Set your compass north, south, east or west and you’ll find history was never dull in West Virginia.
From Wheeling’s National Historic Area to Matewan in Mingo County, and from Blennerhassett Island to Harper’s Ferry National Historical Park, we all need to visit such eventful sites.
No, perhaps not on some historic tour de force of West Virginia, but as getaways during the long summer weekends lined up before us.
And those sites don’t include 36 other state parks, state and national forests, state and national trails, other heritage areas and scenic rivers, as well as the more than 1,000 sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Locally, Coopers Rock State Forest, Cathedral, Pricketts Fort and Valley Falls state parks offer eye-catching vistas, old-growth forests, life on the frontier and torrents of water that are unforgettable.
Adena culture can be explored in nearby, appropriately named Moundsville, where burial mound builders moved an estimated 60,000 tons of dirt to create the 62-foot-high site more than 2,000 years ago.
If you and your family are up for longer trips into the great outdoors look no further than Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area or the many features of the Monongahela National Forest.
Though the home of one of West Virginia’s most famous sons, Don Knotts, was not preserved, his hometown here is thriving, with landmarks dedicated to him from High Street to a boulevard.
Though our history can be traced back to part of an English colony to the current Mountain State, the Civil War era looms large in our past. Forged in the fire of that war, our state is unique in that it actually seceded from a then-Confederate state, rejecting Virginia’s rebellion for admittance to the union.
Other colorful state history includes the Hatfield-McCoy feud, where members of these families still reside in Mingo County and Pike County, Ky.
Also larger than life in our history are the movements for fair working conditions and the right to unionize that emerged from the Mine Wars of the early 20th century. Sites like Blair Mountain, Welch, Williamson, Logan, Madison and other areas are rife with mineworkers’ history.
Another getaway worth the road miles is Charleston, especially the state Capitol and the state Culture Center, which recently underwent a complete renovation.
We’re unsure of the number of West Virginians who visited these sites last year. But we would urge fellow West Virginians to join them and find out more about our state’s unique story.
Don’t be afraid to ask for directions, but you’ll meet history any which way you turn.
