<div>The Wildcat Petroglyphs are thought to have been created sometime during the Late Woodland Period of history—between 500-1000 C.E.—although&nbsp;their exact date is unclear, as are their likely creators and purpose. It is believed that they were likely carved by Native Americans or their ancestors.</div><div><br></div><div>Since the carvings are made into a flat, nearly ground-level rock located on privately-owned land, possibly even in the backyard of a local home, not much is known about their current status, and not many photos of them even exist (or are at least nearly impossible to locate).</div><div><br></div><div>The rock on which the carvings were made is roughly 8 feet in diameter and is located less than 100 feet away from a creek called Wildcat Branch, which meets the Big Sandy River less than a mile away.</div><div><br></div><div>Roughly twenty years ago, an art history professor of the University of Central Arkansas visited the petroglyphs as part of his journey to find and learn more about several petroglyphs in the area. Upon visiting, the professor, Reinaldo Morales Jr., reported that the petroglyphs, at the time, were located in the backyard of a private residence. At this time, he wrote, there were also several words drawn onto the rock with chalk, but the site was generally in good condition.</div><div><br></div>

field sketch of Wildcat Branch Petroglyphs

These prehistoric petroglyphs were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The site is also sometimes called the Turkey Rock Petroglyphs and contains several carvings of what appear to be birds and perhaps a beaver-like creature.

Wildcat Branch Petroglyphs

As of 2020, Wayne County in West Virginia has five listings on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The National Register of Historic Places is the “United States federate government’s official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance.” Administered by the National Park Service, the NRHP contains more than one million properties.  

<p>Anthony Wayne was born on January 1, 1745 in Paoli, Chester County, Pennsylvania to Isaac and Elizabeth Wayne. He was one of five children of a Protestant Anglo-Irish family. Wayne was educated as a surveyor at his uncle's private academy in Philadelphia, as well as at the College of Philadelphia. He graduated in 1765 and in 1766 Wayne was sent by Benjamin Franklin and some associates to work for a year surveying land they owned in Nova Scotia and assisting with starting settlements there. He served in the Pennsylvania legislature from 1774–1780. Anthony Wayne married Mary Penrose in 1766. They had two children, one daughter named Margretta who was born in 1770 and one son named Isaac Wayne who was born in 1772.</p><p>Wayne received the nickname "Mad" after his courageous victory at the Battle of Stony Point. Wayne took 1,350 men and had them scale the steep and rocky sides of Stony Point in the dead of night. He then had his men to only use their bayonets, not wanting to alert the British, as they climbed over the walls of the fort. The battle lasted just 25 minutes but ended with around 70 British dead and 550 prisoners taken. Anthony Wayne lost 15 of his men but earned a medal from Congress for his efforts in the battle.</p><p>In 1792, Wayne was appointed by President George Washington to serve as commander in chief of the U.S. Army. His victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers enabled Wayne to negotiate the Treaty of Greenville where the Indians ceded most of Ohio and large sections of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan.3 Anthony Wayne made enormous contributions to the American Revolution, and also in the settlement of the Northwest Territories. Anthony Wayne has acquired a reputation as being one of America’s great soldiers.</p><p>The westernmost county in West Virginia, known as Wayne County, was founded in 1842 and named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. This is where Camp Mad Anthony Wayne is located.  In 2002, part of the Camp was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, because of the historically significant architecture. "The designated area included a group of buildings dating between 1931 and 1944, including the lodge and seven houses" (cabins). </p><p>Camp Mad Anthony Wayne can be used for a wedding reception or family reunions. There is an open play space with a playground for the kids. Also, the camp has hiking trails, picnic tables, plenty of parking, and an open campfire circle to roast marshmallows. </p>

Camp Mad Anthony Wayne was named for frontier army general, Anthony Wayne, a spirited military commander who was given the nickname "Mad Anthony" after he threatened to flog one of his own men after he got in trouble with local law enforcement. During his life, Wayne was known for his bravado, as well as his willingness to rush into battle. Today, Wayne is best known for his role in thwarting the plot of Benedict Arnold, another American commander who conspired with the British and attempted to hand over the American fort at West Point to the British during the American Revolution. After the war, George Washington appointed Wayne as the overall commander of US troops in the Northwest Territory. Between 1792 and 1794, Wayne oversaw the construction of frontier forts and led several attacks against Native American tribes in present-day Ohio. 

The campground, which is operated by the Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation Department, offers vast open spaces along with a few cabins, hiking trails, a disc golf course, picnic tables, and a playground. The lodge and cabins are available for rent and can accommodate up to 28 overnight guests. The camp is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its history of providing a location for recreation and the rustic architecture of its buildings.

