University of Virginia Law School, and at one time a private secretary to WV Senator Johnson N. Camden. Mathews was a nephew of WV Governor Henry Mason Mathews. Charles' widow, Harriett Mathews (1877-1959) is credited with planting Althea bushes around the house and naming it the Althea Inn. The property remained in the Mathews family until 1967 when it was purchased by John Wade Bell III and Ann Tate Bell. The house underwent extensive restoration under the Bell's ownership. &nbsp;Following several more owners, the house was recently renovated by Schleiff Construction Company for the current owner.

The original part of this house was built about 1807. Underneath the weatherboard is log construction which proves it to be one of the earliest houses on Washington Street. The building has an extensive history as a guest house known as the Carmin Tavern and later the Athea Inn.

Benjamin Carmin Tavern-Mathews House

The house was built in 1853 by John Watts Lipps &nbsp;(1820-1897) and Mary Ann Anderson Lipps (1823-1893). John Lipps was a Blacksmith, hardware store owner,&nbsp;&nbsp;Justice of Peace for 20 years, and a member of the County Court. Mary Lipps' father was a Captain in the Revolutionary War, and she and John had eight children. At her death, the&nbsp;Greenbrier Independent noted that Mary Lipps "...dispensed her charities to the poor and needy..." In 1903, the house was purchased by Richard Vine Jasper (1846-1923) and Caroline Nichols Jasper (1846-1911). Richard Jasper was&nbsp;born in England, immigrated to Pennsylvania, and &nbsp;with James Laing&nbsp;developed coal mines in Fayette County, WV.&nbsp; The house passed from the Jasper family to Charles W. Lewis II and Margaret Mary Lewis in 1961. For many years the Lewis family were prominent automobile dealers, and the house remains in their family.

This brick house began as a rather plain two-story brick structure with impressive tall chimneys. This transitional  house with an ell has seen many additions including porches and a piazza to accommodate the large familes who have resided here. Wide lawns with trees make for an expansive appearance . 

John Lipps House

Not much is know about the Venables other than they were long-time members of the Methodist Church, and John was a carpenter. &nbsp;Mason Mathews was president of the Bank of Lewisburg as well as president of the First National Bank of Ronceverte and Richwood Bank and Trust Company. In 1912, he was elected President of the West Virginia Bankers Association. The house was purchased by Colonel H. B. Moore and Ida J. Moore, and in 1949 the Moore conveyed it to three of H. B. Moore's sisters, E. Katharine (Kate) Moore, Emma E. Moore and Willie J. Moore. &nbsp;Colonel Moore, a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, was principal of Greenbrier Presbyterial School (later Greenbrier Military School), where he also taught math. Following the deaths of the Moore sisters, the property was bequeathed to Rev. Stewart M. McMurry, son of Priscilla Moore McMurry, another Moore sibling.&nbsp;

The first house on this lot was built circa 1855 by John Dean Venable (1805-1881) and Nancy Winall Venable (1813-1889).  The property was bought in 1892 by Mason Mathews (1867-1928) and Jane Montgomery Mathews. The Mathews either added to and enlarged the Venable house or razed the Venable house and built a new one. The house gained the many turn of its century features in the late 1800s. This structure is notable for its variety of beautiful leaded and beveled window glass.

Through the years, several additions were made to the rear of the house.

Venable-Mathews-Moore House

Mason Mathews (see backstory of the Venable-Mathews-Moore House just up the street)&nbsp;bought this property at auction in 1845 for $2,020. &nbsp;For the next 118 years, the Mathews family occupied the house. &nbsp;In 1874, Mason Mathews conveyed the house to his parents, Alexander Ferdinand Mathews (1842-1927) and Laura Maud Gardner Mathews (1842-1927). &nbsp;Alexander Mathews attended Lewisburg Academy and the University of Virginia where he received a law degree. During the Civil War, he was Commissary of Subsistence for the 59th Virginia Infantry of the Confederate Army&nbsp;and was an aide-de-camp to General Henry A. Wise, former governor of Virginia. He was a co-founder of the Bank of Lewisburg and brother of Henry M. Mathews, former governor of West Virginia.

This house was built in 1845 to replace an earlier brick home that burned. This is a three-by-three bay, L-shaped structure with a hipped roof. Its floor plan is regular Georgian with large 6/6 sashes. Special feature include the very large inside chimneys with corbeled caps, the pairs of brackets all around the deep cornice, and substantial entrance porch with much Italianate-style decorative woodwork. 

Mathews House

Among the many owners of this&nbsp;house was &nbsp;Dr. John Mays (1787-1850) and his wife, Rebecca Mays (1787-1864). John Mays ran the Bell Tavern, was a merchant, and was a member of the Virginia Legislature. He served as Lewisburg's postmaster from 1810-1815.&nbsp; In the 1860s this house was owned by Dr. William H. and Ann E. Syme. Dr. Syme was a physician, lawyer and editor of&nbsp;The Statesman, a weekly Lewisburg newspaper. &nbsp;He wrote one of the first accounts of the martyrdom of David S. Creigh. The house was purchased in 1870 by Sally Stalnaker.&nbsp; Later occupants in the early 1900s were L. Judson and Harriett P. Williams. "Jud" Williams was an attorney, Justice of the the Supreme Court of West Virginia, served on the State Tax Commission and Board of Regents of West Virginia University.

Noted for its attractive imbricated shingles, this house was constructed circa 1835 by William S. and Elizabeth Littlepage .  The original basement kitchen still exists in the house.

Stalnaker House

The house is named for Dr. Hugh Wilson, an early physician. &nbsp;The house was also occupied by Mark and Virginia Spotts. &nbsp;Born in 1812, Mark Spotts held numerous public offices, including deputy clerk of the U S. District Court, Sheriff, County Superintendent of Schools, and justice of the peace. &nbsp;In his obituary in the Greenbrier Independent, it was written:&nbsp;Pure in thought, gentle in manner, upright in deed,&nbsp;conscientious&nbsp;snd honorable in all things, Mr. Spotts was one of nature's noblemen, and died honored and respected by all who knew him. Virginia Spotts was a music teacher. In recent years, the home has been occupied by three generations of the Sydenstricker family.

This lovely painted pink brick home was built in 1834.  It is noted for a fine hand-carved entrance doorway with sidelights and a semi-eplipitical fanlight with delicate tracery.  The doorway is supported by reeded columnns, which are repeated on the inside.  The door still has the original brass box lock. In the rear yard are original log outbuildings. Noteworthy are the sunburst designs on the mantles of the fireplaces in the living and dinning rooms.

Dr. Hugh Wilson House

For a while this building was known as the Patrick Henry Court House because Patrick Henry had spoken there. In 1920 a small group of women who had been involved with the Red Cross during WWI organized the Greenbrier County Woman's Association to continue public service. The Association purchased the building and provided offices and an apartment for a public health nurse and headquarters for the county Red Cross. An operating room and ward with eleven beds was developed for children who needed tonsillectomies. In addition, it was the site of a WPA sewing project and WPA library. It has housed a pre-school program and meeting place for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. The Greenbrier County Parent Teacher Association was organized in this building.&nbsp; &nbsp;Once again, it is home to a mercantile business, Brick House Antiques.

This Federal style building may have been built by master mason, John Weir, as a store house. John Withrow (1816-1886), owned the building from 1852-1865 and ran his mercantile business in it. He lived upstairs with his wife, Louisa Anne Withrow (1819-1878). Louisa taught at the Lewisburg Academy. In her obituary, she was described as "...a decided Presbyterian, yet, she was catholic in her views, and liberal and non-sectarian in her sentiments."

Community House

This building and the former adjacent building served as taverns for many years as The Bell Tavern, Old Bell Stand, Frazier's Tavern, Central Inn, Greenbrier House, and the Bivens Boarding House. On August 30, 1826, Henry Clay, Whig Party leader and U. S. Secretary of State, was warmly received by residents at a dinner in the tavern. This building once had a second floor balcony with a wrought iron railing that was described by local historian Ruth Wood Dayton as "delicate in design." When it was removed it was one of the last attractive balconies along Washington Street. The building is now occupied by Greenbrier Real Estate.

This two-story painted brick building was the "western part" of The Bell Tavern that was thought to have been built before 1823 and has since been demolished. This building may have been built by John Weir, noted architect and brick mason. In addition to having been part of the adjacent tavern, it was a store house and was occupied by a saddle shop in 1879.

Bell Tavern

After the theatre closed in 1942, it has had varied commercial businesses on the ground floor and offices and apartments above. Most recently, it was site of the Irish Pub that closed in 2018.

Opened on December 23, 1913 by W. W. Foster, the Princess Theatre was the first moving picture theatre in Lewisburg and began by showing silent films. It was also reported to have been the site of a basement speakeasy during Prohibition. 

Princess Theatre Building

As former owner&nbsp;Gwen Clingman described it, "it is a dump." It still had the remnants of a meat market with&nbsp;a few chairs and oil cloth covered&nbsp;tables, but Gwen served breakfast and lunch to much of downtown&nbsp;Lewisburg. &nbsp;Patrons would walk to the kitchen and point to the many pots on the stoves and select their meal. &nbsp;Each Friday she served a Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey and dressing. Clingman generously provided free meals to shut-ins and&nbsp;others in need. For many students at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, it was the only hot meal they would get. &nbsp;In her honor, Gwen's Meals, sponsored by local churches, continues to feed the needy. Today, the building is occupied&nbsp;the Stardust Cafe.

Since its construction, this building has housed a saddler's shop, meat market, and restaurant.  It is best known as Clingman's Market, which operated within the building for 57 years, from 1945 to 2002.

Clingman's Market

Known as the Houck Store, it is named after Arthur Keller ("AK") Houck. According to AK's granddaughter, Nancy Bulla, and local historian, Dr. John Montgomery, AK came to Lewisburg to pitch for a Lewisburg baseball team. When this Cincinnati Reds farm team went belly up, AK opened his store, initially in the Hotel Neely building. According to Dr. Montgomery, AK was the first merchant to sell&nbsp;fresh vegetables and very early sold avocados that he called "alligator pears." Ms. Bulla recounts that AK loved cats and kept them at the store to keep out mice. One customer told AK that a cat was up on a barrel of salted fish eating one of them out of the brine. To the dismayed customer, he quipped, "Cats like fish." It is thought there may have been an opera house in the building as Mr. Houck found a popcorn machine in the building when he bought it. Since the Houck Store, this building has continued to be occupied with various stores, a restaurant,&nbsp;&nbsp;and now houses Bella The Corner Gourmet.

This two-story mercantile building was built circa 1910 and replaced a log building that once housed Greenbrier County's first courthouse. Work done in the 1980s found the foundation for a smaller building beneath the existing building.

Houck Store

The fountain in the green space was dedicated to Dr. Connie Bradley Mann, a much-beloved local psychologist.

The building that originally stood on this lot was built in 1845 and had been used as a tinner's shop, a drug store, and for general merchandising. The building survived the great fire of 1897 that destroyed much of downtown, but it did not survive a fire in 1997. Today it is used as a public park.

Community Green Space

The fire of 1897 destroyed most of two blocks of Lewisburg's downtown commercial district. &nbsp;The fire began in the back of H. T. Bell's clothing store and spread rapidly. Lewisburg had no fire fighting equipment or organization. The Ronceverte fire engine was summoned but delayed due to a misunderstanding. The fire was fought by men and boys with buckets and wet blankets. Women of the town "worked like Trojans" carrying furniture, goods, etc. out of buildings and standing guard over them until their owners could claim and stow away their property. Two banks and several stores were destroyed, but there were no fatalities.&nbsp;

This building was constructed in 1897 to replace buildings destroyed in the fire of the same year.  It replaced the burned Bank of Lewisburg that later became the Greenbrier Valley Bank. For many years, Lewisburg had the only bank between Staunton, Virginia, and Charleston.  It was designed by James M. Lee of the Lee Military Academy and built under the supervision of Joseph F. Wright of Huntington.  The woodwork was done by William L. Wetzel of Lewisburg.  The building was initially trimmed with blue sandstone that was brought from Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to the bank, it was built to accommodate a retail store and post office on the ground floor and rental offices on the second floor.  Today, it houses Lewisburg's City Hall and two retail stores. Noteworthy is the bracketed cast meal cornice atop the facade with a centered pediment bearing the date 1897. 

Greenbrier Valley Bank Building

While this house has served as a residence for most of its life, it became the site of a string of &nbsp;restaurants. In its course of becoming a commercial building, additions and appendages were built. It is now occupied by The Humble Tomato, a restaurant.

Materials, such as its hand-hewn log frame and its construction methods, indicate that this house was built in the late 1700s and is one of the earliest houses in Lewisburg. Luke Bowyer, a prominent lawyer in the late 1700s and early 1800s, lived here from 1808 to 1814. Later, it belonged to  William Foster, who served as Lewisburg's mayor from 1928-1930 and 1933-1942.  He is the longest serving mayor to date.

Bowyer-Grow-Foster House

John North (1794-1857) served as a private in the War of 1812 and was appointed clerk of the Greenbrier District Court of Chancery in 1818, and married his wife Charlotte Blaine (1800-1883) of Lexington, VA the same year. North built his home in 1820, but sold to James Frazer later in 1836 and the structure became known as the Star Inn and Tavern.<blockquote>“Particularly catering to the jurists of the District Court of Chancery, which met in Lewisburg. Early writers visiting the springs speak of the frequent pilgramages enjoyed by guests at White Sulphur, who made all-day trips to Lewisburg to hear the lawyers wax eloquent in their court oratory and to follow with a splendid meal at the Star.”1</blockquote>When Lewisburg became the seat of the western division of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia, the five judges appointed North as the divisional clerk. North soon became one of Lewisburg’s most influential citizens and is responsible for shaping the politics in Greenbrier County. The house remained the Star Tavern and Inn until the property was purchased by Colonel Joel McPherson who deeded the property to his daughter Adeline Harris. Harris’ husband remodeled the house and it became a private residence again. In 1905, Greenbrier College purchased the home to house the college president. The Greenbrier Historical Society initially began in 1859 but was disbanded during the Civil War. It did not reform until 1963. However, in 1938 the city of Lewisburg created the Greenbrier County Museum Committee. This committee was the founders of the museum. After the Greenbrier Historical Society was reformed in 1963, they took responsibility for the museum.In 1976, the museum was moved from the second floor of the city library to the North House. The North House Museum is open Monday through Saturday. On selected days, the society’s archives and library are open for research. The museum is home to documents that are related to the history of the Greenbrier Valley. Collections from the Revolutionary War through World War II can be found here. There are Civil War artifacts and documents, an 18th Century Conestoga wagon, the first rural free delivery postal buggy, and the pack saddle used to break Traveller, Robert E. Lee’s horse. Looking in the rooms, one can get an idea of what early Virginia furnishings looked like.

Operated by the Greenbrier Historical Society, the North House Museum offers a variety of exhibits that share the history of life in the Greenbrier Valley for over more than two centuries. The museum is located in the historic home of John and Charlotte North which was built about 1820. In 1836 the home became James Frazer's Star Tavern and Inn. At the turn of the century, it was owned by the Greenbrier College for Women until its closure in 1972. Four years later, the historical society acquired the house. Over the past decades, this museum and library have amassed a collection of thousands of artifacts and rare books. The museum and society also host special community and educational events throughout the year. 

John North House 

Col. Goshen was a tailor and a county jailer who delighted in the uniform allowed by his militia command.&nbsp; He was appointed postmaster in 1825 and, at the blowing of the mail boy's horn, he would run to distribute the few pieces of mail.&nbsp; Any that weren't picked up would then be stuck in his bell-crowned hat and given to their owners when he saw them - an early form of mail delivery.

Thought to have been built about 1800, this is a frame building with hand-hewn studs. The log kitchen and dogtrot were late enclosed as part of the house.  It is named for Col. Goshen, a former postmaster.

Col. Marcus Goshen House

In the early 1750’s, Andrew Lewis, along with his father,
surveyed and discovered the area that is now Lewisburg, West Virginia. The
Lewis duo discovered a clear mountain spring that was remarkable in both size
and volume, and decided to establish settlement there. The initial settlement
of the area was deemed “Savannah,” and was later changed to Lewis Spring. The
fort that was established on the land was named Fort Savannah. Due to the
overlap in names of the area and the fort, scholars are unsure as to the exact
year Fort Savannah came into existence. The first theory is that the fort was
built in 1755, the same year that was placed on the historical marker, due to a
letter from Captain Robert Orme to General Braddock stating that Andrew Lewis
ordered his men to build two stockade forts. The second theory is that Fort
Savannah was established in 1770, a date engraved on another historical marker
located at the courthouse, between the French and Indian War and Lord Dunmore’s
War.

Early letters in 1755 indicate that there were around 60
settlers housed in the fort at Green Brier, however scholars believe that the
Green Brier being referred to was Fort Greenbrier at Marlington. It is also
possible that Fort Savannah was constructed as a result of the act by the
General Assembly in 1756 to build forts spanning from the Potomac to the
Alleghany Mountains. If Fort Savannah had been constructed in the 1750’s, it is
likely that it would have been destroyed in 1763 during the Muddy Creek and
Clendenin massacres. One reason scholars believe the fort did not exist during
these attacks was the fact that when Ann Clendenin escaped, she fled to the
settlements at Jackson River which were much further away than the location of
Fort Savannah. 

