Roxy Todd has been working with the 219 Project since October, 2011, when she began working as a VISTA volunteer. Prior to this project, Roxy has worked as a teacher, a massage therapist, and a farm worker. She graduated from Warren Wilson College in 2005. In 2006 she wrote and directed a rock opera with Patrick Seick called "Osama Baby", and she has just finished writing her first novel, "The Girl in the Glass".
The Allegheny Trail is a backpacking and mountain bike trail that runs 330 miles along some of the most breathtaking mountaintops in the Allegheny and the Ridge and Valley Ranges in West Virginia. Most of its access points are within a few miles of US 219, and it follows a similar path through dense Mountain […]
The West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia, edited by Jim Comstock, boasts the famous Sweet Springs recipe for mint juleps: “While the mint juleps may not have originated at Sweet Springs, although some claim it did, the Sweet Springs recipe is generally regarded as one of the best. It stipulates to the mixologist: 1. Put into a […]
The Blue Bubbling Water: Remembering Sweet Springs with Pauline Baker, narrated by Roxy Todd [the sound of bubbling spring water, music, “Take the A Train, by Duke Ellington”] Pauline: I was born at Sweet Springs, June 29th, 1910. We used to go up to the ballroom, there’s a beautiful ballroom there. We’d go up there […]
“We took them up the highway, over the old covered bridge.”- Don Rice, of Elkins, remembering driving cattle over the Chenoweth Bridge. Many local people who grew up in Beverly or Elkins remember the old Beverly Bridge, built by Lemuel Chenoweth in 1846-1847. Chenoweth was a local carpenter and a self-educated engineer who grew up in Beverly and built many wooden covered bridges, including the famous landmark of Barbour County, the Phillipi Covered Bridge. He is buried at the Beverly Cemetery.
During May and early June, the state flower of West Virginia bursts forth with exuberant zeal throughout the forests near US 219. Also known as “Big Laurel”, these clustered flowers of pink, white and purple are an early bloom throughout the lush Allegheny Highlands. Rhododendrons have thick, rubbery evergreen leaves, and in some places can […]
“Here the waters of Blackwater River drop over a broken ledge to dash among large boulders 63 feet below, whence they continue their rushing foaming course down Blackwater Canyon. A footpath leads (L) among thickets of laurel and hemlock to a clearing with a fine view of the rugged beauty of the falls and canyon.”- West Virginia Writers’ […]
“Edray occupied the Site of Fort Drinnen, a small stockade named for Thomas Drinnen, who settled here in 1774. His cabin was attacked by Indians, his wife killed, and his little son taken captive. Drinnen joined General Lewis’s expedition against the Indians, fought in the Battle of Point Pleasant, and after the war wandered through the […]
Possibly the most prized of all West Virginia wildflowers, the Pink Lady’s Slipper is an orchid that grows wild in cool, bog-like forests throughout the state. This wild orchid is named because its enormous pink flower somewhat resembles a moccasin or a slipper. Its solitary flower hunches timidly against the light, uncurling from between two thick green and glossy leaves.
A long black tail, yellow eyes, a scream in the woods at night…
There are more than 300,000 acres of National Forest in Pocahontas County, WV. Many people say that panthers still live in these woods, from the high peaks of the Allegheny ridgeline to the Cranberry Wilderness with miles and miles of unspoiled forests, there’s plenty of room to roam, that’s for sure.
Click here to have a listen…
Welcome back to Traveling 219! The Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area is proud to be the successor organization to all the great work that was done by the Pocahontas Communications Cooperative and other Partners a decade ago on this project. We are currently updating the website and look forward to reengaging with the stories of the people and places that we discover Traveling 219. If you have any feedback on the project, or would like to get involved, please reach out to us at [email protected]. Feel free to report to us any broken links or other out of date content as you explore our site!
Located in the historic Darden Mill in Elkins, WV the Appalachian Forest Discovery Center invites you to explore the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area’s rich cultural and forest heritage. Through its engaging exhibits and knowledgeable staff, the Discovery Center acts as a welcome center for the AFNHA where you can get information about other forest heritage sites in the region.
ON DISPLAY NOW
Seneca Trail: Native Travel through the Appalachian Forest
Click the map to download a high-resolution copy of the Traveling 219 map, or pick up a hard copy at one of many locations along U.S. Route 219. You may also view our interactive map of Traveling 219 stories [HERE].
by Matt Wilson Silver Lake is a small community located in the southeastern part of Preston County near the West Virginia-Maryland border. The community is named for a man-made lake of the same name, which is located within a private campground in the community. Built in 1928, the lake is retained by a small concrete […]
Young Elkins Musicians Help Revive Old Time Music
photo of the Alleycats outside the Delmonte in Elkins, by Bill King. The Tribble’s house stands out from the street because of the solar panels on the roof, and because even from outside you can hear the sound of 16-year-old Walter King warming up his fiddle. Beside him stands Nevada Tribble, with long, straight red […]
Civil War Sites Along (and near) U.S. Rt. 219
You can zoom in and out of this map and click & drag it to move around and explore it. Click on the different colored markers for more information on that particular civil war site. Timeline of Events in West Virginia during the Civil War along or near U.S. Route 219. 1861: June 3, […]
The 1892 Civil Rights Case of Coketon, West Virginia
About a year ago, a new historical marker sign went up in front of the Tucker County Court House, in Parsons, West Virginia along U.S. Route 219. The sign commemorates an exceptional story in West Virginia history, when a brave African American school teacher stood up to her local school board and sued them for […]
1906 was a tough year for Charles Darwin Gillespie. Gillespie, an infamous saloon owner and liquor runner was being sued for $20,000, a fortune at the time. It was only ten years earlier that Charles Darwin Gillespie left Virginia in a pair of dusty boots, a derby hat, and his only black suit. He arrived […]
The stories and programs of Traveling 219 are made possible by generous support the Pocahontas County Free Libraries, as well as the following partners.
