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• History of West Virginia

  Written records of West Virginia’s history reach back only slightly more than 300 years, about half of which encompass the time when West Virginia was part of Virginia. Recorded history, however, is only a fragment of the West Virginia story and must be …

• Slavery

  Slavery never prospered on a widespread basis in the area that became West Virginia. On the eve of the "Civil War":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1193, the entire Commonwealth of Virginia had a slave population of almost a half-million …

• Ambrose Bierce

  Writer Ambrose Bierce found the setting for some of his famous short stories in the mountains of Western Virginia. Arising like other writing of his from "Civil War":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1193 battles and the lives of the …

• Jedediah Hotchkiss

  Confederate cartographer and industrial promoter Jedediah Hotchkiss (November 3, 1828-January 17, 1899) was born in Windsor, New York. He was educated at local schools and through self-study, and in 1853 he married Sara Comfort of Pennsylvania. After a …

• Spy Rock

  Spy Rock is a natural landmark with historical significance. It is located on U.S. 60, the old "James River & Kanawha Turnpike":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/978, 18 miles east of Hawks Nest and about midway between Charleston and …

• Storer College

  Storer College, a product of the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War, was established in 1867 in "Harpers Ferry":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/263 by the Freewill Baptist Church to educate freed slaves in the Shenandoah Valley. …

• Arthur Ingraham Boreman

  Arthur Ingraham (also spelled ‘‘Ingram’’) Boreman (July 24, 1823-April 19, 1896) was West Virginia’s first governor. He was was born in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, and moved with his family to "Middlebourne":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/ …

• David Hunter Strother

  Artist, author, soldier, and statesman David Hunter Strother (September 26, 1816-March 8, 1888) was born in "Martinsburg":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1552. After briefly attending Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, he …

• Alexander Robinson Boteler

  U.S. and Confederate Congressman Alexander Robinson Boteler (May 16, 1815-May 8, 1892) was born in "Shepherdstown":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2280. He was a farmer and a businessman, owning a hydraulic cement plant on the Potomac …

• Bourbon Democrats

  The term ‘‘Bourbon’’ was once used to describe Democratic leaders who succeeded Republican Radicals and Carpetbaggers in Southern state governments in the years following the "Civil War":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1193. The reference …

• Belle Boyd

  Spy Marie Isabelle ‘‘Belle’’ Boyd (May 9, 1843-June 11, 1900) was born in "Martinsburg":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1552, the daughter of Benjamin R. Boyd, a merchant. In 1853, Mr. Boyd purchased land at the corner of Race and Spring …

• John Brown

  "Abolitionist":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/7 John Brown (May 9, 1800-December 2, 1859) was as responsible as any one person for the coming of the "Civil War":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1193. His October 16, 1859, …

• Buffington Island

  Buffington Island is situated in the "Ohio River":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1740 near Ravenswood. Its first inhabitants, "prehistoric Indians":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1913, favored the island for its …

• Chester Hubbard

  Congressman, businessman, and state founder Chester Dorman Hubbard (November 14, 1814-August 23, 1891) was born in Connecticut, with New England roots dating back to 1621. He moved to "Wheeling":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1168 with …

• Milton W. Humphreys

  Soldier and scholar Milton Wiley Humphreys (September 13, 1844-November 20, 1928) was born in Greenbrier County and was educated at Mercer Academy and Washington College, now Washington and Lee University. During the Civil War, on March 27, 1862, he …

• W. D. Thurmond

  Businessman William Dabney Thurmond (November 11, 1820-May 14, 1910) was born in Amherst County, Virginia, and migrated to "Fayette County":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2245 about 1845 as a young man with his father’s family. He was a …

• Thurmond’s Rangers

  Thurmond’s Partisan Rangers were raised for the Confederate service primarily from Fayette, Greenbrier, and Monroe counties during the spring and summer of 1862. The two companies were commanded by brothers William D. and Philip J. Thurmond of Fayette …

• Burning Springs Raid

  In April and May 1863, Confederate Generals William E. Jones and "John D. Imboden":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/833 conducted an extensive raid into West Virginia. Their plan called for destruction of all railroad bridges and trestles …

• Bushwhackers

  In West Virginia, some took advantage of the "Civil War":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1193 to settle personal grievances or pursue personal gain or other nonmilitary ends. They were called bushwhackers from their habit of ambushing or …

• Traveller

  General Robert E. Lee’s warhorse Traveller (1857–71), a gray gelding with black points, standing 15.3 hands, was bred and born in Greenbrier County. Of undetermined bloodlines but of Grey Eagle stock, with a hard trot, the always serviceable Traveller …

• Underground Railroad

  Neither underground nor a railroad, the Underground Railroad was a covert and loosely organized conspiracy that endeavored to aid escaped slaves on their way to Canada or safe areas in the northern states. Free African-Americans, Quakers and other White …

• Camp Carlile

  Camp Carlile was a military training camp on "Wheeling Island":http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1218 from 1861 to 1865. Soon after the beginning of the Civil War, enlistment centers opened in Wheeling, causing great numbers to travel to …

• George W. Imboden

  Born in Augusta County, Virginia, George William Imboden (June 25, 1836-January 8, 1922) became a distinguished attorney, Confederate soldier, and a leading citizen of Ansted. After attending Staunton Academy, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in …

• John D. Imboden

  General John David Imboden (February 16, 1823-August 15, 1895) was born near Staunton, Virginia, and enrolled at Washington College (later Washington and Lee University) at age 16. A school teacher and attorney with a law office in Staunton, he served two …

• Peter Godwin Van Winkle

  A founder of West Virginia, Peter Godwin Van Winkle (September 7, 1808-April 15, 1872) was born in New York City. On August 4, 1863, Van Winkle was elected as one of the first two U.S. senators from the new state of West Virginia. He is best remembered …