Springtime in West Virginia means it’s ramp season. Ramps, also known as wild leeks, are a wild edible plant that’s known as the first green of the season. The plant has been eaten for generations as a spring tonic and is nowadays celebrated across the country at community festivals small and large called ramp feeds. If you’re not from West Virginia or Appalachia you might […]
Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper were country, gospel, and bluegrass musicians from Randolph County who recorded several top-ten country hits and performed on the Grand Ole Opry for 20 years. Wilma Lee Cooper was born as Wilma Leigh Leary on February 7th, 1921 in Valley Head. She grew up singing since age 5 and performing gospel music regionally with her sisters and parents as the Leary […]
In January 2019 Elkins community members gathered at the Darden Mill for the Third Annual Darden Fest, a music benefit organized by AmeriCorps members with the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area to raise money for ArtsBank (a local non-profit that organizes arts education outreach programs in Randolph County schools). Listen to some of the highlights below: Learn more about AFHA and ArtsBank here and here.
From 1905-1954 the Riverside School was the only public school for African-Americans in Randolph County, and is one of the oldest public school buildings in Elkins. Because they were excluded from white schools, the only educational opportunities available to African-Americans in Randolph County around 1900 were those offered in independent institutions like private homes or local churches. Classes were held in places like in Shiloh […]
Old-time music from West Virginia is known for several family traditions that continue to this day, like the music of the Hammons family and the Kessinger brothers. Another well-known musical family was the Carpenter family who are said to be some of the original white inhabitants of what is now central West Virginia. The family produced many highly-regarded fiddlers like Solomon “Devil Sol”, Ernie, and […]
The Green Bank Science Center is open to visitors year-round. It houses a world-class astronomy facility (the Green Bank Observatory) whose telescopes are used by scientists around the world to observe and record radio waves throughout the universe. Astronomers use the telescopes at Green Bank to observe celestial phenomena like black holes, supernovas, pulsars, and cosmic background radiation, all by detecting the part of the […]
Did you know that the namesake of the Cheat Mountain Salamander excursion train is found only in West Virginia? This rare critter is found in Grant, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Randolph, and Tucker counties and is one of the few vertebrate species unique to the Mountain State. The Cheat Mountain salamander’s tail is shorter than the length of its body and head, which helps distinguish it from […]
The Elkins Depot Welcome Center, a hub for community and visitor information in Elkins, West Virginia, was presented a Certificate of Excellence award from TripAdvisor for the 2017 year. This marks the second year in a row for the Center to receive this award. As the world’s largest travel site, TripAdvisor is a popular online reference for vacationers, allowing its users to give candid reviews, […]
Through devotion and hard work, Sue Sheets’ dedication to the City of Elkins has been unprecedented throughout her time here. Sheets’ involvement, particularly with the Elkins Depot Welcome Center, but also through her work with Elkins Women’s Club and Beta Sigma Phi has impacted the community greatly and benefited the city. Recognizing Sheets for her work with the Elkins Depot Welcome Center and the Elkins […]
The Snowshoe Foundation, for the third year in a row, has enabled the completion of an essential Welcome Center improvement. By utilizing a Snowshoe grant, the Center received the necessary technological updates needed to nurture local community-enhancing projects and tourism-supported efforts across the region and state. “The Snowshoe Foundation grant has empowered the Elkins Depot Welcome Center to enhance our mission of assisting the […]