Camp Mad Anthony Wayne

<p>The founder of Ceredo, Eli Thayer, was one of the most prominent abolitionists in American politics during the 1850s. He is particularly well-known for his involvement in “Bleeding Kansas,” by organizing a company for recruiting anti-slavery settlers to the Kansas Territory in 1854. Through this company, Thayer provided accommodations for anti-slavery settlers in Kansas and helped fund local industries and improvements in the towns they established. In founding the town of Ceredo in 1857, Thayer sought to replicate such towns in southern, slave states. Finding land in eastern Virginia too expensive for his purposes, Thayer purchased land at the convergence of the Ohio River and Twelvepole Creek in Wayne County.</p><p><br /></p><p>One of Thayer’s most prominent supporters in this endeavor was Zophar D. Ramsdell (1816-1886), a Massachusetts native who moved to Ceredo with his family in September 1858. The family constructed their Greek Revival-style house soon afterwards, allegedly on top of a Native American burial mound. This mound was the highest point in town, and protected the home from multiple floods over the years. Local residents nicknamed the house Moundsville or Mound Cottage because of its location. The building materials included native sandstone blocks for the foundation and bricks produced in a local brickyard. There was also a barn beside the house and some land for farming, which Ramsdell took an active interest in. He lived in the house with his wife Almeda and their four children; Helen, Florence, William, and Carrie.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ramsdell first opened a shoe and boot-making business in town. When the Civil War began he enlisted as a quartermaster in the 5th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry and rose through the ranks to become a captain under General Robert Milroy. After the war President Grant appointed him to be the local postmaster. Ramsdell briefly served in the West Virginia state senate and was a delegate to the national conventions that nominated presidents Grant, Hayes, and Garfield. He was also an active proponent of education, helping to form one of the first Free School laws for the state and serving as the first president of the Ceredo Independent School District board. He also invested in various local projects, including serving as president of a short-lived railroad company, and engaged in farming. Ramsdell died in 1886; his wife Almeda followed in 1904. They were each buried in the backyard along with their daughter Carrie, who had died during childbirth at the home in 1884.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ramsdell was an abolitionist and tradition holds that his home was part of the Underground Railroad. With Ceredo being so close to the free state of Ohio, the Ramsdell House would have made an ideal location. Slaves conceivably could be hidden in the root cellar or in spaces underneath the floorboards, and then be smuggled at night across the Ohio River into Ohio. However no documented evidence has been found to support these claims. Rumors also circulated that a concealed basement existed underneath the house, or even an underground tunnel leading from the basement to the banks of the Ohio River, but its existence has never been proven.</p><p><br /></p><p>Descendants of the Ramsdells continued to live in the house until around the early 1950s. For the next few decades afterwards it was rented out to various tenants. By the 1970s the house was attracting attention for its potential historic value. In 1976 it was added to the state’s register of historic sites. The following year a descendant of the family sold the property to Floyd Stark and Dan Ferguson, who then proceeded to construct an apartment building right next to the house. There was some controversy at the time because the graves of Zopher, Almeda, and Carrie Ramsdell were believed to exist at the proposed site of the building. No grave markers still existed however, and the apartments were built as planned. Afterwards Stark and Ferguson donated the Ramsdell House to the town of Ceredo.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 1983 the Ceredo town council established the Ceredo Historic Landmarks Commission and tasked it with restoring the Ramsdell House. The structure at this point was in a state of severe deterioration. Reportedly large gaping holes were visible in the walls and ceilings, rooms had been significantly altered, and ivy grew all over the exterior. The Commission worked to get the Ramsdell House added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983; from there it managed to secure $40,000 in grants and funding to restore the house. After a two-year series of renovations and rehabilitation, the house opened to the public in a formal ceremony on November 29, 1985.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the years since its restoration, the Ramsdell House has served as a historic house museum and community center. It hosts guided tours, private events, and was also the site of Civil War reenactments and Christmas parties. During the 2000s and 2010s paranormal activity investigators frequented the house, claiming that it was haunted by the spirits of the Ramsdells, Civil War soldiers, or even Native Americans. By the late 2010s, neglect and a lack of funding caused the house to deteriorate yet again. In 2017 the house closed in order to undergo new structural repairs and remodeling. It reopened to the public in 2019. That same year the Ramsdell Ceredo Settlers Memorial was dedicated in front of the house, honoring the Ramsdells and anyone else buried on the property.</p>

The Ramsdell House was built in 1858, and is the oldest surviving building in Ceredo. This Greek Revival style home is believed to have been the first brick house built in the town, which was founded in 1857 by a group of New England abolitionists led by Massachusetts Congressman Eli Thayer. Thayer and his supporters, including shoemaker Zophar Ramsdell, sought to establish Ceredo as a means of demonstrating the superiority of a free economy over one founded on the institution of slavery. Today many people believe that the town's early residents were involved in the activities of the Underground Railroad, and that the Ramsdell House was used as a hiding place for runaway slaves fleeing to Ohio. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and underwent a full restoration in 1985. Today it is owned by the Town of Ceredo and operated as a museum and community center. The Ramsdell House stands as a testament to the unique place of Ceredo as an anti-slavery settlement in a slave state.

