Pocahontas County artist Molly Must created the Over Bonnie mural in downtown Marlinton, an ode to the West Virginia poet laureate and Buckeye, W. Va.-born Louise McNeill. The mural illustrates the transformation of Appalachia in the 19th and 20th century from the writings of local G.D. McNeill and the poems of his daughter, Louise. Click […]
Woodford Harmon “Woody” Simmons was born on Becky’s Creek, a rural community near Mill Creek in Randolph County WV, on November 13, 1911. His first instrument was a banjo made by his father in the blacksmith shop on their farm, and the first tune he learned to play was Silent Night. He was eight years […]
“You don’t see people raising turkeys now. When I grew up, everyone had turkeys,” recalls Layuna Rapp, who grew up on a family Dairy Farm outside of Frankford, W.Va. This photo is dated 1900 in Lewisburg. The turkeys were probably being driven down the road from a farm in Greenbrier or Monroe County to be […]
Allegheny Mountain Radio is the home town, homespun broadcast service for Pocahontas, one of the 219 counties. The “Dog Gone” lost animal report is a regular feature. Sometimes it can get a little hilarious, especially when the Sunshine Girls, Mary Paul and Caroline Cassell, are doing the Report. here’s a recent example.
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 […]
Also, check out the Charleston Gazette article on the Traveling 219 project from September 21, 2014: ‘Traveling 219’ shares highlands highway heritage ! The Traveling 219 Project Wins 2014 AASLH Award of Merit NASHVILLE, TN—June 2014—The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) proudly announces that the Traveling 219 Project is the recipient of an Award […]
If you’ve already listened to the Traveling 219 Mill Point Prison story you’re familiar with Ed and Agnes Friel, who spent time around the prison camp as kids while their parents worked there. Ed recently sent us these photos from a visit Agnes’ parents took to the prison camp a few years after it had […]
Down in Greenbrier County, West Virginia the American Heritage Music Hall in Ronceverte has a devoted following. The venue started as a small informal living room jam among friends and soon grew into a non-profit organization with its own venue. Now the Music Hall hosts weekly jams and monthly concerts. Dan Schultz of Traveling 219 […]
We recently came across mention of Francis McCoy–known as “the strongman of the mountains” in the 19th century–who supposedly killed the last panther in West Virginia is 1887. The story relates that McCoy and his friend Col. Cecil Clay of New York, who had lost one of his arms in the Civil War, treed and […]
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].
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