Fort Savannah could have possibly been built when settlers
returned to the area in the early 1770’s, along with Stuart’s Fort, Donnally’s
Fort and Arbuckle’s Fort. Colonel John Stuart, who is responsible for
documenting Greenbrier County’s early history, does not mention Fort Savannah
in his writing. Stuart mentions Camp Union, but not Fort Savannah. The first
mention of an actual Fort Savannah in Greenbrier was during Lord Dunmore’s War,
however these texts only proved existence and did not describe size or type. There
are no records of when Fort Savannah was destroyed or razed, however local
legend says that the Arbuckle house that sits on the same plot of land was partially
constructed of logs from Fort Savannah.&nbsp;

In 1751, at the present site of Lewisburg, WV, Andrew Lewis and his father found a spring which they named Lewis Spring. Eventually this spring started to attract settlers, and houses were built near the springs. Due to the French and Indian War, settlers had to disperse but in 1760 they returned to the area. Scholars have long debated the existence and year of establishment for Fort Savannah, however the location of the fort around the two springs and 100 yards southeast of the courthouse seems to be agreed upon.


Fort Savannah

Although ultimately attached to the state of West Virginia, most of the residents of Greenbrier County were loyal to the Confederacy during the Civil War. The county held an enslaved population of 1,525 in 1860. During the war, 81% of the county's eligible men fought for the Confederacy. During the war, several engagements, including 1862 Battle of Lewisburg and the 1863 Battle of White Sulphur Springs, occurred in the county. In 1905, the United Daughters of the Confederacy paid $2,800 dollars to build a Confederate monument in Lewisburg, the seat of Greenbrier County. William Sheppard designed and W. Sivers sculpted the bronze figure. The Confederate soldier stands at parade rest atop a granite base, upon which is inscribed "IN MEMORY OF OUR CONFEDERATE DEAD." It was dedicated on June 14, 1906. The monument was placed on the grounds of the Lewisburg Female Institute (later Greenbrier College and now New River Community and Technical College). The monument was relocated to its present spot due to the construction of Route 60. The Library of Virginia database of Virginia's military dead, which is only partially complete, assigns 200 Confederate deaths to Greenbrier County from those soldiers whose home counties are known.(10) In June 2020, amid nationwide protests over Confederate iconography in the wake of George Floyd's death, some residents of Greenbrier County called for the removal of the Confederate statue. Some thought it should be removed to the local Confederate cemetery. As local resident Brehana Scott noted, "It's a painful reminder that only one side of history is displayed. It's a painful reminder that one in ten people in Greenbrier County were slaves but there are no monuments to glorify those people or recognize that history." Diamond Sinclar likewise argued, "It's part of history, it's part of a dark part of our history. It shouldn't be glorified."[2] A position calling for the monument's removal gathered over 900 signatures. The City of Lewisburg ultimately determined not to remove the statue. Mayor Beverly White (the city's first African-American mayor) concluded that "History happened--We can't change it, what we must focus on is how we move forward." She promised, "The City will work with the North House Museum to create interpretive signage to educate our communities not divide our communities."[3]

During the Civil War, Greenbrier County firmly supported the Confederacy and several battles occurred in the area. In 1906, the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated a monument to Greenbrier County's Confederate dead. Originally located on the grounds of former Greenbrier College, the rerouting of Route 60 necessitated the relocation of the monument to its present location. In 2020, there were calls for the monument's removal or relocation to the nearby Confederate cemetery, but the city government ultimately decided against removal, promising instead to incorporate new interpretive signs around the monument.

Lewisburg Confederate Monument

There are a total of six houses that sit on top of Gospel Hill in Lewisburg, they were originally built for the coal companies as workhouses for the people of the coal company. When the coal companies moved on the railroad companies moved in and shifted the houses for their workers. The lumber workers would have partake in living in these single and double level homes. Now there are no markers here, the whole area is just called the historic district without any distinction to these specifically, but they would soon be a bigger deal than just work homes. After the Civil War would end, the Black community in certain places would begin to have certain rights that they had previously been left out of. This included being in certain communities. For the houses, thats exactly what was happening in Lewisburg, WV. This district is closely located near the heart of the city, and this would be where a collection of the Black community would move when they did here. This section of Lewisburg would be the most integrated even in the midst of public backlash. Living closely to town would allow the Black community to participate (as much as the community would allow). The community would begin to vote and run for offices, as well as participate in the lumber boom that would make its rounds. This area is the only one that still has the 19th century houses reflected. There are no private viewing of the houses, but someone may drive or walk by at anytime to enjoy the historic district.

  This district is a row of several houses on Maple Street that one could drive right past and not think twice about. The houses themselves are older homes constructed before the civil rights movement. It is a quiet neighborhood no one currently lives in. The importance is that it was one of the first "integrated" parts of West Virginia. This place is relatively close to the main part of town and for African Americans to be living this close to town was unheard of. There was some discomfort from the townspeople but in all there was little push back. 


Lewisburg Maple Street Historic District

Historians believe that the attacks led by Dunquat in 1778 against Forts Randolph and Donnally were at least partially a response to the November 10, 1777 murder of the Shawnee leader Cornstalk by members of the rebel militia at Fort Randolph. Cornstalk, known primarily for his role as the leader of Shawnee forces at the 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant during Dunmore’s War, traveled to Fort Randolph at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers in what became Point Pleasant, West Virginia in the fall of 1777. His aim was to assure the commander at the fort, Captain Matthew Arbuckle, of his continued neutrality in the American War for Independence. Over the course of that conflict, Cornstalk had found it increasingly difficult to convince the young men of his community to remain unaffiliated with either the British or rebels. Most, persuaded by the Shawnee leader Blue Jacket (Weyapiersenwah), chose to side with the British, believing that ally more likely to uphold restrictions on colonial expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains. Corntalk’s murder in the fall of 1777 by rebel colonists ultimately convinced many of those that remained in favor of neutrality to abandon that stance. In the aftermath of that event, the Shawnees sent emissaries to Native groups across the Ohio Country and beyond in search of allies for their intended retaliation against the rebels in that area. Among those that responded to the Shawnees’ call was Dunquat, a Wyandot leader in the region who at variously times claimed status as an Iroquoian (hence his title of “half king,” a label applied by colonists to Iroquois leaders outside of Iroquois territory). In the spring of 1778, Dunquat gathered together a group of some 200 Wyandot and Mingo fighters to attack Fort Randolph. Dunquat had previously attempted an unsuccessful siege of Fort Henry (now Wheeling, West Virginia) the year before, an attack that resulted in little more than the Natives’ gaining the livestock held outside the fort. His attack against Fort Randolph fared little better. Matthew Arbuckle, absent at the time of the siege, reported that the Indians had quickly surrounded the fort on all sides on May 16 and begun their assault to little avail. The rebels inside, led in Arbuckle’s absence by Captain William McKee, had received advance notice of the attack and stored sufficient water to survive the assault, which lasted a week. Eventually, the personal intervention of Cornstalk’s sister Nonhelema (supporting neutrality still despite her brother’s murder) and the fruitlessness of the effort convinced Dunquat and his supporters to move on. They chose as their next target Fort Donnally, a blockhouse in what is now Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Realizing the Indians’ next target, McKee called for volunteers to travel overland to warn the rebels at Fort Donnally. Two of the number, Philip Hammond and John Pryor chose to take up the task and Nonhelema assisted in disguising them as Native fighters with war paint. Hammond and Pryor followed quickly in Dunquat’s wake and eventually overtook them, passing through the Indians’ lines to Fort Donnally where they delivered their warning to Colonel Andrew Donnally. Donnally quickly sent similar warnings to his neighbors in the area, who gathered at his blockhouse for protection. Eventually, twenty men had arrived along with sixty women and children, who worked to collect water and other supplies and deposit them in the blockhouse before the Indians could commence their first attack. That attack came on May 29, when fighters under Dunquat attacked the door of the blockhouse with tomahawks and war clubs and nearly battered it down. Among the sentries who repulsed this attack was Dick Pointer, a slave who proved pivotal to the defense through his use of scatter shot that beat multiple attacks on the entrance back over the course of the first day. Pointer’s efforts allowed Colonels Samuel Lewis and John Stuart time to bring in reinforcements, forcing their way past the Indians with a body of sixty men. Ultimately, these reinforcements convinced Dunquat and his men to abandon the siege and the campaign. With these victories under their belt, the Virginians turned their attention elsewhere. For several months, they made preparations for an assault on the British outposts in the Illinois country, plans that were rendered pointless by the success of George Rogers Clark’s campaign in that region. Eventually, they became part of larger plans to attack the British at Detroit from Fort Pitt. Without the success of rebel arms at Forts Randolph and Donnally, Virginia would have continued to focus considerable resources and attention on the area around those forts rather than on other, more strategically significant goals. In light of that success, meanwhile, white settlers continued to arrive to those areas under the belief that their efforts to establish communities and claim the land for Virginia would be undertaken in relative safety and security.

The 1778 campaign against Forts Randolph and Donnally by British-allied Native fighters is one of the most pivotal moments in the progress of the American War for Independence in the area that became West Virginia. Prosecuted over the latter half of May that year, the ultimately unsuccessful attempt to destroy two of the most important rebel strongholds in what were then the borderlands of western Virginia ensured that the influx of white settlers to the area would continue unabated. Led by the Wyandot leader Dunquat (Petawontakas, Pomoacan), the weeklong siege of Fort Randolph at Point Pleasant and subsequent attack on Fort Donnally in Rader’s Valley was most likely an at least partial retaliation for the murder of the Shawnee leader Cornstalk the previous year. Dunquat’s failure to destroy the two forts ultimately allowed the Virginian government to shift its attention elsewhere, preparing for a campaign against the British at Detroit believing that their interests to the south along the Kanawha were adequately protected. The marker commemorating this campaign in Greenbrier County is accessible year-round along U.S. 60.

1778 Campaign against Forts Randolph and Donnally

The tragic and bizarre case of the Greenbrier Ghost trial began when Edward Shue arrived in the area seeking work as a Blacksmith. A local girl by the name of Zona Heaster fell in love with the newcomer, and the pair were soon wed. Reportedly the marriage did not sit well with Zona's mother, Mary Jane Robinson Heaster. Zona and Edward lived together for a short time before her death on January 23, 1897. On that day, a young boy found Zona's lifeless body in her home while running an errand. At the time, the boy found Zona's body at the bottom of a staircase. He later testified that she was positioned oddly with her feet together one hand on her stomach and the other lying beside her. The town physician, Dr. George W. Knapp, was asked to look at the body but he did not arrive for nearly an hour. The trial later revealed that during this hour, Edward had already taken his wife upstairs to the bedroom, cleaned her, changed her into a high neck dress with a veil, and positioned her peacefully on the bed. Dr. Knapp's examination was short since Edward was sobbing over his loss and would violently react when the doctor tried to take a closer look at the body. While the husband's actions might trigger an immediate criminal investigation today, the tradition of patriarchy where a husband was considered the sovereign leader of a household led the physician to defer to Edward. Violence by husbands against their wives was more common, but discussing the issue was taboo leading to a widespread lack of awareness of the often deadly consequences of domestic violence. In addition, it was easy for the doctor to assume that Zona had died of natural causes even though she was young because he had been treating her for several weeks for an unknown ailment related to obstetrics or gynecology. In the 19th-century, few physicians were experts in these fields, and Zona may have been pregnant or the victim of sexual abuse. In many of these cases, the failure of physicians to adequately diagnose women led to additional complications and could even lead to death. Until the 1920s, and even beyond, physicians often prescribed opiates to their female patients that masked the underlying causes of their health issues and led to addiction. Medical advances dating back to the antebellum period should have provided physicians with more knowledge, but patriarchy and Victorian mores combined to make discussion of the subject taboo even in many medical communities.  Dr. Knapp sent riders out to Zona's parents to tell them of the news. Upon hearing the news Mrs. Heaster said, "The devil has killed her." Zona had long suspected her daughter was in an abusive relationship, and her subconscious thoughts likely led to her dreams where her daughter confirmed her suspicions. Soon after her death, Edward took care of every detail of the wake and burial. Few other than Zona's mother suspected anything when the body was buried in the meadows. Mrs. Heaster took the sheet from the coffin before it was buried and tried to return it to Mr. Shue but he did not accept it. She noticed a strange odor from the sheet. When she washed the sheet, it made the water turn red. Mrs. Heaster took this as a sign that her daughter had been murdered so she began to pray.The bereaved mother claims that Zona visited her for several evenings in her dreams as if she was a ghost. In these evening "visits," Zona told her mother she had been murdered by the Edward Shue. Zona appeared four more times telling her mother certain details about her murder. Mrs. Heaster responded by visiting Dr. Knapp and compelling him to do a complete autopsy. The body was uncovered, and the autopsy Zona's neck had been broken and her windpipes had been crushed. Edward Shue was arrested and later found guilty in the court of law for the murder of his wife, Zona. The testimony of the dream or "ghost" did not convict Mr. Shue, but rather they reflected Heaster's suspicions and led to her request for the autopsy. Following the turn-of-the-century mores of the era, the physician could be seen not as violating Mr. Shue's authority by conducting the autopsy, but rather fulfilling his manly obligation to a bereaved mother to take every step needed to convince her that she was simply "hysterical" for believing that her daughter's death was the result of foul play. However, it was the attempt to placate the bereaved mother that led to further investigation.  The dedication of a historical marker attests to the importance of this legend to residents of the Sam Black Church area. Over a century later, the story is repeated throughout this part of West Virginia.

This historical marker shares the story of the only known case where the alleged testimony of a "ghost" led to a criminal conviction. The history behind the sensational story of a murdered wife and a community that initially failed to investigate the cause of death reveals important truths about patriarchy and the state of medicine at the turn of the century. 
The trial and conviction of Edward Shue occurred following the 1897 death of his wife, Zona Heaster-Shue, near present-day Sam Black Church. According to the local legend, many assumed her death was from natural causes owing to several visits by a physician for health issues related to unknown ailments many at this time labeled with generic euphemisms such as the "female complaint." Zona's mother had long distrusted her daughter's husband and immediately suspected foul play. She reported that she was visited by her daughter in several dreams, likely a reflection of her self-consciousness. 
As is often the case in small communities, the story of the mother's dreams changed as it was shared throughout the community. Before long, community members told tales about how Zona's mother had been visited by a ghost. The story grew to the point where many believe that it was these repeated paranormal visits that compelled the mother to demand that her daughter's body be disinterred for a complete autopsy. The mother may have used the community's interest in the case to demand an autopsy. As a result of public interest, the coroner complied and found that Zona's neck had been broken. This new evidence led to the conviction of Zona's husband. While the testimony of the "ghost" was not used in court, many believe that it was a series of paranormal visits that compelled the coroner to investigate the cause of Zona's death. Over a century later, the murder and trial remain a legend that is shared throughout the community. 

Greenbrier Ghost Historical Marker 

In 1929 local
individuals came together to open the Maple Oaks Hotel in Rainelle.
Unfortunately when the Great Depression hit the hotel was forced to close.
Sometime around 1935 the building was purchased by a man from Virginia named
Coleman Gore. He renamed the hotel King Coal Hotel.

To distinguish
the hotel from others, a large lump of coal was set out in front of the
building. There was also a golden crown that was set on top of the building. Before
I-64 diverted traffic through Beckley, the King Coal Hotel was a popular stop
for businessmen who were traveling from Charleston, WV.

King Coal Hotel was one of the leading businesses in the town of Rainelle, which was once home to the world's largest hardwood lumber mill. Rainelle-area industries related to lumber and coal. The area attracted many visitors to the city in the early 1950s and needed a place for people to stay when they came to town for business. The hotel's decline mirrored that of the mill, and the building was demolished in 2014.

King Coal Hotel

The Lee Tree is where General Robert E Lee first saw his horse, Traveller, which was given to him from the local Andrew Johnston Farm. While at the site of the tree, Lee set up camp for his Confederate Troops in the fall of 1861. The location is on Sewell Mountain, near the highest point of the Midland Trail.Lee is the Confederate General who captured victories for the South in battles such as Gaines Mill, the Second Battle of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. His last battle of the Civil War was fought at Appomattox Courthouse in April 1865; it was here that he surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant.The original Sugar Maple tree at the site was cut down in 1936 and made into souvenirs for the United Daughters of the Confederacy, however, a new tree was planted there as a replacement. In 1934, the DOC placed a memorial plaque at the site that reads: “The tablet marks the sire of the LEE TREE under which General Robert E. Lee pitched his tent during the autumn of 1861.”The Lee Tree is surrounded by an iron fence; in 2013 this fence was found by Robert Neely to be partially destroyed and the tree itself near dead. Neely is a member of Camp 1694 of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans and the project manager in charge of the 2014 restoration project. Sun Valley Machine Shop, Camp 1694, and various other historic preservation organizations help aid in the restoration. In September 2014 a Rededication Ceremony was held at the Lee Tree.