Ramsdell House

<p>The Pumpkin House was originally known as the Joseph Miller House, named after the original owner. Barboursville native Joseph S. Miller was the Cabell County Circuit Clerk and later State Auditor, before being appointed Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service during the Grover Cleveland administration. He later moved to Kenova, where he was instrumental in bringing the N&amp;W railroad to the town. Miller also served as president of the National Bank of Kenova. In 1891 he constructed his Queen Anne Victorian home on Beech Street, facing the rail line. It is said that Grover Cleveland once stayed at the house while visiting the area. State senator Bob Plymale owned the house during the 1980s and worked on restoring it; in 1989 he had the house listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><p><br /></p><p>Local pharmacist and former Kenova mayor Ric Griffith bought the property from Plymale in 1991. Griffith and his family soon began a hobby carving large amounts of pumpkins to display outside with the number growing each year, from 500 to 1,000 and eventually 2,000 pumpkins in the year 2000. They eventually capped the number at around 3,000. Griffith obtains all of his pumpkins from a single farm in Proctorville, Ohio. The entire process of gutting, carving, and lighting pumpkins is a weeks-long project that requires thousands of man hours. Typically many locals and organizations volunteer to assist the family in processing the pumpkins.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Pumpkin House is the main attraction at the C-K Autumnfest, a festival started in 2010 for the Ceredo and Kenova area. People have come from every state and even other countries to see the elaborate decorations. The display includes a small replica of Noah’s ark and a wall of pumpkins with instruments carved on them, with each pumpkin programmed to light up when synced with orchestral music. In 2016 the display also featured pumpkin effigies of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on a debate stage. There are many vendors set up on the street, offering foods made with pumpkin and traditional carnival fare. The Pumpkin House has been featured nationally on HGTV, <em>The Today Show</em>, <em>Ellen DeGeneres</em>, and CBS. In 2018 the house made an appearance in the video game <em>Fallout 76</em>.</p>

The Pumpkin House is a Victorian-era home in Kenova, West Virginia. Originally known as the Joseph Miller House, the Queen Anne-style residence was constructed in 1891, when the town of Kenova was in its infancy. It is most famous for its display of thousands of carved illuminated pumpkins every Halloween. This tradition began with current owner Ric Griffith, who along with volunteers carves some 3,000 pumpkins for the spectacle. The Pumpkin House is the centerpiece of the annual C-K Autumnfest and draws 20,000-30,000 visitors each year. The attraction has received national recognition and has been featured on several television programs in recent years. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. 

Kenova Pumpkin House

<p>The small town of Fort Gay experienced a large growth in population during the early 1900s; it increased 35% between 1910 and 1920 alone. A growing population brought the need for educational opportunities for the increasing number of children.  In 1921 a six room structure was built for Fort Gay Graded School. By 1919 a junior high was opened offering classes for eighth and ninth grade. 36 students initially enrolled in this school. Students who wanted to attend school past the ninth grade however had to go to Wayne High School in the Town of Wayne.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 1929 each magisterial district had its own board of education and ran its own educational affairs. Fort Gay fell under the Butler District for example. Because of the mountainous terrain it was for students to travel to Wayne High School. Locals decided they wanted to have a community-based school that was also more accessible to the public. A bill was passed and Butler District High School was officially established on September 9, 1929. There was no building for the school at first so classes were held in the Holiness Church, Knights of Pythias Lodge, and Fort Gay Graded School. The county began building the school in 1929 and finished in 1931. The stone, Beaux-Arts style structure was designed by popular state architect Levi Johnson Dean. The school opened with 96 students enrolled. An east wing was added in 1953 and a west wing in 1957. In 1933 the county unit school system was adopted and all the local districts were replaced with the Wayne County Board of Education. This resulted in all the district high schools being renamed; Butler District High School was renamed Fort Gay High School.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 1987, Fort Gay High School and Crum High School consolidated into Tolsia High School located along Tolsia highway on Route 52 outside Fort Gay. They decided to consolidate because the population was declining and there were fewer teaching jobs available. Throughout the state schools were consolidating and closing in order to keep overhead low for smaller student populations. The last year for Fort Gay High School was 1987 and then Tolsia opened in 1988. After the consolidation Fort Gay High School was used as a middle school until it was closed in 2013 for restoration needs, and has sat empty since then. In 2017 the school building was added to the National Register of Historic Places as part of a local campaign to save the structure and use it as a community center. </p>

Fort Gay High School was established in 1929 to serve the educational needs of a growing population in the small town. It was originally named Butler District High School before being renamed in 1933. The current building was constructed in 1931 in the popular Beaux-Arts style. Declining enrollment caused the high school to be closed in 1987 and consolidated with Crum High School into Tolsia High School. The building remains standing and is the only original high school in the county that retains much of its historic architectural integrity. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

National Register of Historic Places, Wayne County, WV

Wildcat Branch Petroglyphs

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources