Director

In 2013, Debora Palmer, with students&nbsp;participating in the “Arts in the Park” summer program in Morgantown, created this mural that was mounted on the VFW building. Prior to installation of the artwork, the Veteran's of Foreign Wars (VFW), George O’Neal Post 747, made major improvements to the side wall that included stabilizing it, adding a skim coat, and painting it. These improvements were supported in part by a mini-grant from the River Town Program. Production and installation of the mural was supported by mini-grants through the Rails to Trails Conservancy and the Trail Volunteer Fund.

Done with BOPARC "Arts in the Park" campers, the mural created by Debora Palmer depicts a giant sun with rays that emit into an American flag to honor Veterans.

VFW Mural

From outdoor sculptures and murals to indoor galleries and venues, Morgantown offers many opportunities for experiencing art for free! This Clio tour explores works of art in the Greater Morgantown area, including Bruceton Mills and Arthurdale. This tour was created to complement the West Virginia University Libraries Public Art Guide

In 1892, the land that would become the Tibbs Run Reservoir was purchased and small reservoir&nbsp;built on site. This reservoir expanded considerably to meet the needs of the growing city of Morgantown between 1912 and 1925, with more than 7 miles of pipe laid in 1925 connecting the reservoir to the city. After the city constructed a new water system&nbsp;in 1969, the Tibbs Run Reservoir no longer supplied water to the city, serving as a picnicking and swimming destination before being drained in 1980. The water works&nbsp;continued to stand on site.1 The organization that would become West Virginia Botanic Garden, Inc formed in 1981 under the name&nbsp;The Landscape Arboretum Task Force as a group of volunteers speared headed by WVU professor&nbsp;George Longenecker. After changing the name and incorporation in 1983, the organization spends more than a decade looking for a site, first meeting with the Morgantown Utility Board&nbsp;to discuss the Tibbs Run Reservoir in 1988. After a proposal by the Morgantown Utility Board to strip-mine the area is voted down in 1990, the Morgantown Utility Board announced a plan to log the area in 1995. This resulted in the formation of the Tibbs Run Coalition to manage the area. In 1996,&nbsp;the Tibbs Run Coalition presented a plan before Morgantown City Council suggesting the land be the site of a botanic garden. Negotiations followed until ultimately the West Virginia Botanic Garden, Inc, now a non-profit, takes possession of the 72-acre property in 1999.1,2 Since taking over management of the land in 2001, the West Virginia Botanic Garden has strived to "foster learning, inspiration, and well-being through the beauty and wonder of plants, the natural environment, and culturally enriching experiences."&nbsp; Volunteers have helped in the construction and maintenance&nbsp;of the garden as well as worked to educate visitors. There are five trails, an eclectic garden, a butterfly garden, and a shade garden, and a rhodendrum garden, as well as various natural habitats on site including wetlands, a pond, and meadow.&nbsp;The West Virginia Botanic Garden is free to the public with the exception of special events.&nbsp;1, 2, 3

Once the 82-acre site of the Tibbs Run Reservoir,  West Virginia Botanic Garden, Inc has managed the now 85-acre site since 2000 and has since expanded it to 85 acres. Today the West Virginia Botanica Garden site, in addition to the old water works, features hiking trails, gardens displaying Appalachian flora, wetlands, a pond and a visitor center in an otherwise mostly undisturbed forest area. The site also hosts numerous educational activities such as nature walks, STEAM and nature camps for children, and school programs. The West Virginia Botanical Garden also holds various recreational activities and workshops in areas such as yoga, painting, and gardening.

West Virginia Botanical Garden

This mural, entitled "Metamorphosis," represents the transformation of Deckers Creek, a stream that eventually empties into the Monongahela River. The mural is located along the Deckers Creek Rail Trail and adjacent to the Deckers Creek Outdoor Learning Park. The watershed suffers from abandoned mine drainage, which leaches from improperly-sealed coal mines and creates an aquatic environment too acidic and high in metals to support life.  Deckers Creek, which meanders under a bridge at this section of the Rail Trail and behind the Outdoor Learning Park, appears a bright red-orange color due to the abandoned mine drainage pollution. Friends of Deckers Creek, a nonprofit organization based in Morgantown, is dedicated to restoring its namesake waterway to healthy conditions. In addition to remediation and education programs, Friends of Deckers Creek also uses art to spread its message. In 2002, Debora Palmer worked with children during BOPARC's summer Arts in the Park program to design the mural, along with the assistance of Amanda Pitzer. While other works, like the mural under the Don Knotts Boulevard bridge and the All Hands on Deckers mural, show how the organization is coming together to save the stream, the Metamorphosis mural is a more abstracted interpretation of the changes that have occurred and the work that still needs to be done. The orange color resembles the abandoned mine drainage, the harmful impact reflected within the wooden mosaic sculptures. The blue section depicts the freedom and beauty allowed when water is cleaned up, animals can fly free. The figures of children are shown morphing into butterflies.

Founding Arts in the Park Director and Artist Debora Palmer designed this mural on the back of the Kroger in Sabraton. It is located next to the Friends of Deckers Creek Outdoor Learning Park and along the Deckers Creek Rail Trail. The mural is accessible by walking on the Rail Trail; or, one can park in the back left hand corner of the Kroger parking lot and follow the trail behind the building.

Metamorphosis, Friends of Deckers Creek Mural

The Morgantown Art Association (MAA) was founded in 1958 by students of Wilbur Bauer. As Superintendent of Art in Monongalia County, Bauer offered art classes for seniors hosted in public schools. When the funding for this program ran out, Bauer encouraged participants to form their own organization and the MAA was born. This non-profit organization was originally hosted out of Garlow Building in downtown Morgantown. After a decade at this location, the MAA spent a brief stint in a house on Kirk Street before being granted space in the Monongalia Arts Center (MAC). In 2004, the MAA outgrew the MAC and moved to their current location in the Mountaineer Mall. The MAA offers a variety of opportunities to display art. One of the organization's first programs was Exhibit 60, which is a juried art show for artists within a sixty mile radius of Morgantown. To this day, the show often attracts upwards of one hundred entries. Other shows occur throughout the year for a variety of mediums, categories, and skill levels. The MAA also provides classes and workshops with renowned instructors. These opportunities are available to the over 150 active members of MAA. The organization also gives back to the community through its presentation of an Outstanding High School Art Student Award in three local schools, and through the creation of public art such as the Monongalia County Historical Mural in the Mountaineer Mall.

The Morgantown Art Association (MAA) was founded in 1958 by students of Wilbur Bauer. MAA provides classes and workshops with renowned instructors at the gallery and opportunities to display art in all media.

Morgantown Art Association Gallery

Deckers Creek is an important waterway that meanders from Preston County into Monongalia County, where it empties into the Monongahela River in Morgantown. The mural on the Rail Trail is a creative expression of local efforts to conserve this natural resource. Deckers Creek supports aquatic animals and plants, provides drinking water for local wildlife, and offers recreational opportunities such as fishing, kayaking, swimming, hiking, and bicycling on nearby trails. Like many waterways in urban and industrial areas, Deckers Creek and its surrounding watershed (which extends 64 square miles) have long been polluted by abandoned mine drainage, wastewater, and litter. Since 1995, the Friends of Deckers Creek, a nonprofit organization based in Morgantown, has spearheaded efforts to improve the stream’s health and educate the public about the value of Deckers Creek.The Friends of Deckers Creek approach education through a variety of creative programs, ranging from cleanups to the Green Business Coalition to nature storytime for children. The mural along the Deckers Creek Rail Trail in Morgantown is another unique approach to sharing its message. With a colorful landscape background, the mural explores the important flora and fauna of Deckers Creek and threats to the water quality. Deckers Creek is home to pollution-sensitive insects and fish, while both the water and animals living in the water support a host of life including trees and birds. This delicate ecosystem has been damaged by pollution, especially abandoned mine drainage. As the mural’s diagram explains, abandoned mine drainage is caused by a coal mine filling with water and leaching out toxic amounts of sulfuric acid, iron, aluminum, and manganese. Every day at Deckers Creek, the old Richard Mine dumps more than a ton of acidity and more than 800 pounds of metals into the last five miles of the creek. The mural draws attention to this issue and its larger effect on humans and the environment.The mural stretches 12 feet by 89 feet at the Deckers Creek Rail Trail, which follows the path of the former Morgantown and Kingwood Railroad. This mural replaced a previous mural created by the Friends of Deckers Creek Youth Action Board, which was weathered and graffitied. This prompted Friends of Deckers Creek to completely reimagine the mural. They enlisted artist Michael McDevitt to design a new mural that would be both beautiful and education. On August 27 and 28, 2016, a group of 70 to 75 volunteers painted the new mural, some of which was completed using recycled paints.The Friends of Deckers Creek mural is enjoyed by countless passersby on the Rail Trail and nearby park. A quote on the mural provides an important parting thought:<blockquote>“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead</blockquote>

The Friends of Deckers Creek mural showcases the beauty of Deckers Creek, a tributary of the Monongahela River, and the efforts of local conservationists to protect this natural resource. The mural was designed by artist and former biologist Michael McDevitt and about 70 volunteers helped it become a reality. The mural is 12 feet by 89 feet and located on the Deckers Creek Rail Trail at mile 0 under the Don Knotts Boulevard bridge and near Hazel Ruby McQuain Park. 

Friends of Deckers Creek Mural

Kurt Ly was born in Hanoi, Vietnam and lived in Hong Kong for about 14 months. After becoming inspired by the American Dream, Kurt&nbsp;arrived in the United States as a refugee in 1980. After four years of working in Morgantown and saving money, he opened Morgantown's Peking House Restaurant in 1984.&nbsp;Eventually after&nbsp;ten years of&nbsp;collecting glass art, he&nbsp;decided to open his collection to the public and show his passion to the world. Altogether, the&nbsp;collection consists of over 5,000 pieces of glass that were all made locally provided through three glass companies; Seneca Glass Company, Gentile Glass Company, and Morgantown Glass company. All three companies dating back to as early as the 1800s share some of the world's finest hand-blown, hand-cut glass molds ever to be seen. Seneca Glass Company located in Fostoria, Ohio,&nbsp;was founded in 1891&nbsp;by a group of immigrants who were all&nbsp;born in West Germany. After the original building was closed in August of 1983, the group who at the time was located in Cumberland, Maryland, later decided to purchase the company. However, instead decided to relocate to Moundsville, West Virginia as the future of Seneca Glass was eventually&nbsp;born in 1981. Upon the factory closing in August of 1983, the facility had been home to Morgantown for nearly 90 years.&nbsp; In the 1920s and 1930s, Morgantown Glass was famous for it's more common Continental Line of glassware. In January of 1939, the company switched it's name to Morgantown Glassware Guild and was home to the colorful, high-quality hand-blown glassware. The company is also known for it's mass&nbsp;production on hand-cut crystal glassware.&nbsp;Unfortunately, after the Great Depression hit the nation, the industry was never able to recover and later went out of business.&nbsp; By taking advantage of West Virginia's infrastructure and abundance of natural resources, these companies believed they were in the most suitable environment needed in order to produce the best glass at max efficiency. Also, because the&nbsp;United States was in the middle of the Industrial age, the decision to move the factories at the time had a tremendous impact on the economy of the county. The Seneca Glass Factory was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 19, 1985.&nbsp; Some of the museum artifacts that are on exhibit consist of colorful pattern molds, President's house stemware, candleholders, and much more!&nbsp;For more information, please visit the&nbsp;museum's website which is listed below. &nbsp;

The Morgantown Glass Museum showcases Kurt Ly's passion which is home to over 5,000 pieces of glass art. The collection consists of art works that were made by three local companies, the Gentile Glass Company, which operated from 1892 to 1980, Morgantown Glass Company (1899-1971), and Seneca Glass Company (1891-1983). Admission is free and the museum is open by appointment only. 

Morgantown Glass Museum 

Artist Debora Palmer spearheaded this project in 2017 with city manager Paul Brake. She incorporated designs by BOPARC "Arts in the Park" campers as well as contributions from Monongalia Public Schools' art teachers. The mural wraps around six walls in the Morgantown Airport. Entitled "Flight," the mural depicts various animals and objects in flight.&nbsp;

This wall mural created by Debora Palmer with BOPARC "Arts in the Park" campers and Monongalia County Public School art teachers, depicts various animals and objects in flight.

Flight, mural by Debora Palmer

Coopers Rock State Forest is home to a variety of woodland creatures - and a "Sleeping Giant" joins them. Resting against a tree in the picnic area by the Coopers Rock overlook, the Sleeping Giant is an "eco-sculpture" created by West Virginia University art student Ben Gazsi and fellow students Amanda Smyer and Taylor Bray.&nbsp;The Sleeping Giant was born from a class assignment to create a work of art for the public that depicts the human form. He was created using natural materials found in the forest, such as woven sticks, grass, mud, and moss, along with burlap and natural concrete. Gazsi, who assisted the Coopers Rock Foundation with trail maintenance, received permission from the Forest superintendent to create the sculpture. The sculpture will remain in place until the Sleeping Giant naturally returns to the forest.&nbsp;

A unique "eco-sculpture" created by WVU art student Ben Gazsi is on display at Coopers Rock State Forest. Created using twigs, grass, mud, moss, and other natural materials, the "Sleeping Giant" sculpture was unveiled on Earth Day, April 22, 2012, near the Coopers Rock picnic area. 

