The Story Behind These 15 Places In West Virginia Is Fascinating – And Sometimes Disturbing
I have always been a book worm and so reading the history of my home state has always been one of my favorite things to do. I just love to learn about the amazing people and the wonderful things that have been in this beautiful mountain state. West Virginia has quite the incredible history.
1) The Matewan Historic District is located in Matewan, WV.
This was the site of the Battle of Matewan on May 19, 1920, during a coal miners' strike which turned out to be bloody.
2) The Greenbrier Resort, located near White Sulphur Springs, WV.
The Greenbrier is a 5-star luxury resort and is also a casino, a gold course, a museum, and was a massive underground bunker to be shelter for the U.S. Congress during the Cold War.
3) The Grave Creek Mound is located in Moundsville, WV.
The Grave Creek Mound is 62 feet high and is 240 feet in diameter. This mound is one of the largest cone-shaped burial mounds in America.
4) Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, nicknamed "the mother church" of Mother's Day, is where Mother's Day was very first celebrated.
Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church is located in Grafton, WV.
5) The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope is located in Green Bank, WV.
This telescope is the largest fully steerable radio telescope in the world.
6) The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, also known as Weston State Hospital, is located in Weston, WV.
This asylum is one of the largest hand-cut stone masonry buildings in America.
7) The Wheeling Suspension Bridge is located in the Wheeling Island Historic District in WV.
The bridge was the largest suspension bridge in the world from 1849 until 1851.
8) The birth place of Pearl S. Buck is a historic house located near Hillsboro, WV.
Pearl S. Buck was the first American woman to win both the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature. She was a world-renowned author, writing over 100 books and hundreds of short stories and articles.
9) Prickett's Fort is located near Fairmont, WV.
Prickett's Fort was built to defend early European settlers from invasions by violent Native Americans.
10) The Cass Scenic Railroad is located in Pocahontas County, WV.
This is an 11-mile long heritage railroad. The sights that you see while on this railroad are absolutely to-die for!
11) The West Virginia State Penitentiary is a gothic style prison located in Moundsville, WV.
This chilling prison, which closed down in 1995, was ranked on the United States Department of Justice's Top Ten Most Violent Correctional Facilities list. Pictured above is "Old Sparky," the prison's very own wooden electric chair. Nine men died in this electric chair until execution was outlawed.
12) John Brown's Fort is located in Harpers Ferry, WV.
John Brown's raid was an attempt to begin an armed slave revolt in 1859 by capturing a United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Brown's raid was eventually conquered by a group of Marines led by Robert E. Lee. Pictured above is John Brown's fort today.
13) The Point Pleasant Battle Monument is located in Point Pleasant, WV.
The Battle of Point Pleasant was the only major action of Dunmore's War.
14) George Washington's bathtub is located in Berkeley Springs, WV.
George Washington's bathtub is the only outdoor monument to presidential bathing.
15) Reber Radio Telescope is located in Green Bank, WV.
This parabolic radio telescope was built by amateur astronomer Grote Reber in his backyard in 1937. It was the second radio telescope ever built, and the first parabolic radio telescope.
Isn’t it crazy to think that this all happened in West Virginia? This small state is packed full of so much fascinating history! And it has so much more to learn, too.