Lee's Tree is the location of a Sugar Maple tree where General Lee first saw his horse, Traveller, and later pitched his tent for his Confederate headquarters in the fall of 1861. The site, located at the highest point on the Midland Trail, is now surrounded by iron fencing and is home to a replacement tree; the original tree was cut down and made into souvenirs for the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Lee's Tree

Brothers Thomas and John Raine are the founders of Rainelle.
They began purchasing the entire valley and its surroundings in 1906. In 1909,
with over 100,000 acres of virgin hardwood at their fingertips, they began building
a lumber mill. It did not take long for the Meadow River Lumber Company to
become the largest hardwood lumber mill in the world. Following the founding of
the lumber mill, the brothers began to build houses, a school, hotel, theater,
fraternal lodge, bank, golf course and Methodist Church to be used by their
employees. 

By building a spur line, the Raine brother brought in the railroad.
They formed the Sewell Valley Railroad that in 1907 connected to the Chesapeake
and Ohio Railroad. The Shay engines that are now at Cass Scenic Railroad are
the same engines used by the brothers logging railroad.

The Meadow River Lumber Company operated from 1906 to 1975.
It was the largest sawmill in the world and had three 9 foot band saws under
just one roof. Peak production occurred in 1928. The 500 employees cut 3,000
acres of virgin timber a year and produced 31 million board feet of lumber.

The Rainelle United Methodist Church was established in
1912. The structure is believed to be the largest structure in the world to be constructed
entirely of American chestnut lumber.

The Meadow River House was constructed by the lumber company
in 1928.&nbsp; The small building was used to showcase
for the companies trims, moldings, and flooring during the Greenbrier Valley
Fair in 1928. The building is still used for featuring museum displays by the
fairgrounds during the yearly state fair week. The style of the Meadow River
House displays the building materials produced by the lumber company, and what
were popular features of homes during the time.

Every year on Memorial day, hundreds of veterans, known as the bikers, make a stop in this town for the weekend and enjoy the rich history of the town.

Rainelle is a small town in West Virginia with a population of 1,505 people according to the 2010 census. Used to be home to the world’s largest hardwood sawmill. The saw mill was tore down in 1975. U.S. route 60 runs through this small town. Rainelle is home to Cincinnati Reds pitcher Arnold Carter in 1944-1945. He finished the National League TOP TEN for winning percentages, shutouts, and saves.

Rainelle, West Virginia Historic Marker

During Lee's Western Virginia campaign from May to December 1861, Lee maintained a mobile headquarters as his men fought battles in Fayette and Pocahontas counties. The campaign was plagued by heavy rain and Lee was frustrated by several defeats which he attributed to inexperienced soldiers. J.E.B. Stuart would later become one of Lee's strongest supporters, but during this campaign, Stuart wrote in a letter that Lee was a disappointment as a general. Following more successful campaigns, Stuart would go on to become one of Lee's most trusted generals and his words and actions helped to build Lee's reputation as an effective military leader within an outmatched Confederate army. However, it is important to note that Lee made many mistakes in this campaign as well as strategic errors in the years that followed that led to disastrous campaigns at Antietam and Gettysburg. Despite having fewer troops, Lee and the Confederacy had the advantage of fighting on the defensive. Had Lee not made the fateful decision to attack the North in 1862 and 1863, the Confederacy could have likely had more success repelling Union attacks. Instead, victories at Antietam and Gettysburg united Northern opinion behind the war effort and served as two of the most important turning points in the Civil War. The marker focuses heavily on Lee and says little about the Western Virginia campaign. It also states that his horse, Traveler (the sign should record the horse's name as "Traveller"), was brought to him at this site. Although a small detail, it is worth pointing out that while Lee did meet the horse during the campaign he didn't take possession of Traveller until he was in South Carolina in 1862. Captain Joseph Broun that initially purchased Traveller from Andrew Johnston's son. However, the horse was born at a farm near Blue Sulphur Springs in southern Greenbrier County. Lee formed a bond with the horse during this campaign and remarked to Broun that he would use it before the war was over. Lee rode a horse named Richmond during the 1861 campaign but would later acquire Traveller. The Western Virginia campaign and its losses served to teach Lee valuable lessons which he took with him to each and every subsequent battle. He may have left western Virginia as "Granny Lee", but it would not be how he would be remember by the time the war was over.

This historical marker is located near one of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's headquarters during his disastrous Western Virginia campaign of 1861. Union victories gave control of much of Western Virginia, including the future state of West Virginia, to the Union thereby depriving the Confederacy of resources, transportation routes, and territory where slavery was practiced and support for the Confederacy was significant. Union sentiment was also strong, and with Union control of most of the area secured early in the war the stage was set for western Virginia counties to form their own government in 1863. The site is located near the town of Rainelle in Greenbrier County which is part of present-day West Virginia. During this campaign, Lee received his "Granny Lee" nickname due to his failures. His reputation as a military leader grew in the years that followed owing to his success in thwarting Union offensives in Virginia. However, Lee also made the fateful decision to invade Northern territory in 1862 and 1863. The resulting Union victories marked important turning points in the military history of the war. Despite the failure of those campaigns and the series of defeats he endured in this 1861 campaign, Lee continues to be regarded by many Americans as a brilliant military leader largely owing to his success in defending Virginia from several Union offensives in the early years of the war. 

Robert E. Lee's Western Virginia Headquarters

Tyree's Tavern is the oldest building in Fayette&nbsp;County. The property's origins as an established claim (but not the building) date back to&nbsp;1792 when Charles Skaggs established a patent of 400 acres. The land was sold to William Tyree in 1834 and included this structure which was expanded in the coming years. The location was perfect for many reasons due to its position.&nbsp; The tavern is located between Charleston and Lewisburg making it the perfect spot for travelers&nbsp;who were making the mountainous journey.&nbsp; Seizing this opportunity, William turned his investment into a tavern and occasional stagecoach stop.&nbsp;&nbsp;<div>In 1861 the tavern was the headquarters for Confederate General John B. Floyd when he, along with General Henry Alexander Wise, ran an "unsuccessful Kanawha Valley campaign."1&nbsp; In 1862 the tavern was once again turned into a headquarters but this time for the Union.&nbsp; Captain Charles W. Barker moved his Chicago Gray Dragoons into the area and turned the tavern into&nbsp;Union headquarters.&nbsp; "The original Chicago Dragoons enlisted in April 1861 for three months and were sent to West Virginia in June. Most of the men returned to Chicago when their enlistments expired, but their captain, Charles W. Barker, recruited two companies called the McClellan Dragoons."3 </div>Tyree's Tavern is also located near nine other historical landmarks and marks.&nbsp; The closest being the resting place of Julia Neale Jackson, the mother of Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.&nbsp; Julia Jackson passed in 1831 and was laid to rest in an unmarked grave on the hill behind the tavern.&nbsp; In 1855 Stonewall Jackson stayed at the tavern with hopes of seeing his mother's final resting place.&nbsp; "However, the grave was unmarked, and Jackson was not sure he saw the spot."4&nbsp; One of Stonewall's soldiers, now a captain, visited the grave and placed a marker so her grave would never be lost again.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Tyree's Tavern, also known in the region as the Halfway House of Ansted, was constructed in 1810 and is the oldest remaining building in the area. Constructed in the antebellum period, this tavern and inn served travelers along the Midland Trail. The building is believed to the be the oldest in Fayette County and was owned and operated by William Tyree. During the war, Tyree became the captain of Company C, 22nd Regiment Virginia Infantry. The tavern would be occupied by both Union and Confederate forces during the war. During the American Civil War, it would also serve as a hospital, homestead, and halfway house. The tavern includes the words "Headquarters of the Chicago Gray Dragoons," above the door. This was carved into the door by a Union Civil War unit that occupied the house. 

Tyree's Tavern is the oldest building in Fayette County. The property's origins as an established claim (but not the building) date back to 1792 when Charles Skaggs established a patent of 400 acres. The land was sold to William Tyree in 1834 and built this structure in the following years. The location was perfect for many reasons due to its position.  The tavern is located between Charleston and Lewisburg making it the perfect spot for travelers who were making the mountainous journey.  Seizing this opportunity, William turned his investment into a tavern and occasional stagecoach stop.  

Tyree's Tavern is the oldest building in Fayette County. The property's origins as an established claim (but not the building) date back to 1792 when Charles Skaggs established a patent of 400 acres. The land was sold to William Tyree in 1834 and built this structure in the following years. The location was perfect for many reasons due to its position.  The tavern is located between Charleston and Lewisburg making it the perfect spot for travelers who were making the mountainous journey.  Seizing this opportunity, William turned his investment into a tavern and occasional stagecoach stop.  

Tyree's Tavern is the oldest building in Fayette County. The property's origins as an established claim (but not the building) date back to 1792 when Charles Skaggs established a patent of 400 acres. The land was sold to William Tyree in 1834 and built this structure in the following years. The location was perfect for many reasons due to its position.  The tavern is located between Charleston and Lewisburg making it the perfect spot for travelers who were making the mountainous journey.  Seizing this opportunity, William turned his investment into a tavern and occasional stagecoach stop.  



Tyree's Tavern

The African American Heritage Family Tree Museum is unique in its mission to support the preservation of African American culture and history in West Virginia. The museum makes efforts to record local oral histories, visit and talk to local schools, and hold community programs to educate the surrounding communities. The museum was founded by two Chautauqua Scholars: Dr. Brucella Jordan and Norman Jordan.Dr. Brucella Jordan is a historian and the curator of the African American Heritage Family Tree Museum. She is a Chautauqua scholar who portrays the social activist Ida B. Wells, and the Harlem Renaissance poet, Anne Spencer.  Norman Jordan was the co-founder and director of the African American Heritage Family Tree Museum until his passing in 2015. He was also a poet and playwright associated with the Blacks Arts Movement, Director of the African American Arts &amp; Heritage Academy for teenagers, and a Carter G. Woodson Chautauqua Scholar. The museum holds the collection of African American photographer William H. Jordan. The collection contains over 1,000 negatives and photographs as well as Mr. Jordan’s personal diaries, his Krona View 8×10 Studio Camera and camera stand, his posing stool and various other two- and three-dimensional artifacts. Jordan was born in 1886 and died in 1976.The African American Heritage Family Tree Museum’s “Jordan Collection” is currently on display in the historic Norton House in Malden, West Virginia. The Norton House is owned and operated by West Virginia State University.

The African American Heritage Family Tree Museum is dedicated to the collection, exhibition, and preservation of African American culture and history in West Virginia. This museum is open to the public from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The museum was established in 1991 by Norman Jordan and Dr. Brucella Jordan. The Norton House in Malden WV is connected to this museum, and is available to view by appointment.

The African American Heritage Family Tree Museum

Julia Neal was born on February 28th, 1798 in Loudon County, Virginia.&nbsp; In 1817 Julia Neal married Jonathan Jackson, who was&nbsp;originally from Randolph County.&nbsp;The&nbsp;couple settled in Clarksburg and had two&nbsp;children&nbsp;prior to the arrival of Thomas Jonathan Jackson on January 21, 1824.&nbsp;Like many other families in the antebellum period, tragedy struck the young family&nbsp;two years later&nbsp;&nbsp;when&nbsp;Julia's daughter Elizabeth and her husband&nbsp;perished&nbsp;from&nbsp;typhoid fever.In 1830, Julia married Blake Baker Woodson,&nbsp;the&nbsp;attorney&nbsp;for Fayette County.&nbsp;Records indicate that Blake Woodson "was not fond of his stepchildren" and&nbsp;as a result, Thomas and his siblings were sent to live with her relatives.&nbsp;Julia&nbsp;bore three more&nbsp;children before dying&nbsp;from complications related to&nbsp;childbirth&nbsp;on December 4th, 1831.&nbsp;Neighbors&nbsp;created a&nbsp;homemade coffin for Julia and marked her grave with only a small&nbsp;piece of wood.&nbsp; In 1855&nbsp;Thomas Jackson attempted to visit his mother's grave.&nbsp;The night before&nbsp;visiting the grave he had&nbsp;stayed at Tyree's Tavern, less than a quarter mile from her grave, before setting out to see her final resting place.&nbsp;The tavern's owner, William Tyree accompanied him to her resting place.&nbsp; However, the piece of wood used to mark her grave was&nbsp;missing and he was unable to&nbsp;determine her final resting spot.&nbsp;Sometime after this, Captain Thomas Ranson, a former solider of Stonewall, visited Westlake Cemetery. He reportedly devoted considerable effort to locate the final resting place of Julia&nbsp;Jackson&nbsp;and purchased a stone marker.&nbsp;

This marker commemorates Julia Jackson, mother of Confederate General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson. Jackson is best known as an able military commander who earned his nickname for demonstrating stoic courage under fire during the first battle of Manassas. His mother, Julia Jackson, was born in Loudon County, Virginia in February, 1798. She bore six other children and died during childbirth from complications in December of 1831. Julia Jackson was laid to rest in an unmarked grave in Westlake Cemetery in Ansted. Years later, a former Confederate Captain who had served with her son located her burial plot and placed a tombstone to mark the location of her grave. As of 2017, this is one of only two-dozen historical markers that commemorate women in West Virginia. Like several of those markers, this marker focusses almost exclusively on the actions and lives of men.

Stonewall Jackson's Mother Historical Marker

Westlake Cemetery is "one of the earliest identified cemeteries west of the Allegheny Mountains."1&nbsp; The cemetery is located in Ansted, West Virginia which is located near Hawk's Nest State Park, Tyree's Tavern, the Contentment, Page-Vawter House, and the African American Museum and across the street from the Jackson's Mother Historical Marker.&nbsp; Ansted is a unique small town with a rich history embedded in the Civil War with Westlake Cemetery set right in the middle.Col. William Tyree was the owner of Tyree's Tavern that served as a stagecoach stop, tavern, halfway house, and a hospital during the Civil War.&nbsp; Tyree purchased the property in 1972 where he built most of the structure that we see today.&nbsp; The structure is the oldest building in Fayette&nbsp;County.&nbsp;&nbsp;Due to its location and relation to the cemetery, William was laid to rest in Westlake along with many descendants.&nbsp;Another noted resident of the Westlake Cemetery is General John D. Imboden.&nbsp; Imboden was an attorney and general in the Confederate army.&nbsp; He would later move to Ansted where he would hold political office, fight for industrialization, and become the towns very first, mayor.&nbsp; He died in 1922 and was buried&nbsp;at Westlake Cemetery.The most notable habitant of Westlake Cemetery is the mother of famed Confederate Commander Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson.&nbsp; Julia Neale Jackson was born on February 28th, 1798 in Loudon County, Virginia and died in December of 1831 due to childbirth complications.&nbsp; She left a lasting impression on her son Stonewall who would often talk about her to his troops.&nbsp; After Stonewall was unable to locate her grave at Westlake, Captain Thomas R. Ranson, one of Stonewall's former soldiers, placed a marker on her grave.&nbsp;

The historic Westlake Cemetery is nestled in the mountains of West Virginia in the town of Ansted and serves as the final resting place for prominent citizens, coal miners, teachers, and a significant number of Civil War soldiers. Two of the most prominent people buried here are colonial settler William Tyree who established an inn and tavern prior to the Civil War and the mother of Stonewall Jackson.   

Westlake Cemetery

The Page Vawter House is a historic home located in Ansted, WV. It is a Fayette County landmark that has lasted for over 120 years and was built by Architect William Minter who designed the home in a Victorian style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The property was placed on the register for its significance of 19th century Victorian architecture. The house was established in 1890 and first occupied by William Nelson Page. He was an engineer from Virginia who worked for the Chesapeake &amp; Ohio Railroad. He traveled throughout West Virginia several times while completing the rail line through the New River Gorge. During his travels in West Virginia Page befriended David Ansted, who was an English geologist and surveyor. They would remain friends.Page made a name for himself as a man who could get things done. He was hired by the Hawks Nest Coal Company to engineer the construction of a narrow gauge railroad from Ansted to the main line of the C&amp;O Railroad. He completed this project faster and cheaper than expected and was thought to be a man of great importance. He was appointed by the Board of Directors of the Hawks Nest Coal Company to serve as the company manager. He was a great asset to the company and was an important factor in its success. The company was reorganized as the Gauley Mountain Coal Company in 1884. The company built an elaborate mansion for its president and general manager in the town of Ansted in 1890. The house was originally built in an L-shape Victorian style that was laid on a cut stone foundation. The home has two stories with a wrap-around veranda that made it a marvel for its time. The exterior of the house is adorned with fifty-two, eight foot tall, double hung windows, and five chimneys. The interior of the house is paneled and floored with oak. The window facings are made of solid walnut. The mansion was so large that it required eleven fireplaces to heat it efficiently. Every fireplace has a ceramic tile hearth and carved Victorian mantels of cherry, oak, and walnut. It is said to be one of the foremost landmarks in south-central West Virginia. It is one of the most distinguishable landmarks in Fayette County.Page retired in 1917 and moved to Washington, D.C. The home was divided into two and renovations were completed. The home stood empty for several years until it was offered to Captain John Vawter. He managed the company store in Ansted. Page had been Vawter’s boss, and they had been friends for years.  He was already familiar with the house, so he and his family rented half of the house. He lived there until he died in 1928. His son and daughter continued to live at home. The siblings eventually bought the house and lived there until they died. The house remained in the hands of David Fox a descendant of Captain John Vawter.

The Page-Vawter House is a 19th century Victorian home in Fayette County that was built by the Hawks Nest Coal Company and served as the home of the company's president and general manager. The property has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985.  

Page-Vawter House

&nbsp; &nbsp; In January of 1880, one of West Virginia's first coal miners strikes began in Coal Valley, what is now Montgomery. Strikers worked for the Hawks Nest Coal Company in Coal Valley and argued that the work of the mine unions was being undercut by the company's nonunionized workers from the nearby Hawks Nest mines. The Coal Valley workers tried to negotiate better conditions and pay. The strikers were pressured by the coal operators who were striking in Kanawha County mines around the same time for better pay. The coal operators in Kanawha County hoped to persuade the C&amp;O Railway Company to build more liens and run more cars through the Kanawha Valley by slowing work in the mines of Fayette County.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Then Governor Henry Mathews feared that violence would erupt as a result of the strike. Matthews was wary of strike violence because of a violent railroad strike in the Martinsburg area not long before. After&nbsp;several Coal Valley miners traveled to Hawks Nest mines to threaten other miners, the state felt that action was needed. In an effort to halt the strike and prevent violence, Governor Matthews attempted to convince Sheriff C.H. McClung of Fayette County to intervene. McClung feared a backlash from voters and refused to get involved in the conflict. Instead, Matthews sent in a militia group from Charleston and Lewisburg on McClung's recommendation. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A total of 25 miners were arrested by the militia and held by Sheriff McClung, each of whom was charged with unlawful interference. The success of militia's efforts to halt the strike was&nbsp;felt by many of those involved. This strategy was repeated by officials for strikes in many subsequent years, including the 1894, 1902, and 1912 strikes. During WWI, the militia was sent abroad to fight and the state formed a police division in 1919 specifically to quell mine related violence.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Several participants in the events rose to prominence after the strike. Emanual Willis Wilson defended the strikers in the Fayette County Circuit Court and went on to become a governor. Militia commander John W.M. Appleton would rise to the rank of adjutant general in West Virginia. Most famously, William Nelson Page, a Kanawha County coal operator, formed the Company C of the West Virginia National Gaurd's 2nd Regiment and served for 20 years as a militia leader.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; One entrance to the Hawks Nest Rail Trail begins at this location. Along the trail, hikers can view the entrance to the abandoned Mill Creek Colliery mine which was involved in the strike.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In 1880 the West Virginia militia was used for the first time to stop a coal mine strike. The clashing of union and nonunion workers in the Coal Valley and Hawks Nest mines led the unionized works to halt work. After the strikers threatened violence to workers in neighboring mines, Governor Henry Matthews called in the state militia to arrest miners and break up the strike. The events at Hawks Nest and Coal Valley set a president for the handling of future mine strikes. The Hawks Nest Rail Trail offers a view of the Mill Creek Colliery Mine which was involved in the strike. 

Hawks Nest Coal Strike

Fayette County was named after the Revolutionary War hero, Marquis de Lafayette and is home to many historic landmarks including this structure which dates back to the 1830s. The home was purchased by Virginian and Confederate officer George Imboden in 1872.&nbsp; Imboden led the 18th Virginia Calvary and later became a prominent citizen of Ansted as well as its first mayor. Before serving as mayor, he had been elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates. His second wife named their home "Contentment."&nbsp;

The home originally consisted of five rooms and a detached kitchen.&nbsp; Colonel Imboden began renovations on the home and added two rooms and extended the porch.&nbsp; The exterior of the home is common for the era and is described as a “cottage.”&nbsp; There were several of these cottage type homes found in Virginia and West Virginia spring resorts at the time.&nbsp; Contentment was originally made with a wooden frame with vertical clapboards in the front and horizontal clapboards on the sides and the back.&nbsp;

The Contentment House was one of two structures that did not burn to the ground during the Civil War. &nbsp;It was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places by the Fayette County Historical Society on October 30, 1974. Its nomination form states the Contentment House shows significance in the areas of 19th&nbsp;century architecture, military, industry, and politics.&nbsp; The Contentment House now serves Fayette County as a museum.&nbsp; &nbsp;

 Contentment House is a pre-Civil War structure that is owned and operated by the Fayette County Historical Society as a local history museum. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home's original structure dates back to the 1830s and the home was expanded to its current state in 1872 by then-owner George Imboden, a former Confederate officer who also served as the first mayor of the town of Ansted. Today, the home serves as a museum with period antiques and Civil War era décor. 

Contentment House Museum

The Great Depression that followed the great stock market crash of 1929 was a devastating economic climate for most Americans. When the prospect of work came along, thousands of unemployed workers usually jumped at the chance. Growing chemical giant Union Carbide &nbsp;then in the process of building a metallurgical plant in Alloy, West Virginia needed both a way to power the new factory and a massive supply of silica for the manufacturing process. The company devised a way to provide both with a new project: the Hawks Nest Tunnel.With the mountainous terrain and falling waters of the area, near where the confluence of the New and Gauley Rivers become the Kanawha, hydroelectric power had been in use since the early 1900s. Union Carbide awarded Rinehart and Dennis Corporation of Charlottesville, Virginia the contract to build a three mile long tunnel through Gauley Mountain which was very rich in silica. The water would be diverted through the tunnel to a new dam for power. The contract was awarded on March 13, 1930 and the company had exactly two years from that date to have the tunnel, dam, and powerhouse completed.There was no shortage of available men to work. The Great Depression provided the opportunity to find an available and easy workforce. &nbsp;Approximately 5000 men were recruited to work on the tunnel over the course of the two years-with ⅔ of them being African American. Of these 5000, 2982 were underground drilling and blasting while most of the skilled positions were filled by men from Union Carbide. Workers lived on site, in shacks, sometimes 8 men to a room. Workers were paid 35 cents an hour and worked up to 60 hours a week--however, they paid $1 a week for shack rent and electricity plus 50 cents a week for the use of a company doctor and local hospital.The tunnel was dug through Gauley Mountain between Anstead and Gauley Bridge. Core ground samples revealed most of the rock to be high-grade silica bearing sandstone. Normally with this type of rock, a “wet drilling” technique would be used, where water is applied to the drill bits to reduce dust. However, with so little time to complete the project a dry drilling technique was used. Workers would often come home covered in a white dust from head to toe. &nbsp;Because this was a civil engineering project, safety measures were reduced. The tunnel had poor ventilation. There was a lack of dust control and only a limited use of personal breathing protection.Within months of starting the project, workers started to get sick. At first, company doctors diagnosed them with pneumonia, but as more men fell ill, their families were less satisfied with the company’s explanation. A Fayetteville law firm took on the case and consulted an independent professional, Dr. Leonidas Ryan Harless, to conduct chest x-rays of affected workers. &nbsp;Harless confirmed that it was not pneumonia, but silicosis: a progressive fibrosis of the lungs caused by inhaling pulverized silica dioxide. The law firm went on to sue for compensation for the workers and their families against Rinehart and Dennis Corporation, aided by an agreement from Dr. Harless that he would examine any worker they represented. The Corporation’s defense stated that tunnel had the best ventilation possible while the machinery and the working conditions at Hawks Nest were the best ever known. A settlement was eventually reached--a mere $200,000. &nbsp;This settlement was split between 538 families and some settlements ranged from $30 upwards to $1,600.The complete death toll from the disaster is not known. The United States House of Representatives held a congressional hearing in 1936, eventually attributing 476 deaths to the disaster. In an award-winning study conducted in 1986 by epidemiologist Martin Cherniack, however, Dr. Cherniak asserts that upward of 764 actually died of silicosis and exposure to the silica dust. Congress did not pursue any punitive actions against Union Carbide or Rinehart and Dennis.While the death toll was still climbing, victims were dying so quickly that it became an issue as to where the dead should be buried. Only 40% of men lasted more than 2 months on the job--a mere 20% made past 6 months. The greatest hardships often fell to the African American workers--who in this segregated era were often not allowed burials in “white” cemeteries. At first, the recently deceased were dumped in the river bed and covered with tunnel rock. When public suspicions were aroused, Union Carbide paid a nearby farmer to bury African-Americans in unmarked graves in a field on Martha White’s farm in Nicholas County, near Summersville.Today, the tunnel continues to divert water and produce electricity for the metallurgical plant in Alloy. Though Union Carbide was dismantled and sold in portions throughout the 1980s and 1990s, their persistent destruction of records coupled with a campaign to silence workers in the 1930s has prevented a meaningful body of scholarship on the disaster since--though in 2016 West Virginia University Press re-published famed New York poet Muriel Rukheyser’s “The Book of the Dead,” written in 1936, which revolves around her interactions with Hawks Nest survivors.Silicosis has since been diagnosed as an occupational disease with compensation for workers. But while the tragedy at Hawks Nest informed this legislation, the tunnel workers of 1930-1932 were not protected by these laws, and their legacy remains largely unrecognized.

Despite being considered one of the greatest industrial disasters in United States history, the events at Hawks Nest Tunnel remain remarkably unacknowledged in the development of American labor. As the country sank into the Great Depression, in 1930-1932 a three-mile long tunnel from was dug through the heart of Gauley Mountain in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia by Union Carbide corporation to divert water to a hydroelectric plant, and at the time the project was considered an engineering marvel. Lax safety standards and a disregard for worker welfare, however, caused the death of hundreds of workers from silicosis. Despite later legislation that set precedents in mining and safety standards, Union Carbide avoided any real consequences in the investigation that followed.


Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster 

Chief Justice John Marshall visited this region along the Kanawha River in the early 1800s, and was so impressed by the views that the area became known as “Marshall’s Pillars.” By the time the Civil War broke out, the area was simply known as Hawks Nest Rock--so named for the ospreys, often referred to as fish hawks, that frequent the area. The Gauley River was an important transportation route during the Civil War and skirmishes broke out in the area for control of this vital supply line. Confederate General (and former Virginia governor) Henry Wise established camps on the nearby heights, which provided good views for pickets of any approaching enemies. Later, Union troops consolidated control over the area and pushed out the Confederates. Their camp nearby was the sometime home of future president Rutherford B. Hayes and the 23rd Ohio Infantry.On March 30, 1930, a contract was awarded to Rinehart and Dennis Corporation of Charlottesville, Virginia to build the tunnel and dam nearby. They had exactly two years from that date to get it finished. The tunnel, three miles long, would divert water through Gauley Mountain and supply power to the new metallurgic plant then being built in Alloy. It was drilled directly through high grade silica rock. With such a short window in which to complete the project, Rinehart and Dennis often ignored safety protocols and took shortcuts, resulting in a lack of safety equipment for the workers. And workers were not in short supply: even as many fell ill from the copious dust in the mine, more stepped forward to take their place, as the Great Depression had deprived many American men of employment.Using a dry drilling technique instead of wetting down the rock to reduce dust--a technique already well-known at the time-- produced such large amounts of silica dust that many miners were too ill to work within fifteen weeks of starting. A Congressional hearing eventually attributed 476 deaths. A study published by epidemiologist Martin Cherniack in 1986 estimates the total to be 764.In 1935, the state of West Virginia bought the land around the dam and the tunnel to build a state park. The area includes cliffs, streams, and a lake. The lake was formed by the damming of the river in 1934. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) performed the work of transforming the area near Gauley Bridge, blighted for years by the Tunnel tragedy, into a State Park. The CCC was considered one of Franklin Roosevelt’s greatest New Deal programs, often shaping national and state parks programs in ways that survive to this day. For example, the CCC planted more than 3 billion trees and constructed trails and shelters in more than 800 parks across the country. The CCC built several of the stone buildings featured in the park. The park museum, main overlook visitor complex, picnic shelters, and even the unique round tower shaped restrooms were built by CCC workers. The museum has a glassed observation room that offers a view of the gorge.In 1939, after the park had been completed, it was included in a state guide written by the Works Progress Administration--which, as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal employment relief programs, was writing visitors’ guides for all (then) forty-eight states. Called West Virginia: Guide to the Mountain State, its publication was held up by then-Governor Homer Holt, who insisted that it was “propaganda” for its frank admission of labor troubles during the Miner’s March of 1921 and the Hawks Nest Tunnel tragedy. Holt had been the state’s Attorney General during the Hawks Nest affair, and had stalwartly backed Union Carbide throughout the proceedings. He later served as a lawyer for Union Carbide after his governorship. Holt’s battle with the WPA lasted his entire tenure in office and nearly killed federal funding for the guide; finally, the WPA was able to publish the book intact after Governor M.M. Neely was elected in 1941.The Department of Natural Resources took control of the property in 1963. A four-story lodge was built shortly after, designed by Walter Gropius’ architectural firm. Gropius was a world-renowned architect whose works remain influential to this day. He also designed, among many other structures, the Huntington Museum of Art and John F. Kennedy Federal Office Building in Boston. The lodge contains 31 rooms while the restaurant features a wide, two-story window wall that faces the gorge.The park features seven different hiking trails of varying distance and difficulty. A golf course within the park began operation in 1999 until a budget deficit resulted in its closure in 2013. The park’s famous views and rich history, along with its close proximity to the perennially popular New River Gorge, draws thousands of visitors annually.

First established as a State Park in 1935, the importance of Hawks Nest dates back to well before West Virginia became a state.  Taking its name from the ospreys (also known as “fish hawks”) that are a common sight on nearby cliffs, the area was first called Marshall’s Pillar when it was frequented in the early 1800s by John Marshall, then fourth Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Decades later, the area bore witness to several Civil War skirmishes involving Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Henry Wise. In the 1920s, a nearby tunnel and dam were built to supply power for corporate chemical giant Union Carbide’s plant in Alloy.  Finally in 1935, the state of West Virginia bought the surrounding land to build a state park. The Civilian Conservation Corps built several of the structures in the park including a scenic overlook and museum, which draw thousands of visitors annually to this day.


Hawks Nest State Park

Lovers’ Leap is located in&nbsp;Ansted, WV. This
area is part of the Historic Coal Heritage Trail, and Lovers' Leap itself is
inside Hawks Nest State Park.&nbsp;Lovers' Leap stands nearly 500 feet above
the New River Gorge.2 This area gets its name from the legends of several
couples making the fatal fall or “leap” in hopes of being together forever in
the afterlife. Each couple had their own reasons for wanting to jump; however,
for some, it has been said that they fell in a tragic accident even after
running away to be together.&nbsp;Either way, the legends have resulted in West
Virginia’s very own, tragic Romeo &amp; Juliet kind of&nbsp;tale. &nbsp;

According to&nbsp;George W. Atkinson in his 1876
book,&nbsp;History of Kanawha County, the original story of Lovers’ Leap began
with a young Native American couple. It is said that a Shawnee
Indian&nbsp;Chief disapproved of his daughter’s love for a young brave man
within the same tribe.2 &nbsp;In protest of an arranged marriage by her father,
the young maiden, along with her true love, escaped the confines of her tipi.
The two decided the best thing to do was to run away together. In search of the
couple, the chief and his warriors soon cornered the lovers on the cliff now
known as Lovers’ Leap. Rather than be separated in life,&nbsp;they decided to
be together in death.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Another very similar story is that of a pioneer
couple from Lewisburg, WV. Supposedly, they jumped from the cliff of Lovers’
Leap because the girl’s parents forbid the relationship. Another&nbsp;version
of&nbsp;the same story is that the girl&nbsp;became dizzy while taking in the
grand view and stumbled forward and off the cliff. Her lover, not being able to
catch her in time, leaving him heartbroken, decided to jump off the cliff to be
with his lover for all eternity.Although the history of this spot may be somewhat tragic,
the view from Lovers’ Leap is still considered a romantic one. When
telling the legends of Lovers’ Leap, Sandy Spradling quotes Atkinson’s book
as he writes about the young pioneer couple mentioned earlier: 

<blockquote>Their steps were directed
west ward, with the hope of finding another settlement, there to be duly united
in wedlock according to the style and customs of frontier life. On arriving at
this romantic spot, beholding the lofty precipice, and being deeply impressed
with the scenery sublime, they stood entranced upon its summit.1</blockquote>

Lovers’
Leap presents a gorgeous view, and according to Kathryn Stewart’s article, “this trail starts at Hawk’s Nest State Park office and
travels down steep wooden steps to the overlook.”2

Lovers’ Leap is located inside of Hawks Nest State Park at the top of a cliff that stands 585 feet above the New River Gorge. After climbing 100 stones steps, you can view the New River Valley from the cliff’s edge. Lovers’ Leap is situated along the historic Midland Trail, and has been a common location for suicides dating back to the early 1800’s; this history has resulted in the naming of the location, as it is rumored that several lovers have leaped from this cliff, for they would rather be together in death than be without love.  

Lovers' Leap, Hawks Nest State Park

Civil War Battles Near Hawk's Nest After the Battle of Monassass, the Northeast was secure for the Confederate Army allowing General Robert E. Lee turn his attention to the Allegheny region. &nbsp;Lee's left army operating in the area was commanded by General Floyd and General Wise. &nbsp;Skirmishes broke out in August, 1861 the area at Hawks Nest and later at Pigott's Mills. &nbsp;The operations conducted in the vicinity were in preparation to take Gauley. &nbsp; In the Trans-Allegheny region, General Robert E. Lee pursued
a campaign to control the Gauley River and the surrounding region.&nbsp; This area was valuable because the Gauley
River was one of the main routes for the transport of commerce and supply into
West Virginia.&nbsp; General Lee split his
army into two wings, the right wing being controlled by General Loring at
Summersville, and the left wing which was controlled by General Floyd and under
him, General Wise which held camp near Hawk’s Nest.&nbsp; At their encampment on the mountainside, the
Confederate troops suffered from lacking proper food and shelter.&nbsp; Due to the torrential downpour that lasted
for several weeks, there was an outbreak of fever and measles within the troops.


&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On July
10th, 1861, Colonel Davis who was occupying an advance location at
Meadow Bluff spotted Union troops to his front.&nbsp;
After reporting this information, Floyd advanced to the location
immediately.&nbsp; It was not until July 14th
that Floyd ordered Wise to move to his location, but Wise was sluggish in his
response because he was lacking half the wagons he needed, his horses didn’t have
shoes, and he was facing command problems in his troops.&nbsp; Whenever Wise sent troops, he sent 2,000 men
to occupy Big Sewell Mountain.&nbsp; Floyd
then took up a position at Summersville where his forces could flank General
Cox at Gauley or General Rosecrans if he attempted to move down from the
north.&nbsp; General Cox was seen as a serious
threat because he overinflated the size of his force even though he only had an
Ohio regiment under Colonel Tyler.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; August
20th, near Hawk’s Nest, Lieutenant Colonel Craghan was involved in
two skirmishes on that resulted in a few killed and wounded on both sides.&nbsp; Later, August 25th at Pigott’s
Mill, Colonel Jenkins and his cavalry suffered defeat due to an infantry ambush
leaving eight to ten wounded on each side.&nbsp;
The next day, August 26th Floyd managed to cross the Gauley
River at Canafax Ferry and surprise Tyler’s forces early in the morning for a
decisive Confederate victory.&nbsp; The defeat
of Colonel Tyler forced General Rosecrans to move to Gauley, pushing General
Cox and his forces towards Floyd’s position.&nbsp;
The maneuvers that took place set the battlefield for the control of
Gauley.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It was September
2nd that General Wise moved on the Union position at Hawk’s
Nest.&nbsp; Colonel Anderson began by
attempting to take the rear of the small mountain that the Union forces
occupied by holding positions along the base.&nbsp;
In an attempt to take the position, companies of Summers, Ryan, and Jane
crossed Big Creek and climbed the hill to take control of the summit.&nbsp; The Confederates used a Howitzer from another
mountain to clear the enemy off the location, but abandoned the hill whenever a
Union rifled cannon began firing on their position.&nbsp; After abandoning the Confederate position,
they took up positions that oversaw Miller’s Ferry and Liken’s Mill.

Hawk's Nest Overlook was built during the Great Depression as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) construction projects. Chief Justice John Marshall explored this section of Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1812 and was so impressed by the view of the New River valley that this area was often referred to as "Marshall's Pillar." During the 1930s, young men were employed by the CCC to create what is now Hawks Nest State Park. The area is best-known for another construction project, the creation of a tunnel with hydroelectric equipment that generated power as the water of the New River travelled through Gauley Mountain. The government failed to provide protective equipment for the workforce, composed mostly of African American laborers. A Congressional investigation ruled that the failure to provide protective equipment led to the deaths of 476 men whose inhaled silica rock dust while they built the tunnel. Today, Hawks Nest offers a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities, historic markers, and a hotel and gift shop. 

Hawk's Nest Overlook, West Virginia 

The Mystery Hole is quite a site. It is
excessively garnished with a variety of objects.&nbsp; There is a gorilla that
sits on the roof and a Volkswagen Beetle that has found its way into the side
of the building.&nbsp; There are several flags that fly high above the scene of
the Beetle crash.&nbsp; 

&nbsp;Mystery Hole is&nbsp;a roadside attraction that brought visitors from Rt. 60 who were traveling to or from Hawks Nest to see the laws of gravity defied! It harkens back to the days of roadside kitsch, when strange and unusual attractions vied for tourist dollars. &nbsp;There are strange things that happen at the Mystery Hole, and the only way to find out is to go visit since no electronics or cameras are allowed inside.With only a few roadside attractions left to
enjoy today, the Mystery Hole is one of those, thanks to Sandy and Will
Morrison.&nbsp; They bought the Mystery Hole in 1999 after the death of the
original owner, Donald Wilson, and have been open for business ever
since.&nbsp; No cameras or electronics of any kind are allowed in the Mystery
Hole.&nbsp;This ensures that the mystery of the Mystery Hole remains
mysterious.&nbsp; 

There are two examples of oddities that occur
in the Mystery Hole that are featured&nbsp;on their website; sit in a chair on a wall without falling
off and watch a ball roll up hill.&nbsp; If you want to experience the laws of
gravity being defied then the Mystery Hole is the place to visit.&nbsp; The
only way to find out more about the Mystery Hole is to experience it
yourself.&nbsp; Join the many others who have left confused and unsure about
what they have just seen and experienced. &nbsp;In an article titled "11 of The Weirdest Places in West Virginia," the Mystery Hole is listed as the number 10 spot.

The Mystery Hole is located in Fayette County, WV approximately 15 miles from the New River Gorge Bridge. The Mystery Hole was originally constructed, owned and operated by Donald Wilson, a Union Carbide retiree and Navy veteran.  He opened the Mystery Hole in 1973 and ran it until his death in 1998. 

Mystery Hole

The inscription located on the marker offers a concise&nbsp;account of the battle. The inscription states, "In the summer of 1861, Confederate Gen. Henry A. Wise, the former governor of Virginia, and his troops controlled the Kanawha River valley. When Union Gen. Jacob D. Cox led his command to the valley in July, Wise retreated. Passing through the community of Gauley Bridge on July 26, he ordered the bridge burned to impede Cox. The Federals established a position near the village and remained there until mid-August, when Cox and his forces left temporarily. After Cox returned, Confederate Gen. John B. Floyd posted guns atop a nearby mountain and shelled the Federals for a week beginning November 1. The artillery fire was ineffective, and Union forces soon maneuvered Floyd into retreating.”This skirmish was part of a campaign that offered&nbsp;one of the few&nbsp;bright spots for the Union army during the early stages of the war. General Jacob D. Cox successfully cleared the Kanawha Valley of
Confederates, and these small victories in&nbsp;western Virginia offered Union supporters some hope&nbsp;in
lieu of the demoralizing loss at the Battle of Bull Run. While the Union had some success in the West as well, the nation waited to see if&nbsp;George McClellan's army could take the army to the Confederacy--or even&nbsp;defend Washington from possible attack.&nbsp;Cox assigned the&nbsp;task of&nbsp;rebuilding the bridge to the&nbsp;11th
Ohio Infantry, a unit that&nbsp;gained a reputation of being highly-skilled bridge
builders during the Kanawha Valley Campaign.&nbsp;
The 11th Ohio Infantry constructed a new wire suspension
bridge that could&nbsp;ferry men and munitions across the river. This hastily constructed wire bridge reflected the perception that creating a complete bridge across the river's&nbsp;350-foot span would divert resources of time and material.&nbsp;In the
spring of 1862, Cox launched an offensive from Gauley Bridge and did not
return, although Federal forces continued to occupy the area. In September,
Confederate General William W. Loring launched an offensive in&nbsp;the Kanawha River Valley and
drove out the Union garrison. Prior to their retreat, Union men&nbsp;destroyed the wire bridge on September
11, 1862. The Confederates soon abandoned the valley, however, and it returned under&nbsp;Union control until the war ended.The historic marker&nbsp;shows the following images:

1.&nbsp; On the left is a portrait of "Gen. Jacob D.
Cox" Library of Congress 2.&nbsp; On the top center are "Two views of 1862 U.S. Army suspension
bridge — Courtesy &nbsp;&nbsp; West&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Virginia Division of
Culture and History 
 
3.&nbsp; On the bottom center is a map of "Gauley Bridge and vicinity,
1861" Courtesy Library of Congress 4.&nbsp; On the upper right is a drawing with the caption, "Gen. John B.
Floyd’s artillery shelling Gauley Bridge, drawing based on contemporary sketch
by William D. Washington"

This historical marker preserves the history of a skirmish that occurred between Union and Confederate forces as they vied for control of strategic transportation and communication routes through the Kanawha Valley. Both Confederate and Union forces considered the wooden covered bridge that was located here to be strategically important because the James River and Kanawha Turnpike linked the area to the Ohio River. Pushed by the Union to retreat from the area, Confederate forces burned the bridge in 1861 to halt the Union force from following them.  

Battle for the Bridges, 1861

Workers of the James-River Kanawha Turnpike built the Tavern for James Hodge Miller. &nbsp;It was used as a stagecoach stop along the turnpike. The house stayed within the Miller family for well over 100 years.&nbsp;1 &nbsp;The house was made of walnut logs and later covered in weatherboarding. &nbsp;The house was 2 stories and had 2 large chimneys. During the Civil War the tavern housed both Union and Confederate troops. &nbsp;Gauley bridge was a strategic location for accessing the New, Gauley and Kanawha Rivers. &nbsp;The town and Tavern passed between Union and Confederate hands several times during the war. &nbsp;In the fall of 1861 the Tavern was fired upon. &nbsp;Future Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley were officers quartered there.&nbsp;2 The house remained in the Miller family until it was sold to the town and finally another family in the area. &nbsp;while owned by the town, it was used as a community center that catered to residents (especially the elderly and children)&nbsp;of Gauley Bridge. &nbsp;Free meals, school supplies, clothing and basic toiletries were kindly offered to those in need. &nbsp; &nbsp;In the past decade the building had begun to deteriorate rapidly. &nbsp;Efforts were made to seek funding to preserve the building but sadly, the town could not afford to renovate &nbsp;and it was demolished in early 2017.&nbsp;

This site was once home to the historic Miller Tavern.  It was one of the oldest structures in Fayette county. John Hodge Miller, Gauley Bridge's first white settler had the tavern built in the 1820s, the Tavern was used as a stagecoach stop.  During the Civil war it was fired upon and housed many soldiers.  Future presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley were among the soldiers housed.  Sadly, efforts to preserve the building were denied and the Miller Tavern was demolished in early 2017. 

Site of Historic  Miller Tavern 

A company trademark railroad station refers to one constructed in the style for which the companies designing the stations, without architects, became known for. Such stations are smaller than usual and designed to accommodate relatively lesser populated towns like many of those in West Virginia, including Gauley Bridge, where more traditional, larger terminals were deemed unnecessary. One of the last still-standing examples of such stations, the Gauley Bridge Railroad station was initially built by Kanawha and Michigan Railroads, but later became a Chesapeake and Ohio station. Thousands of travelers migrated to West Virginia, whether to visit or to stay, via the Gauley Bridge station and several other similar and nearby stations including the Norfolk Western Railway through Pocahontas, and the Virginia Railway through Winding Gulf. Many of these visitors came in search of jobs maintaining railroads and/or working in the countless nearby coal mines. The majority of workers who constructed the Gauley Bridge Railroad Station along its winding path through the mountain state between 1869 and 1873 were African Americans, many of them former slaves. Many of these laborers, following the railroad’s completion, were also able to find jobs working at the new stations during a time when job opportunities were scarce, especially for Black men in the Deep South and in Jim Crow-segregated southern communities. Despite having the opportunity of employment, many of these workers continued to suffer as a result of their incredibly demanding work and comparatively miniscule salaries. After closing in 1958, the Gauley Bridge Railroad station was converted into a fire station on behalf of the Gauley Bridge Volunteer Fire Department. In 1973, the building was abandoned seemingly permanently, but it has since undergone significant restoration and now serves as the Gauley Bridge Town Hall building.

Shrouded in hidden history, the Gauley Bridge Railroad Station, or the C&O Station of Gauley Bridge, constructed in 1893 likely without the help of an architect, is one of few remaining examples of train stations often referred to today as company trademarks. The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, partially because of its status as a representation of small-town American railroad stations of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. It was constructed entirely by underpaid and overworked African American laborers.

Gauley Bridge Railroad Station

The main house was originally built as early 1815. Colonel (Ret.) Aaron Stockton bought the land in 1817 as a family residence and as a place to run his many businesses. Stockton tried his hand in the salt industry but sold off his share after the first trust was formed to regulate salt price and production levels. He applied for a tavern permit and turned it into an inn in 1839. The inn sits on the spot where the Kanawha River first becomes navigable-making it an ideal spot for river travelers to stay. Stagecoach travelers also would stop in as the traveled down the turnpike. The James River and Kanawha Turnpike, now known as the Midland Trail, opened in 1827. However, it has travel route for colonization and trade since the first European settlers.During the Civil War, the inn became an U.S. Army quartermaster depot. Union Army Lieutenant William McKinley and Colonel Rutherford B Hayes, both of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, were stationed here during the Civil War. Both men went on to become Presidents of the United States in the decades after the War. Confederate Captain Robert A. Bailey wrote in a report to General Henry&nbsp;Wise on August 28, 1961: " I camped in the wood that night and went on that next day to Cotton Hill. I passed out on a ridge to the right on the Giles, Fayette, and Kanawha Turnpike, followed it on the top for about three miles, passing three pickets of the enemy stationed on the turnpike to&nbsp;my left of intervals of about one mile, each picket numbering from twenty to thirty men. I followed the ridge to a point just opposite the mouth of Gauley River. There I saw the enemy's position camp, works for defense and men. I was not able to count all the tents at the mouth of the Gauley, they being too thick and clustering together looking like a town. Below that place two miles at the house of Aaron Stockton I counted some thirty tents. I saw a flag flying from a tent near Stockton's house..." The Inn stayed within the Stockton family until 1920. However, it did not always function as an inn when the family owned it-they would occasionally take in a guest. In 1920, the family sold the property to Electro Metallurgical Company (EMCO), an Union Carbide subsidiary. EMCO made the most drastic changes to the inn as they remodeled the recreation building into 10 separate suites for plant personnel and created the present-day dining hall space within the original house.The Inn stayed under the control of EMCO for 61 years until their holdings were sold off to Elkhem Metals, a Norwegian metallurgical firm. They used the inn as a base to house their personnel who came to visit their local plant in Alloy. The inn also received guests as they traveled the Midland Trail on their way to the New River Gorge. In 1996, Elkhem Metals sold the Inn to a local couple, Dan and Becky Hill, who owned and operated it for 21 years. In 2017, the couple sold the inn to Brigadier General H.B. Gilliam and Major Tom Willis. Gilliam and Willis are West Virginia Guardsmen with an avid interest in history who were intrigued that the inn had built by a military man and entrepreneur. 	Many notable visitors have stayed at the Inn. In addition to future Presidents McKinley and Hayes, Presidents Andrew Jackson and John Tyler also stayed at the Inn during their respective tenures in office. The famous naturalist, John James Audubon, was also a guest. The most frequent notable guest, however, was famed U.S. Senator Henry Clay. Clay was such a frequent visitor that there is a room known as “Clay Room” Nestled in a valley between two rolling hills on the northern bank of Kanawha Falls, the natural beauty and idyllic &nbsp;surroundings of Glen Ferris Inn have made it a favorite traveling spot for nearly two centuries. It was &nbsp;added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. <div> </div>

A stately inn originally built in 1839 for stagecoach and river travelers, its position along the crucial Kanawha and James River Turnpike guaranteed a large share of notable visitors and events at Glen Ferris It has served as a family residence, Civil War Army quartermaster’s  depot, coal mining operation headquarters, and four presidents have stayed under its roof at different times throughout history. Though it has not always served as an Inn for its nearly 200 years, it has since returned to its original function and welcomes visitors to lodge year-round in its historic rooms.

Glen Ferris Inn

Inscription. Located across Kanawha River from this point was Civil War camp for Union Army, 1862-64. Site had 56 cabins and parade grounds for 23rd Ohio Vol. Inf. commanded by Col. Rutherford B. Hayes and Lt. William McKinley, future United States presidents. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 

The Glen Ferris Inn overlooks the Kanawha
Falls. On the east bank of the river, across from the inn, lay the remnants of
Camp Reynolds, a Union Army camp and gun embankment used in the Civil War.

This historical marker reveals the location of a former Union military camp in what was western Virginia at the time of its creation. The 23rd Ohio Voluntary Infantry commanded by future Presidents William McKinley and Rutherford B. Hayes, used this camp to train, recuperate. The First Brigade of the Second Kanawha Division used this as a staging point. It was also a place for family members to stay and be near their fathers and husbands for periods of time during the war. The camp grew to a total of 56 cabins.

Camp Reynolds WV

<blockquote>“The key element in the ambitious hydroelectric project was a tunnel designed to divert the meandering New River from Hawks Nest down a three-mile course through Gauley Mountain to a power station to be built near Gauley Bridge. The 100,000 kilowatts of electricity generated by the force of the river's 168-foot fall through the mountain would be transmitted five miles west to fire the electric arc furnaces of a huge ferroalloys smelting plant which the Electro-Metallurgical Company was planning to build on the Kanawha.”</blockquote>In the early 1930s, a metallurgic plant was built by Union Carbide, a revolutionary petrochemical company who was “developing a whole new world of alloyed metals, chemicals, and plastics.”. The plant went into operation on July 9, 1936. The corporation in charge of the plant, Electro-Metallurgical Company, was actually a subsidiary of Union Carbide. &nbsp;Union Carbide also built the tunnel, dam and powerhouse at Hawks Nest to supply power to the plant. The project led to the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster, which claimed upwards of 764 miners’ lives--most of whom died of silicosis. The town of Falls View was established to house the workers of the new plant.Metallurgy, the technique or science of working or heating metals so as to give them certain desired shapes or properties, has been utilized for thousands of years--but Carbide’s new silica-based processes were a modern development. Union Carbon produced mostly ferroalloys here until 1981. Ferroalloy is an alloy of iron (less than 50%) and one or more additional metals, important as a source of various metallic elements in the production of alloy steels. Union Carbide sold off a portion off a portion of its metal business in 1981 due to a string of industrial accidents, lawsuits, and the gradual dismantling of assets. Once Elkem Metals took over in 1981, the plant focused on ferrosilicon. Ferrosilicon is an alloy of iron and silicon used in the production of steel and some types of iron. Production has since shifted once again to silicon metal, which is a metal derived from silicon and is used by chemical and aluminum industries as well as for silicon wafers in photovoltaic solar cells and electronic semiconductors. Elkem Metals sold the plant in 2005 to Globe who is currently operating the plant as a joint operation with Dow Corning--which purchased then-bankrupt Union Carbide in 1999, bringing the plant full circle.Employment rates in ferroalloys have shrunk with Carbide’s departure, though the company was once the largest employer in West Virginia--topping at about 12,000 total employees in the state during the 1940s. &nbsp;When the Alloy plant was sold to Globe in 2005, it employed a total of 175 workers. The plant still receives power from the tunnel, dam, and powerhouse. <div> </div>

Built in the 1930s by Union Carbide company, this electrometallurgical plant was, in many ways, the cause of the deadly Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster: the tunnel, dam, and powerhouse at Hawks Nest were built to supply power to this facility. The plant was originally owned by Union Carbide and is currently owned by Globe in conjunction with Dow Corning. Also throughout the years, the types of production at the plant has changed. It is now known as WVA Manufacturing.

WVA Manufacturing / Alloy Electrometallurgical Plant

In the small town of London, West Virginia located between Cedar Grove and Montgomery parents and students petitioned the Cabin Creek District Board of Education for education beyond eighth grade. At the time the only education available to Black children, beyond eighth grade was to attend West Virginia State College in Institute, WV. However in order for student to attend West Virginia State parents were required to provide expensive room and board fees, which wasn’t affordable for most.  London residents donated the land, and as a result Booker T. Washington High School opened. When the school opened in 1925, they had thirty-five students, and three teachers. Students traveled near and far to attend school, they traveled as far as fifty-five miles. A few years later in 1939 the school was expanded and renovated. They added nine classrooms along with other amenities. In 1956, Desegregation caused students to disperse. After desegregation, it became Grant Junior High, then Grant Elementary School. In 1986 the school closed and became a community center.

This Historic High School building also known as Grant Junior High and Grant Elementary School was built in 1925. It was one of the two early high schools built for African American Children during the period of segregated educational facilities. It was used as a Junior High and Elementary after the desegregation in 1986, and is now used as a community center.  

Booker T. Washington High School 

American Electric Power (AEP) opened the Kanawha River Plant in Glasgow in 1953 with Unit 1 starting on July 17th, and Unit 2 becoming operational later in the year on December 31st. The total cost of construction was $46 million, and at peak required as many as 1800 construction jobs. The plant covered 53,000 cubic yards and was initially planned to have an additional 3 more units installed, though they would eventually be put in elsewhere at Muskingum River and Tanners Creek. Both units at the Kanawha River Plant ran up to 200 Megawatts, estimated to service up to 275,000 households, or a city the size of Philadelphia. &nbsp;The plant was designed to burn low-sulfur coal to generate steam powered electricity. The plant would import coal through railway, trucks, and many years later by barge, where the coal would then be placed onto conveyor belts that carried the coal into the plant. The coal would then be pulverized into powdered coal and then injected into boilers where it would burn at high temperatures. This turned the water that circulated the boiler into steam, which in turn, spun the turbine which generated electricity. At peak capacity, the plant was capable of using 3,600 tons of coal in a single day.At the time of construction, the plant was using the up to date and cutting edge technology. During its first year of operation the Federal Power Commission determined it was the most heat efficient coal-fired plant in the nation. It would receive the same honor in 1954, 1957, and 1958 as well. A company news release stated: <blockquote>“The plant is equipped with the most modern, highly efficient equipment for the removal of fly ash from combustion gases... It is expected that about 95 percent of the fly ash will be removed this way.” 1 </blockquote>The plant was known for its innovative usage of fly ash, and plant manager Henry Skaggs was known as “the father of fly ash sales.” The plant itself was built using fly ash-based concrete and Skaggs’ dedication to reusing the coal byproduct in concrete and structural landfills meant that the Kanawha River Plant operated without an ash landfill. At its peak, the Kanawha River Plant would have about 150 employees, and by the time it closed in 2015 was generating approximately $1.7 million in taxes for the local economy. Yet, over the years the plant had yet to be upgraded to reduce its emissions. Former WV President of the Senate Bill Cole was critical of AEP’s role in the lack of advancement: <blockquote>“I’ve talked to AEP, these are rules and regulations that came down from Washington a number of years ago. So, they've known that these plants are going to shudder now and what they basically did was they quit maintaining them. They just ran them, they gutted them out, they didn't put any money back in and now it's not as simple as putting five hundred million dollars’ worth of scrubber in place it is literally that those plants are in just dire shape.” 2 </blockquote>In June of 2011, AEP announced that it planned to retire the Kanawha River Plant’s units 1 and 2, effectively shutting down the plant, due to upcoming EPA regulations. By December 2011, the EPA had formally announced its new Mercury and Air Toxic Standards, and the Kanawha River Plant and several other AEP plants did not meet the new emission standards. The plant could either attempt to convert to natural gas for fuel or AEP could retrofit the plant and install new equipment to meet the standards. AEP determined that neither of those options were cost effective or viable, particularly at the Kammer and Sporn plants. Kanawha River, Kammer, and Sporn were the 9th, 10th, and 11th largest producers of electricity before the time of their retirement. The plant would continue operating until May 2015, with the remaining employees either transferring to the John Amos plant in Winfield, retiring, or receiving a severance package. At the request of the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, AEP had agreed to make no plans for the Kanawha River Plant site for at least four years after its closure, which would be 2019. Ultimately the plant ran for 62 years before its units were retired.

American Electric Power's Kanawha River Plant opened in 1953, and was a coal-fired steam generating power plant. In its early years the plant was one of the most heat efficient coal-fired plants in America, and was an innovator in using the coal byproduct fly ash. The plant ultimately ran for 62 years before being retired by AEP in May of 2015, due to an inability to economically meet the EPA's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS).

Kanawha River Power Plant (Glasgow)

Cedar Grove stands as a tribute to the growth of the Kanawha Valley prior to the Civil War. This growth was largely due to the salt industry—an industry powered by rented slaves from Eastern Virginia. The home is a two story, five bay, “double pile” rectangular brick house. When built, it had upper and lower verandas across the rear, but they were both enclosed around 1890. There is a small entrance portico with a second floor balcony. The home was built by William Tompkins, who moved to the Kanawha Valley around 1818. He joined his brother-in-law, Aaron Stockton, in a salt business and soon gained some advantage and prestige by developing several improvements in drilling techniques. Around 1841, Tompkins became the first person in the region to use natural gas as the fuel to extract salt from saltwater (previously coal or wood were used). Many believe that this was the first time that natural gas was used for industrial purposes. During the Civil War, Cedar Grove withstood the pressures of passing Confederate and Union troops, despite being on an important route. This is explained by the fact that Mrs. Tompkins was an aunt of Ulysses S. Grant and possessed a letter from his to display to troops. Despite the letter of support from Grant, the Tompkins were likely Confederate sympathizers; they were slave owners and the house was the seat of a plantation that stretched along the Kanawha River. The bricks that built Cedar Grove were bricks that slaves made by hand. During this time period, thousands of slaves were rented from Eastern Virginia by salt makers like Tompkins and Stockton to do the labor intensive work of making salt. Well-known West Virginia writer, Mary Lee Settle (1918 – 2005), is a descendant of the Tompkins. Born in Charleston, Mary Lee Settle spent summers at Cedar Grove with her grandmother, Addie Tomkins. For many, Cedar Grove is the imaginative wellspring of her writing. Mary Lee Settle is the author of 21 books, including The Beulah Quintet — a five volume work of historical fiction that spans two continents and 300 years of American history. Each book is set at a moment of transition, a time right on the edge of deep societal change. Beulah Land, where the novels unfold, is a fictional place grounded in the reality of Settle’s family home place at Cedar Grove, West Virginia. She won the National Book Award in 1978 for her novel Blood Tie. The home is currently owned by sisters, Shirley Ellis Stennet and Patty Ellis Thurmon. The two ran an elder care home in the house briefly, but now the home is a private residence.

Cedar Grove, also known as the William Tompkins House, is a historic home located at Cedar Grove, Kanawha County, West Virginia. Built in 1844, the house stands as a tribute to the growth of the Kanawha Valley in western Virginia prior to the Civil War, which was largely due to the salt industry. Well-known West Virginia writer, Mary Lee Settle (1918 – 2005), is a descendant of the Tompkins. She spent summers at Cedar Grove and, for many, the home is seen as the imaginative wellspring of her writing. 

Cedar Grove (William Tompkins House)

Thomas Joseph Lopez was born on January 20, 1940 in Powellton, West Virginia. He enlisted in the Navy in 1959, and was commissioned in 1964.&nbsp; In Vietnam in 1969, he was assigned as the commanding officer of River Division 153. He led a joint attack in Cambodia in 1970. By 1973 he had completed the Naval Postgraduate School. In 1977 he was assigned as the executive officer of the USS Truett, and by 1982 he was in command of the USS Stump.&nbsp; From July 1992 to December 1993, Lopez, now a Vice Admiral, commanded the United States Sixth Fleet and NATO forces in Southern Europe.&nbsp; From 1996 to 1998, Lopez served as the Commander in Chief for the US naval forces in Europe and the Allied forces in Southern Europe.&nbsp; Admiral Lopez, after 39 years in the Navy, retired in 1998. He then served on the boards of several private corporations.&nbsp;

Admiral T. J. Lopez of the United States Navy served as the Commander in Chief United States Naval Forces Europe and the Commander in Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe between 1996 ad 1998. In 1995, while a Vice Admiral, the West Virginia Legislature named the Chelyan Bridge in his honor. 

Admiral Thomas Joseph Lopez Bridge

One of the oldest homes in the western half of West Virginia, Shrewsbury built this home from stone to replace a previous home that was constructed from rough-hewn logs similar to most other homes in the area. The appearance of this sandstone home in 1810 is a reflection of the family's wealth that expanded with the creation of saltworks throughout the region. The home is made of single-pile sandstone and the roof of the house is a medium pitched gable with rubble walls that are up to 18 inches thick together with the corners which are well strengthened by sandstone quoins.

Known as the Old Stone House and built in 1810, the Samuel Shrewsbury House offers a reminder of West Virginia's early history of salt production. Shrewsbury was one of three brothers who, along with a handful of other entrepreneurs, pioneered the salt mining business in this part of Virginia by utilizing a mixture of slave and free labor. In contrast to other parts of what would become West Virginia, slavery was well-established in this area as well as the valleys along the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers. Samuel's brother Joel Shrewsbury and his business partner were the largest user of slave labor in the country and Malden was home to many salt mines that all employed a mix of free and slave labor. 

Samuel Shrewsbury House, Belle

Groundbreaking on the E. I. DuPont company's Belle plant would occur in 1925, with plans to begin manufacturing ammonia with technology
developed by Germany during World War I. The DuPont plant at Belle was to be an
experimental plant, one capable of generating high pressure. The plant would be
fitted with giant mechanical compressors called “hypers” that could achieve
pressure up to 15,000 PSI. One of the primary ingredients in the production of
ammonia is coke, which is produced through the destructive distillation of
bituminous coal. This made the ideal location of the plant around the
bituminous coal fields, of which West Virginia has plenty, so Belle was a good
location for the needs of production. 

The DuPont Plant at Belle would be the first to use a
high-pressure process to produce ammonia in North America. The production of
ammonia provided for the raw materials for numerous chemical products,
particularly the first commercial methanol. &nbsp;Ammonia allowed for new products, but the
unique usage of combining coal gas and other chemicals along with the high
pressure hypers was aided in the production for a plethora of new creations,
among them being nylon and urea. Both urea and the technology to develop nylon
would be the first in the nation. The synthetic urea DuPont produced would be
used for plastics and was particularly important for fertilizers, as urea is an
excellent source of nitrogen for crop production. 

The DuPont Belle Plant was instrumental in nylon production
as many of the key ingredients of nylon required the use of high pressure, one
of the distinguishing features of the Belle hypers. In combination with other
departments at DuPont, Belle significantly contributed to the production of
nylon. In fact, all nylon used by the U.S. forces during World War II would
come from chemicals produced in Belle. Initially nylon was sold as ladies’
hosiery, but by 1942 nylon had switched almost entirely into war production. Nylon
was used for a myriad of war products: shoe laces, ropes, fuel tanks, flak
jackets, netting, hammocks, and parachutes among other things. Lucite, a form
of plastic produced at Belle, was used for the canopies of Allied planes. 

Post-war demands skyrocketed for Lucite, urea, and nylon.
DuPont had returned to selling nylon stockings, and demand was enormous. This
was the peak for Belle Works, as it employed up to 5,000 people at this point. However,
over the next couple decades, Belle Works would start to decline for a few
reasons. By 1959, the plant switched from using coke to natural gas. As this
switch occurred, other plants became more viable for ammonia production, and in
1978 the plant stopped producing ammonia altogether. Throughout the 1960s all of
DuPont’s plants would begin to experience an increase in competition from new
chemical manufacturers, both at home and abroad in Europe. Along with this was
the overexposure nylon had received in the previous decades. Consumers in the
1960s began to turn towards natural fibers, and the market demand for nylon
would drop.

This lull in demand would turn into a lull in production for the plant, and in combination
with automation, the plant has reduced employment to about 580 workers today. By 1998, the
once groundbreaking hyper compressors were sold for scrap, despite local efforts to preserve them for historical purposes. In 2014, DuPont
Belle Works transitioned into a spin-off company known Chemours Company. In addition to Chemours, other tenants at the Belle plant currently include Kureha, Optima Chemical Group, and Sentinel Transportation. In its
history, DuPont’s Belle plant would have developed more than 120 different
chemical processes. Companies at the plant continue to produce chemicals and plastics, as well as facilitate the transportation of oils and petroleum coke.

The DuPont Belle Plant was a subsidiary of the E. I. DuPont Company built in 1925. Spanning over 90 years, the Belle plant would be involved in pioneering over 120 different chemical processes, including the synthetic polymer nylon. The plant was known for it's high pressure chemical engineering, which allowed it to be the first to produce high-pressure-process ammonia in North America. 

DuPont Belle Plant

Born into an affluent family in Cincinnati, Abraham Piatt was living as a wealthy farmer and newspaper editor in Logan County, Ohio when personal tragedy struck and significantly altered the trajectory of his life. In April 1861, his wife, Hannah, died. In an effort to prevent being overcome with grief, he heeded President Abraham Lincoln’s recent call for volunteers to suppress the rebellion in the South by organizing two volunteer infantry regiments. The first, the 13th Ohio, was a ninety-day regiment. After its expiration, he organized the 34th Ohio, a three-year volunteer infantry regiment, at Camp Lucas in Claremont County in early September 1861. After receiving field training at Camp Dennison, the unit adopted Zouave-style uniforms and became known as the First Ohio Zouaves or the “Piatt Zouaves.” On September 15, the regiment received its orders and marched to western Virginia. Camp Piatt played an important role in the Union’s war effort in West Virginia. It functioned as an inland port for federal steamboats, which carried Union soldiers and supplies from the Ohio River, down the Kanawha River, and into the heart of western Virginia. From Camp Piatt, federal forces staged assaults on Confederate units and pro-Confederate guerilla bands operating in what is now the southeastern part of West Virginia.  Following the Battle of Carnifex Ferry near present-day Summersville in September 1861, another Ohio unit—the 23rd Ohio—marched into Camp Piatt. Among its ranks, notably, were two future U.S. presidents, Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley. While stationed at Camp Piatt in 1863, both men were commissioned as first lieutenants. Hayes would become the 19th president of the United States, serving one term from 1877 to 1881. McKinley would become the 25th President of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901.  Today, a state historic marker sits along U.S. Route 60, just outside of Belle, denoting the approximate location where Camp Piatt once stood. Installed in 2017 by the West Virginia Highway Historical Marker Program of the West Virginia Archives and History as part of its Civil War sesquicentennial project, the marker informs passersby of the site’s rich past and significance to the history of the Civil War in West Virginia.

Named after the commander of the 34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Colonel Abraham Piatt (1821-1908), Camp Piatt was an important U.S. military installation in western Virginia (now West Virginia) during the American Civil War. Strategically located near present-day Belle on the Kanawha River, roughly fifteen miles south of Charleston, it functioned as a vital base of operations for Union forces in the Kanawha Valley. Notably, during the war, two future U.S. presidents—Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley—were stationed at the federal camp for a time. 

Camp Piatt

George Washington and Andrew Lewis claimed 250 acres here around the Burning Springs. Washington and Lewis had both served as officers in the French &amp; Indian War, during which the Governor of Virginia and British government promised land bounties to those who served. Washington and his fellow officers began exploring and surveying plots of land around the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers in 1770-1771 and Washington continued to acquire plots of land for several years after. The 250 acre Burning Springs tract was part of the land Washington claimed for a 5,000-acre warrant owed to him under the Proclamation of 1763. The springs were discovered in 1773 and were holes that emitted natural gas. When the holes filled with rainwater it appeared that the water was boiling, and the gas could be ignited so that the “springs” were on fire. The plot was surveyed in 1775 and the joint patent was issued to Washington and Lewis in 1780. Because Washington and Lewis shared the tract, Washington claimed 125 acres in his 1799 will and described the land as “taken up by General Andrew Lewis and myself for, and on account of a bituminous Spring which it contains, of so inflammable a nature as to burn as freely as Spirits, and is as nearly difficult to extinguish.” Due to the natural salt here, in the 1800s people began looking for ways to increase the production of the material. In 1808 David and Joseph Ruffner drilled a 58-foot well; they introduced a new method for drilling wells that was widely used thereafter, and this led to the salt industry in this area. In the 1840s William Tompkins was drilling a salt well and struck a deep flow of natural gas which was then used in the salt works along the Kanwaha River. He is considered the first to use natural gas in a manufacturing process. The monument was placed in 1963 by the WV Oil and Natural Gas Industry Centennial Committee. Washington's (West Virginia) lands: As a young man George Washington explored into western Virginia and the Ohio Valley many times. In the Colonial period, Washington worked as a surveyor between 1749 and 1752 and traveled through the region during the French &amp; Indian War. From these early experiences, he realized the importance of these western lands and continually invested in them for the rest of his life. Over the course of his life Washington owned 60,000 acres of western land, mostly in the area that would become West Virginia. From an early age George Washington set out to increase his own fortunes, with the help of connections from family and wealthy friends. Washington’s father, Augustine Washington, died in 1743 when Washington was only 11. Augustine Washington’s oldest two sons, George Washington’s half-brothers Lawrence and Augustine Jr., inherited two of the three family tracts. George Washington, the eldest son of Augustine Washington’s second marriage to Mary Ball, inherited the third plot, which was the land at Ferry Farm where his mother and siblings lived. Washington ultimately owned around 600 acres at Ferry Farm, but because he inherited it as a minor it was managed by his mother until he reached the age of 21. Due to the poor prospects of the Ferry Farm land, George Washington decided to increase his fortunes through education and other pursuits, as well as through the connections and assistance of Lawrence Washington who served as a surrogate father-figure for the young boy. This is what prompted George Washington to study surveying and seek early employment in that field as a teenager, a decision that tied him to western lands for the rest of his life. Washington learned the basic skills of surveying in school as a young man and practiced on the grounds of Mount Vernon, owned by his half-brother Lawrence Washington. The time that George Washington spent at Mount Vernon (which was the land that Lawrence Washington inherited from their father) proved crucial for George Washington’s future. Through his brother, Washington developed connections with the Fairfax family, neighbors of Mount Vernon living at the Belvoir estate a few miles away. Lawrence Washington married Anne Fairfax in 1743 and George Washington was often a guest at Belvoir. There he became acquainted with Colonel William Fairfax, owner of Belvoir, and the Colonel’s cousin Lord Thomas Fairfax. In the 1640s King Charles II had deeded millions of acres of Virginia land to loyal followers, including the Fairfax family, and by the 1740s the family land was all held by Lord Fairfax. Fairfax proved an important mentor in George Washington’s life and gave the young man his first start as a surveyor. In 1748 George Washington accompanied George William Fairfax (Colonel William Fairfax’s son) and James Glen, surveyor of Prince William County, to survey Lord Fairfax’s western land holdings. The following year, at age 17, Washington gained an appointment as county surveyor in Culpeper County; he only served in that position for about a year, but he continued to survey in the area of Fairfax’s landholdings for two more years. It was through his connections to Lord Fairfax that Washington was able to acquire his first western land. At age 18 he purchased 453 acres of land from Lord Fairfax along Bullskin Creek (or Bullskin Run). He quickly received a grant for 93 additional acres and then bought 456 acres from James McCraken. After 1753 Washington set up a tobacco operation on part of these lands and leased other portions of land to tenant farmers for additional income. He visited the plantation a few times while still in the Virginia military, and was able to oversee the property more closely after 1759 when he settled at Mount Vernon after marrying Martha Custis. Ultimately, he would own almost 2,500 acres here. Additionally, he would visit brothers Samuel and Charles who both held estates in modern-day Jefferson County. Their estates were part of the land that Washington had surveyed for Lord Fairfax and George Washington convinced his brother Lawrence to purchase it; at Lawrence Washington’s death he gifted the land to the two younger brothers through his will. Washington also held two lots by the warm springs at Bath, VA (now Berkeley Springs, WV). Washington learned about the “warm springs” when he was surveying the area around 1750 and continued to visit the springs throughout his life. He visited with his family several times in the 1760s after his marriage to Martha Custis. Besides the enjoyment of the springs for himself, the waters were one of several remedies that George and Martha Washington tried to cure Martha Parke Custis, Martha Washington's youngest daughter, who suffered from seizures (she would die from this ailment in 1773). The town of Bath (now Berkeley Springs) was established in 1776 and Washington bought two lots here. He hired James Rumsey to build a summer home and he still held the lots at his death in 1799. Washington acquired more (West) Virginia land due to his service for the British in the French &amp; Indian War. Governor of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie, also took notice of young George Washington and made him an adjutant in the Virginia militia in 1753. Dinwiddie sent 20-year-old Washington into the Ohio Valley to warn the French to leave disputed lands that both Britain and France claimed. Washington passed through the region at least two more times during the French &amp; Indian War, in 1754 in the expedition that resulted in Fort Necessity and in 1755 with Braddock’s Expedition. These military campaigns provided the groundwork for Washington’s military career, but also broadened his claim to western lands. To recruit men to serve in the army, in 1754 Governor Dinwiddie promised bounty lands in western Virginia as rewards and he set aside 200,000 acres for that purpose. Privates in the militia could earn 400 acres and the parcels increase with rank. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 also promised land to veterans of the French &amp; Indian War; however, the 1763 Proclamation restricted British settlement into areas beyond the Appalachian Mountains so the bounties could not be immediately honored. In 1768, the British renegotiated the boundary line of Native lands with the Treaty of Fort Stanwix which opened up land to the Ohio River for white settlement. Washington was a strong advocate for the lands in western Virginia to be opened for veterans and in 1769 the Virginia government approved a survey of land for these veteran bounties. Once they had permission to survey the promised 200,000 acres Washington and other officers explored the region between the Ohio River and the Little and Great Kanawha Rivers. Washington authorized Captain William Crawford, surveyor of August Co., to start surveying plots for veterans in 1771. Washington’s bounty allotment (from several different bounties claims) was around 15,000 acres but he also bought/assumed bounty lands from other veterans to increase his landholdings. By 1774 Washington claimed four tracts (23,216 acres) in the Kanawha Valley along the Ohio and Great Kanawha Rivers. Washington acquired additional lands on the Little Kanawha, the Great Kanawha, and the Little Miami Rivers between 1774 and 1790. George Washington owned at least 30,000 acres in what became West Virginia. He took several trips to his western land holdings in his adult life, such as in 1784 where he checked on his land and explored the possibility of expanding the connection between the east and the west. As more Americans settled in the Ohio Valley, Washington and other politicians wanted to increase travel and trade to connect settlers to the American market instead of the British and Spanish markets to the north and west. Washington promoted the extension of road networks into the region and helped establish the Potomac Company, whose goal was to develop transportation links between the Potomac, James, and Ohio Rivers.

During the French & Indian War the Virginia and British governments promised bounties of western land to officers who served. George Washington and his fellow officers claimed thousands of acres in what would become West Virginia under the 1754 Virginia proclamation and the Royal Proclamation of 1763. After the springs were discovered in 1773 by other settlers, Washington and his friend Andrew Lewis claimed 250 acres at Burning Springs together. The patent was issued in 1780 and Washington still held his land at his death. In the 1800s the springs became central in the salt and natural gas industries that emerged here along the Kanawha.

Washington's Land at Burning Springs

Centuries before the first settlers of European, Asian, and African descent arrived in the Kanawha Valley, animals were drawn to salt springs near the present-day town of Malden. Native Americans also knew of this Great Buffalo Lick, as they followed animal trails to the springs and boiled their water to obtain salt. During the late 1700s, as white settlers pushed further westward, captives taken in Native American raids were occasionally brought to the Kanawha Valley salt springs. According to local histories, Mary Draper Ingles was forced to make salt from the brine of a Kanawha Valley salt lick after she was captured by Shawnee Indians in 1755. As settlement of the valley rapidly progressed in the following decades, it was not long before the area’s salt industry was born. Elisha Brooks erected the valley’s first salt furnace at the mouth of Campbell's Creek in 1797. Brooks collected brine and boiled it to evaporate the water, leaving behind salt crystals. He soon produced up to 150 bushels of salt each day, which he sold to settlers who used salt to cure butter and meats. After the Ruffner brothers successfully drilled for brine and set up the first commercial furnaces in 1808, salt production began attracting other entrepreneurs in earnest.The salt industry’s potential soon attracted the attention of brothers-in-law William Dickinson and Joel Shrewsbury. In 1804, the two had entered a business partnership in Bedford and Franklin Counties, Virginia, where they dealt primarily in tobacco commerce. The partners became involved in the salt business in 1813, when they purchased over 300 acres of land along the Kanawha River and made a deal to operate the salt furnace of two of Shrewsbury’s brothers. Along with the obvious appeal of the rapidly-growing salt industry, the partners were also drawn to the agricultural potential of the Kanawha Valley soils. Dickinson &amp; Shrewsbury Co. completed its first salt well in 1817, using a hollow tree trunk as the piping. In the years that followed, Dickinson &amp; Shrewsbury went on to drill hundreds of brine wells and acquire the land, coal, and timber necessary to fuel its facilities. By the 1830s, the Kanawha Salines had become the largest salt-making area in the United States, with Dickinson &amp; Shrewsbury among the “Salt Kings of Kanawha.” The area retained its primacy for decades and even achieved international recognition in 1851, when “The Great Kanawha Salt” was declared “The Best Salt in The World” at the World’s Fair in London. Technological change accompanied the rapid growth of the Kanawha salt industry, as saltmakers adapted coal as fuel, invented well-drilling tools, developed steam engines for pumping brine, and pioneered the Kanawha grainer evaporative system. Although the initial profitability of the salt industry waned as new competitors appeared along the Kanawha, Dickinson &amp; Shrewsbury responded by diversifying business and maintaining an involvement in agriculture and commerce. The partners were equally strategic within the salt business, as they shifted their focus to Tennessee and quickly came to dominate the Nashville salt market.Before the Civil War, salt production in the Kanawha Valley was a relatively simple but labor-intensive process that depended largely on slave labor. Most slaves were leased out from plantations in Kentucky and eastern Virginia, and worked on a temporary basis in the saltworks. Due to the shifting labor population and an absence of written records, the exact number of slaves at the Kanawha salt works remains unclear, though it is estimated that up to 1,500 slaves manned the works during its heyday. As the largest single salt manufacturer, Dickinson &amp; Shrewsbury was likely the largest user of slave labor in the area, employing slaves at the works and in the mines that supplied the coal for its furnaces. Dickinson &amp; Shrewsbury had 232 slaves under its control in 1850, though the number had fallen to 130 by 1856. During the 1850s, the Kanawha salt field reached its peak and began to decline, as the meat packing industry shifted west, the railroad system expanded, and salt reserves were discovered elsewhere in the country. In 1856, the Dickinson &amp; Shrewsbury partnership was dissolved, shortly before its two founding members passed away. The Dickinson family remained in the salt industry as J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works, though the Civil War soon interrupted its ability to conduct business as usual. In 1867, members of the family returned from the war and founded the Kanawha Valley Bank, which went on to become the state’s largest bank. The bank eventually became One Valley Bancorp and was acquired by the bank holding company BB&amp;T in 2000. The Dickinsons were wise to diversify their interests, as the Kanawha salt industry continued to decline over time. Eventually, Dickinson Salt Works was the only remaining salt manufacturer in the area, before it too closed in 1945. By that time, Kanawha Valley salt making had been replaced by the chemical industry, whose facilities harvested and processed the chemicals and natural gas which had once been discarded as waste by salt drillers. In 2013, J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works was revived by siblings Nancy Bruns and Lewis Payne, seventh-generation Dickinsons. With the help of a geologist, Bruns and Payne drilled a new pump on the old Dickinson family farm in order to recapture salt from the ancient Iapetus Sea three hundred feet below the ground. Whereas the family’s ancestors had used wood and coal to stoke fires and boil the brine to acquire salt, the siblings have taken a more environmentally friendly approach to produce small-batch finishing salt. They built solar-powered evaporation houses, called sun-houses, in which the salt crystals take about three weeks to separate from the brine. When enough salt has formed and the crystals are the right size, it is harvested with a wooden rake and hung to drain in cotton bags. Once dry, the salt is cleaned, sorted, and packaged. Today, the salt company has become a proud fixture of the area, just as it was two hundred years ago. While it no longer ships hundreds of pounds of salt up the river to meat processing facilities in Ohio, J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works is now served in restaurants throughout West Virginia and across the country, and it has expanded to sell products like seasoned salt mixes and salt soaps in collaboration with other local producers.

Building on a seven-generation tradition and the region's history of salt production, J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works opened in 2013 and offers a variety of salts and related products in addition to interpretive tours and other food and heritage-themed events. Throughout most of the nineteenth century, this part of the Kanawha Valley was home to a booming salt industry. Dickinson & Shrewsbury was one of the valley’s most prominent salt manufacturers and based on a partnership formed between William Dickinson and Joel Shrewsbury in 1804. In 1813, the partners arrived in the Kanawha Valley to take advantage of the rapidly growing salt industry. After completing its first salt well in 1817, Dickinson & Shrewsbury went on to drill hundreds more and soon joined the ranks of the “Salt Kings of the Kanawha.” Like most other salt manufacturers along the Kanawha, Dickinson & Shrewsbury used slave labor in its saltworks and mines in the decades before the Civil War. Although the Dickinson & Shrewsbury partnership was dissolved in 1856, the Dickinson family remained in the salt business for decades to come, eventually becoming the only salt manufacturer in the area before it too closed in 1945. Nearly seventy years later, seventh-generation Dickinsons Nancy Bruns and Lewis Payne revived the family business to produce small-batch finishing salt and related products.

J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works 

A commercial salt industry developed in the Kanawha Valley at the start of the nineteenth century, as settlers arrived in the region and discovered the abundant salt springs along the river. In 1808, brothers David and Joseph Ruffner succeeded in boring the first deep brine well west of the Alleghenies. In the decades that followed, technological innovations and a standardized production process enabled the Kanawha Valley saltworks to flourish. Dozens of salt furnaces lined the river, producing millions of bushels of salt per year, with Malden emerging as the region’s residential and social center. Founded after the Ruffner family subdivided and sold land east of their saltworks during the 1830s, the town grew to have several businesses along with the homes of the area’s saltmakers. Many of these houses were grand in scale and elegantly designed, as befit the local aristocracy of salt barons. Members of the Putney family were also counted among Malden’s elite. The son of English immigrants to the United States, Dr. Richard Ellis Putney was born on March 12, 1794 in Buckingham County, Virginia. He received a medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia before relocating to the Kanawha Valley around 1812, where he set up a medical practice. Considered the Kanawha Valley’s third “regularly educated physician,” Putney became one of the area’s best-known doctors, and was involved in local politics and the manufacture of salt as well. He also served as the personal physician of the Ruffner family, though this relationship became personal when he married Ann Ruffner, the daughter of David Ruffner, in 1815. Putney practiced medicine in the Malden area for nearly fifty years until his death in 1862. He was survived by several children, including a son, James, who also became a doctor and practiced in Malden for many years. Although James Putney developed a neurological disorder during the Civil War, he continued his own practice in Malden until his death in 1876.The Putney family residence was completed in 1836. The imposing two-story brick structure, painted white, was designed primarily in the Federal style, which dominated American architecture between 1780 and 1840. A Federal house was typically a square or rectangular box, with stylistic emphasis on symmetry and subtle classical details, like the Putney House’s elliptical-arched main entrance. Circa 1870, a one-story ell was added to the rear of the Putney House, and a three-bay porch was added across its front. These additions, alongside the Federal-style main block, provide an example of the tendency of Malden’s homes to display a mixture of architectural styles. Additions and embellishments, in styles such as Greek Revival or Victorian, were made to many of the town’s Federal-style homes, giving the community an eclectic architectural legacy. After Dr. Putney's death in 1862, the property came under the ownership of the Thayer family, as one of Putney's granddaughters married a merchant named Thayer. In 1868, the house was sold to the Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church for use as a manse. The house continued in that function - becoming the first in Malden to have a modern bathroom in 1910 - until 1952, when the church built a new manse and sold the house to C. C. Dickinson. The house was used as a rental property until April 1973, when lawyers James C. Jeter and James H. Coleman purchased the home and began restoring it. The restoration project inspired pride and excitement about Malden’s history and was covered by the local media. In 1980, the Putney House was named as one of three pivotal structures of the Malden Historic District. The house was considered pivotal because of its imposing scale and lack of modern alterations compared to other historic houses in the town. After years of preservation efforts, the house’s owner offered the Putney home for sale, though it has since been taken off the market. Today, the Richard E. Putney House is the oldest extant residence in Malden and one of the best-preserved remnants of the town’s nineteenth-century heyday.

The Richard E. Putney House is the oldest extant residence in Malden, West Virginia. The house was built in 1836 for Dr. Richard Ellis Putney, a physician who had established a medical practice in the area and married into the prominent Ruffner family. At the time of the house’s construction, Malden was the seat of a booming salt industry in the Kanawha Valley that produced millions of bushels of salt each year. Designed in the imposing Federal style, the Putney House was one of many fine mansions in Malden that conveyed the wealth and status of the local elite. After Putney passed away in 1862, the house remained in the family until 1868, when it was sold to the Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church for use as a manse. In 1952, the church built a new manse and the Putney House was sold and used as a rental property until 1973. That year, it was purchased by lawyers James C. Jeter and James H. Coleman, who began the long process of restoring the historic home. In 1980, the Putney House was included in the Malden Historic District as one of three pivotal structures, reflecting its status as not only Malden’s oldest dwellings, but also one of its most imposing and least altered buildings. 

Richard E. Putney House 

When West Virginia was founded in 1863, the Methodist Church had the greatest number of congregations in the new state. The first Methodist preaching in what would become West Virginia was likely in the Shenandoah Valley as early as 1775, and two Methodist circuits were established in the area of West Virginia in the 1780s. Circuits were the geographic routes that Methodist preachers, called circuit riders, traveled between different congregations. A circuit rider might be appointed to a particular circuit for up to a year before he moved on to another circuit. This system worked well in sparsely-populated western Virginia, as preachers could travel between small communities on the same circuit and serve multiple congregations at once. With the Second Great Awakening in the early part of the nineteenth century, Methodism gained additional traction in West Virginia, though the growing congregations eventually ran into differences that led to schisms. In 1830, the Methodist Protestant Church emerged from differences over the authority of the bishop and the role of the laity, and in 1844 the Methodist Episcopal Church, South was created due to disputes over slavery.Methodism came to the Kanawha Valley at the turn of the century with the formation of the Little Kanawha Circuit in 1799 and the first Methodist sermon given by Reverend William Steel in Charleston on January 1, 1804. At the time, the Kanawha Valley was in the early stages of industrial development, as settlers had begun to harvest brine from the area’s abundant salt springs and ship it up the river to meat-packing facilities in Cincinnati. The valley’s salt industry rapidly flourished, and the town of Malden soon emerged as its mercantile and residential center. Several churches were constructed to serve the growing community’s spiritual needs, including Malden Methodist Church, which was built as early as 1840. Although little information is available about the church’s founding, it was nevertheless one of Malden’s earliest religious buildings and formed part of the Malden Circuit of Methodist churches. Although it was built during the heyday of the Kanawha Valley’s salt industry, Malden Methodist Church soon witnessed the devastation of the Civil War and the steady decline of the salt business that followed it. During the war, the Methodist Episcopal Church took a particularly active role in defending the Union and championing West Virginia’s statehood. Ministers used their influence to shape their congregations’ political loyalties, urging their followers to support the Union by distributing pamphlets, excluding secessionist sympathizers from their fellowship, and recruiting for the Union army. At the same time, the pro-Confederate Methodist Episcopal Church, South, maintained a strong influence in the Kanawha Valley, where the majority of the saltworks’ laborers were slaves. Indeed, by the start of the Civil War, Kanawha County possessed the third highest proportion of slaves in all of West Virginia. As a result, the conflict between the two Methodist churches, each supporting a different side in the war, was particularly contentious in the valley. Although little is known about Malden Methodist Episcopal’s own role during the war, local histories note that troops may have used the church building as a stable. Shortly after the end of the war, perhaps as a result of the conflict, the church’s ownership changed when its trustees deeded the church to a man named Charles Ferrel in 1867.In 1911, Malden Methodist Episcopal Church was extensively remodeled. Reverend Joseph S. Jenkins was the church’s pastor during these alterations. Although much of the church’s appearance was altered, including its facade, the newer building retained the original windows and a few of the interior furnishings and woodwork from the previous structure. In 1980, Malden Methodist Episcopal Church was included in the Malden Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Despite the alterations that took place after Malden and the Kanawha Valley salt industry’s peak, the church was included in the district because it was consistent in scale with other Malden churches and continues the traditional use of the site. Along with the Methodist Episcopal Church, several religious buildings remain from Malden’s nineteenth-century heyday, including Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church, the valley’s oldest Presbyterian church, and African Zion Baptist Church, considered the mother church of West Virginia’s Black Baptists. Together, these churches stand as evidence of the religious communities that developed alongside the industry and commerce of the Kanawha Valley.

Malden Methodist Episcopal Church is one of the oldest churches in Malden, West Virginia. Originally built as early as 1840, the church served the area’s Methodists at a time when the Kanawha Valley was home to a prosperous salt industry. Methodism, which had come to western Virginia at the beginning of the nineteenth century, spread rapidly as itinerant preachers traveled between congregations across the sparsely-populated region and preached a message of salvation for all. Although Malden Methodist Episcopal Church was founded during Malden’s heyday, it soon witnessed the effects of the Civil War on the community, and may have been caught up in the struggle between the pro-Union Methodist Episcopal Church and the pro-Confederacy Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1911, the church building was extensively remodeled, although a number of original features were retained. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Malden Historic District in 1980, and remains in operation today. 

Malden Methodist Episcopal Church 

During the nineteenth century, the Kanawha Valley was the site of a booming salt industry. The town of Malden, originally referred to as Terra Salis and then Kanawha Salines, emerged as the commercial center of the region, with businesses, hotels, and the fine homes of the saltworks’ owners. One of Malden’s most prominent families was the Ruffner family, which had come to the Kanawha Valley in the 1790s. In 1794, Joseph Ruffner and his wife, Elizabeth, had purchased 502 acres of land, and eventually came to own an additional 900 acres along the Kanawha River, including all of present-day downtown Charleston. When Joseph Ruffner passed away in March 1803, his estate passed on to three of his sons, David, Joseph, and Tobias. David and Joseph Ruffner went on to drill the first salt well into the Kanawha bedrock, and David became the first to use coal in salt manufacturing. On March 14, 1819, Henry, the eldest son of David Ruffner and the grandson of Joseph Sr., organized the first Presbyterian church in the Kanawha Valley. Ruffner was also the author of the anti-slavery ‘‘Ruffner Pamphlet’’ and served as president of Washington College, now Washington and Lee University. In its early years, members of the Kanawha Presbyterian Church met alternately at Kanawha Salines - now Malden - and in Charleston. At Malden, the church’s first services were held in homes, and later in a cabin built by David Ruffner that was known as “Colonel Ruffner’s Meeting House.” The two congregations held joint services until 1841, when the Malden congregation decided to form an organization of their own.   Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church was constructed between 1839 and 1840 on a lot that was donated by Colonel David Ruffner. The building was dedicated on December 13, 1840, with Reverends James M. Brown and Henry Ruffner officiating. Reverend Stuart Robinson was installed on April 4, 1843 as Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church’s first resident pastor. Robinson went on to hold that position until 1847. Over the years, several pastors served the congregation for extended periods of time: Reverend John Calvin Brown served from 1867 to 18992, Reverend John W. Carpenter served from 1907 to 1918, and Reverend J.E. Wayland served from 1930 to 1944. Additionally, the Kanawha Presbytery was organized in the church on April 9, 1895. During Reverend Wayland’s ten-year pastorship, the Sunday School building was added to the church. The addition was dedicated on January 28, 1934. In 1951-52, the sanctuary was renovated in order to save the original building. Supporting steel for the walls allowed for a large pillar in front of the pulpit to be removed, and a concrete base replaced the floor as a means of strengthening the church’s foundation. At the same time, the choir loft and pulpit areas were enlarged and the church’s lighting was also improved. In 1974, the New River Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America was organized at Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church. In 1980, the church was rated as one of three pivotal structures in the Malden Historic District. The Martin property east of the building was gifted to Kanawha Salines Presbyterian in 1987. On March 14, 2019, Kanawha Salines celebrated its 200th anniversary. Upon the occasion, the church was awarded a Certificate of Recognition that was signed by Governor James Justice.

Located in Malden, West Virginia, Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church is the oldest Presbyterian church in the Kanawha Valley. The congregation was established in March 1819 by Reverend Henry Ruffner. The Ruffner family arrived in the valley during the 1790s, and proved instrumental in the early development of the area’s salt industry. The congregation initially held services alternately in Malden and Charleston, until today’s Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church was built and dedicated in 1840. The church has remained open ever since, through the peak of Malden’s commercial activity in the 1850s and the decline of the salt industry and migration of business to Charleston in the decades following the Civil War. The structure has largely retained its original appearance over the years, though a Sunday school wing was added and various renovations have been completed in order to preserve the building. The congregation celebrated its 200th anniversary in March 2019 and continues to maintain a strong presence in the community with Sunday services and other events. 

Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church

<div>Located at the eastern&nbsp;end of Kanawha Boulevard in Charleston, WV,&nbsp;Daniel Boone Park is a place to fish, picnic and launch boats into the river.&nbsp; The park is named for the famous&nbsp;pioneer who lived in Charleston in the 1790s, and purportedly&nbsp;lived in a cave close to where the park is located during his&nbsp;first years in the area.&nbsp; Boone married Rebecca Bryan and fathered ten children.&nbsp; He&nbsp;moved his&nbsp;wife and children to the Kanawha area&nbsp;around 1787 and they lived in a double log cabin in present Kanawha City across the river&nbsp;from the mouth of Campbell's Creek.&nbsp; Daniel Boone was a lieutenant colonel in the Kanawha Militia.&nbsp; In 1928 the Kanawha Valley Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)&nbsp;had a monument erected to honor Mr. Boone.&nbsp; The monument had been located near Boone's Cave, and was&nbsp;moved at least twice before it found its current home at the entrance to the park.&nbsp;&nbsp;The DAR rededicated the monument in June 2014. The park&nbsp;sits next to&nbsp;Kanawha River&nbsp;and offers a beautiful setting for&nbsp;any activity.&nbsp;&nbsp;The nearby public&nbsp;dock is used for access to Kanawha River, and formerly was the&nbsp;point to board the P.A. Denny sternwheeler. </div>

Daniel Boone Park is a public park with a boat ramp and shelter areas for picnics.  It is named after the famous frontiersman Daniel Boone because it is said that he took residence in a cave close to the park's location.  Boone also lived on the south side of Kanawha River near the park.

Daniel Boone Park and Monument

Peter Ruffner, a Swiss immigrant, arrived in America in 1713. He and his
wife, Mary Steinman settled in Shenandoah Valley, in Virginia where they
started their family. It was their eldest son, Joseph, that settled in
Charleston, WV. Joseph Ruffner, a successful farmer and businessman, traveled
the region, buying and selling produce and livestock. Searching for iron ore in
the upper James River, he met Colonel Dickerson of Point Pleasant, and learned of
the buffalo salt licks on the Kanawha River. He bought Colonel Dickerson’s land
that spans 502 acres and has salt licks on the spot.&nbsp;In 1795, Joseph finally
saw the land he bought. So impressed, Joseph went on to buy all the land that
he could, over&nbsp;a thousand acres that included log structures of Fort Lee,
unsold lots of the young town and all the bottomland surrounding the Fort, much
of what is now the city of Charleston. He sold his property in the Shenandoah
Valley upon his return to Virginia, and moved his entire family to the Kanawha
Valley late in 1795.&nbsp;Ruffner built the log house to serve as a sawmill and office for his
business, but by the 1820’s the&nbsp;hand-powered sawmill was no longer&nbsp;needed.
His grandson, Joel Ruffner, moved into the log house upon his marriage and renovated the log house&nbsp;in the 1820s and '30s. More rooms
were added to the dwelling beyond the original log structure, and the logs were
covered with clapboard siding. A 25,000 gallon stone-lined cistern was dug
adjacent to the house! This would have been filled with fresh rainwater to provide&nbsp;a clean water source for the family instead
of relying on&nbsp;the dirty Kanawha River that was polluted from early industry.&nbsp;The
Ruffners called the newly refurbished home “Rosedale.” The family raised 12
children in the house. An interesting Ruffner family tradition recounts that
the Ruffners would plant a holly tree upon the birth of each child. Thus on
old Ruffner property in the valley, one will see many ancient holly trees still
surviving.&nbsp;In the
1860’s, during the Union
occupation of Charleston, Rosedale became the headquarters of then Colonel )later General) Joseph A.J. Lightburn, commander of the 4th (West) Virginia Infantry. Substantial earthworks
were apparently built around the building. On September 13, 1862 the Union Army, in the
face of advancing Confederate troops, evacuated Charleston. Rosedale suffered damage in the action&nbsp;and was reportedly struck with several cannon balls. The building survived the Civil War and passed
from generation to generation until the late 1960s when the last Ruffner
descendant died and Rosedale passed out of family hands.&nbsp;The historic log cabin was dismantled when Rosedale was demolished to make way for modern construction on Kanawha Blvd.&nbsp;and the logs were stored for several years. &nbsp;Then, volunteers rebuilt the cabin&nbsp;as part of the 1976 Bicentennial project of civic clubs in the
area. Although the original Ruffner home was torn down in 1969, some furniture is on
display inside the Craik-Patton House. In the early 21st century&nbsp;the city of Charleston turned over
the Ruffner Cabin and the property it stands on&nbsp;to Craik-Patton Inc.

Located in Daniel Boone Park in Charleston, West Virginia, the Joseph Ruffner Log Cabin or “Rosedale” originally stood at 1538 Kanawha Boulevard. Built in 1803 by Joseph Ruffner, the log cabin is said to be one of the oldest extant houses in Kanawha County.

Ruffner Log Cabin (Rosedale)

The Craik-Patton House, a Confederate home and the Ruffner Log Cabin, utilized by Union forces, now stand near one another in Daniel Boone Park.Craik Patton House"Built in 1834 as "Elm Grove" by James Craik, grandson of Geo. Washington's personal physician. Sold to George Smith Patton, 1858, and retained by family until end of Civil War. Born here was father of noted World War II general Geo. S. Patton. Moved to Lee St. from original Virginia St. location in 1906. Acquired by City of Charleston in 1968 and leased to Colonial Dames. Moved to park in 1973."George S. Patton lived in what is now the Craik-Patton house from 1858 until the Civil War was nearly over. Patton helped to organize the “Kanawha Riflemen” in 1856. They joined the Confederacy as Company H of the 22nd Virginia Infantry. Under Patton’s command, they saw their first battle at Scary Creek in July of 1861. The Kanawha Riflemen were also present at Carnifex Ferry, Lewisburg, Fayetteville, White Sulphur Springs and Droop Mountain. Patton rose to the rank of colonel and commanded the 22nd Virginia Infantry Regiment at Third Winchester in September of 1864, where he was mortally wounded.

The Craik-Patton House and the Ruffner Log Cabin, two significant dwellings that played a role in the area's Civil War heritage, have been moved to Daniel Boone Park.

Charleston's Civil War Trails Markers: The Past is Present

During the early to mid 1800s, the recently established city of Charleston witnessed a steady growth of a small Jewish community. Drawn to the industrialization and opportunity of the region, the city’s new Jewish population became fully rooted in the community. By 1836, the Jewish population of Charleston was large enough to warrant its own section in Charleston’s Spring Hill Cemetery, called the Old Jewish Cemetery, which is now West Virginia’s oldest Jewish burial ground. Charleston’s Jewish community continued to grow during the mid-19th Century. By 1856, Congregation B’nai Israel (present-day Temple Israel) was informally organized, predating the creation of the state of West Virginia by seven years, and formally chartered as the Hebrew Educational Society with sixteen members in 1873. Shortly thereafter, the congregation became one of the founding members of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, now the Union for Reform Judaism. The society first met in rooms above a store on Capitol Street, two years later moving to a building on Lee Street. By 1894, a new temple was erected on Virginia Street and served the congregation for the next 66 years. In 1960, the congregation moved into its current temple on Kanawha Boulevard East and continues to serve Charleston’s Jewish community.

Temple Israel, or Congregation B'nai Israel, began from the early Jewish settlers in the recently founded city of Charleston. By 1856, Congregation B’nai Israel - present-day Temple Israel - was informally organized, predating the creation of the state of West Virginia by seven years, and formally chartered as the Hebrew Educational Society with sixteen members in 1873. Shortly thereafter, the congregation became one of the founding members of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, now the Union for Reform Judaism. In 1960, the congregation moved into its current temple on Kanawha Boulevard East and continues to serve Charleston’s Jewish community.

Discover U.S. 60: The Midland Trail

Veterans Adminstration Hospital Marker

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information