A Sleeping Giant eco-sculpture, Coopers Rock State Forest

George Bird Evans was a Pennsylvania native, born in 1906, and was raised by&nbsp;parents who encouraged his artistic talents. George grew up with his English Setter, Ted, and together they fished, hunted, and explored his hometown of Uniontown. George pursued &nbsp;his love of the arts and attended&nbsp;the Carnegie Technical Art Institute from 1924 until he transferred to&nbsp;the Art Institute of
Chicago in the fall of 1925. George's relationship with&nbsp;Kay Harris began when he was attending the&nbsp;Carnegie Technical Art Institute and they maintained a long distance relationship through his moves to Chicago and New York City. George landed his first professional illustrating job in New York city in 1930, and by 1931 he saved up enough money to marry Kay. The Great Depression affected the freelance illustration industry, and George and Kay were forced to move in with George's parents in Uniontown where George once again found his love for hunting and fishing with Irish Setters. After the depression ended George and Kay moved back to the city, but George still had no luck in work. The couple toured the&nbsp;Old Hemlock Farm in 1937 in hopes of moving out of the city. In 1938, George contracted his illustrations with Cosmopolitan Magazine, and bought the vacant Old Hemlock Farm after convincing his editors that the mountain air would spark his creativity.&nbsp; George and Kay moved to Bruceton Mills, WV in 1939, and George mailed his illustrations to Cosmopolitan twice a month and spent his free time renovating the farmhouse while hunting and fishing on the side. In 1942, in the midst of World War II, George took&nbsp;his drawings to Fairchild Aircraft Company in Hagerstown, Maryland, not far from
Old Hemlock, after learning how to design blueprints. The engineers saw the potential in them, but were more interested in his ability to do
professional drafting; he was offered a job in the engineering department that same day. George realized that this job was not what he wanted, so he took his drawings to the Pentagon, and pleased the&nbsp;Chief of Engineering in the Bureau of
Aeronautics who was looking for a way to make blueprints easier to read. George went to the naval air station at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, on June 28, 1943, for eight weeks of
officer training. From there, the couple moved to Washington, D.C., but kept Old Hemlock as their
permanent home. After the war ended George went back to illustrating for Cosmopolitan, however times were changing and illustrations were beginning to fade away. In 1947 George quit illustrating and focused on his life at home.&nbsp;It was during this time that George produced the first litter of Old Hemlock setters from his idea for a dual setter that would have the
hunting ability of the field dogs with some of the aesthetics of the bench dog. George and Kay wrote mystery novels together, and also authored their own separate novels and articles. <blockquote>"George lovingly buried his pets around the property over the years. Also, per the couple’s wishes, George
was buried in 1998 in the dooryard and when Kay passed in 2007, his ashes were exhumed. Their ashes were
mixed together, replaced in the dooryard, along with the wing of the last grouse that George shot and Kay’s
wedding ring."1</blockquote> The Kathryn H. Evans Trust Agreement created the Old Hemlock Foundation on March 25, 1999 with a purpose of preserving and promoting&nbsp;the legacy of George Bird and Kathryn Harris Evans.&nbsp;The Old Hemlock Foundation mission is to maintain the home of George Bird and Kay Evans, also to promote his writings and philosophy of hunting.

The Old Hemlock Foundation maintains 232 acres of real estate situation on the Brandonville Pike in Preston County, West Virginia, which is known as “Old Hemlock.” Old Hemlock was the home of George Bird and Kathryn Harris Evans. George was a noted artist, author, outdoors-man, and dog breeder and Kay co-authored and edited books. The property contains virgin hemlock trees and is to be maintained in its natural state as a nature and wildlife preserve. The house located on Old Hemlock was built in about 1812 and is the oldest resident in its state of preservation in Preston County.

