The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, located in Weston, was a state mental hospital that operated from 1864 to 1995. The asylum is now open to the public as a tourist attraction and offers historic and paranormal tours April through November, as well as an annual costume Ball and other seasonal events. Visitors can enjoy daytime historic tours of the first and fourth floors, as well as […]
Senators Stephen B. Elkins and Henry Gassaway Davis are best known as senators and industrialists who developed the railroad, timber, and coal industries around Randolph County, and are the namesakes of the towns of Elkins, Davis, Gassaway, and Davis & Elkins College. But it is rumored that they were actually the outlaws Frank and Jesse James of the infamous James Gang. Listen or read below […]
Every year hundreds of people converge on the tiny town of Helvetia for one of the most unique festivals in West Virginia. Fasnacht takes place annually on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday. Only at Fasnacht can you find homemade masks, a candlelight parade, a square dance, Swiss food, and the burning of Old Man Winter, all in one celebration. Join us for one of the […]
The Museum of American Glass in West Virginia, located in Weston, is a free museum that tells the story of glass manufacturing and glassware in the United States and West Virginia. With thousands of beautiful pieces on display, this museum has something for everyone to enjoy. The museum has been open since 1993. Weston is a fitting location for the museum because the town was […]
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 […]