Old Hemlock Foundation

Prior to the construction of Arthurdale, the land upon which it was built had connections to a number of prominent figures from local, state, and national history, most notably its prior owners John Fairfax, William Brown, and Richard Arthurdale. After Arthurdale defaulted on the land during the Great Depression he sold it to the federal government, which began plans to locate the first of its eventually 99 communities for American citizens in economically depressed areas around the country. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt took a particular interest in Arthurdale because she had previously visited the region, and went on to take an active role in the town's operation. In 1947, however, the government chose to sell Arthurdale's lots to private owners, and its buildings began to fall into disrepair. At the community's 50th anniversary celebrations, local residents formed Arthurdale Heritage Incorporated to preserve the structures at the site and the stories of those who lived in them. Arthurdale Heritage currently operates a museum and gift shop there, known as the Arthurdale Heritage Center, and also hosts a New Deal Festival celebrating the town's history every year.Athurdale's first European owner, Colonel John Scott Fairfax began building his new home there in 1817 after living in Preston County for over two decades. During that time, Fairfax had become one of the area's most prominent citizens, serving as a justice of the peace, militia colonel, and member of the House of Delegates. Fairfax Manor, which was the stone house Fairfax's slaves built for him in modern-day Arthurdale, passed to the colonel's daughter after his death in 1843, who in turn lived there until her death in 1882.After that, local attorney and agricultural enthusiast William G. Brown purchased the land. Brown went on to run for Congress in 1896 on the Populist Party ticket, but ultimately would not successfully win an election for the position until switching to the Democratic Party for the 1910 midterms. He then served as the area's Congressional representative in the 62nd, 63rd, and 64th Congresses, holding the office until his death in 1916. Shortly after Brown's victory in 1910 he made the decision to sell his farmland in Preston County to regional hotelier Richard M. Arthur, who continued to add to his holdings in the area throughout his occupancy of the site. Arthur, who is perhaps best known for operating the popular Hotel Arthur at the corner of 27th and Carson Streets in Pittsburgh from 1890 to 1893, constructed a 23-room mansion on his land shortly after purchasing it and added a large stock farm soon thereafter. The former hotel proprietor continued to live at the site until going into default on the land during the Great Depression and selling the land to the federal government.Shortly thereafter, the government began construction of the first of 99 planned communities nationwide that were part of a New Deal era initiative to provide jobs and adequate housing to the areas most impacted by the Depression. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt had visited coal camps outside of nearby Morgantown, and seen firsthand the economic downturn's impact on those living in the area. Seizing the opportunity offered by the recent passage of the Homestead Subsistence Act in 1930, Eleanor suggested building the first community near the area she had visited to help families like those she had seen. Construction on the planned community at Arthurdale began in late 1933. The First Lady continued to be deeply involved in all aspects of the project and life in the community, from helping to design the homes to paying for the teachers. She visited the site many times over the course of its existence, even passing out diplomas at the town's high school graduations for the first 10 years. In 1938, she also convinced President Franklin D. Roosevelt to give the commencement speech, making Arthurdale the site of the only speech delivered by a sitting U.S. president to a graduating high school class.Although Arthurdale seemed like a good plan on paper, it experienced a number of problems in execution, primarily as a result of its location and the political and financial changes of the era. The most impactful of these changes came as the Great Depression drew to a close and the Second World War brought factory jobs back to the region causing the need for such communities to decrease dramatically. As a result, the federal government eventually abandoned the project as it was no longer considered necessary. Because of the major improvements she witnessed in residents' lives Eleanor viewed Arthurdale largely as a success, as did the homesteaders who received employment and housing through the project.By 1984 the central buildings had fallen into disrepair and local people formed nonprofit Arthurdale Heritage Inc. (AHI) to save them and their homestead family stories. For years they fund-raised to buy one building, rehabilitate it (mainly by themselves), then start on another. Today AHI’s museum gives personal, story-filled tours through 5 buildings plus continues to save oral histories and expand its collection of artifacts. It also has a volunteer run Craft Shop. Every July they hold the New Deal Festival plus many other smaller events through the year. With 160 of the 165 houses standing today, Arthurdale takes you on a trip through time in "Eleanor's Little Village."

Welcome to the first New Deal planned community of Arthurdale, West Virginia! Started in 1933 under the direct personal guidance of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Arthurdale was the first of 99 such towns that the federal government constructed throughout the Great Depression for economically distressed areas nationwide. Arthurdale was constructed specifically to provide economic relief to destitute coal miners and their families from Scotts Run, WV, a place that became the poster-child of poverty in the Great Depression due to its prominence in the national press. In total, 165 families were situated in houses in Arthurdale with 2-5 acres of farmland each, barns, tools, education, healthcare, and employment opportunities for all. This was a massive and expensive project, but ultimately left these families with more resources and opportunities than they had before. Arthurdale Heritage currently operates a five-building museum on the site. Come step back in time and get a sense of the New Deal, the Great Depression, subsistence farming, and family life in 1930s rural West Virginia.Please note that many places included on this tour are private residences. We ask that visitors be respectful of the homes as you drive by them.

Greater Morgantown Public Art Tour

VFW Mural

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources