Warm glowing fields of hay, clear rivers born of limestone springs. Fields of livestock grazing beneath the shade of apple and buckeye trees.
“Nobody in Pocahontas County has the slightest doubt but what the name of Cal Price will live on forever after he dies, that is if you can find anybody who believes he will die,” fellow journalist Jim Comstock wrote in 1953. “Most Pocahontasites think of him just living on and on like the trees of the forest.” Price was the editor of the Pocahontas Times for over 50 years, and his name indeed lives on.
“I saw the panther. I whistled at him, and he growled at me,”- Calvin Price, 1956. Skip Johnson was a well followed outdoors writer for the Charleston Gazette. He passed away in 2010, but a book that he completed just before his death, called West Virginia Mountain Lions, the Past Present and Future of the […]
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, […]
When spring arrives and the weather begins to get warmer in the Allegheny Mountains along U.S. Route 219, many locals and visitors grab their rods and reels and begin heading to the Monongahela National Forest. Some of the best trout fishing in the region can be found here in these cool mountain streams. Fishing has […]
Bear hunting is a long running tradition in the mountains along US 219. It started more than 200 years ago, when the farmers began running sheep on their hill farms and the native black bear discovered a new food source. In the old days the mountains rang with the baying of dogs on a […]
Here are some photos of one of the most spectacular sights near U.S. Route 219, the Falls of Hills Creek in Pocahontas County. The falls sit just off Route 39, between Mill Point and Richwood. The Falls are an extraordinary sight in any season (including winter!), but they are literally gushing with water in the […]
The Greenbrier River Trail (GRT) runs 78 miles along former tracks of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. From North Calwell (3 miles east of U.S. Route 219 in Lewisburg) the trail follows the scenic Greenbrier River through Greenbrier and Pocahontas Counties to Cass. The GRT is maintained as a part of the West Virginia State […]
Bear hunting is a long running tradition in the mountains along US 219. It started more than 200 years ago, when farmers began to run sheep on their hill farms and the native black bear discovered a new food source. In the old days the mountains rang with the baying of dogs on a […]
Eldridge McComb spent much of his life farming in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. The stories he told spanned generations, from memories of the 1930s to his thoughts on modern day agriculture. Eldridge passed away in 2007. In exploring this area’s farming history, Traveling 219 listened to these interviews, recorded in his later years, to look […]
Bear hunting is a long running tradition in the mountains along US 219. It started more than 200 years ago, when farmers began to run sheep on their hill farms and the native black bear discovered a new food source. Nowadays bear hunting is a high tech sport, with radio tracking systems, GPS, and CB […]
Pearl S. Buck Grapevine Travels to Michigan
A grapevine clipping from the home of Pearl S. Buck, a world renowned author with West Virginia roots, just arrived in Michigan and soon will be planted at a high school literary garden. It began as an idea last summer. Jennifer McQuillan teaches literature at West Bloomfield High School in Michigan, and she wanted to […]
For Over 140 Years, The Monroe Watchman Continues to Tell Local Stories
By Gibbs Kinderman Local weekly papers are a continuing tradition in many small WV counties – almost 50 of them still survive in this era of mass media and on-line news. Monroe County is one of the most tradition-oriented in West Virginia, and its paper, the Monroe Watchman, has come out each week for over […]
More Timeless Memories from the Mill Point General Store
By Gibbs Kinderman Country general stores were the center of community life a hundred years ago along what is now US 219 in West Virginia. They often housed the local post office and provided an informal meeting place for discussion of local affairs and the great issues of the day. These stores sold staples – […]
Marlinton Residents Try to Remain Optimistic this Christmas
Traditions are a big part of Appalachian culture. And for the people of Marlinton, W.Va. that means that not even a fire could keep them from a Christmas celebration. A fire devastated one block of Main Street Marlinton, West Virginia in November of last year. Kelly Taber with Allegheny Mountain Radio reports that the town […]
Johnny Hill Won the 1983 Pocahontas County Liar’s Contest With This Magical Tall Tale
Now here’s something you don’t hear about everyday: A chicken that lays wooden eggs. It’s a tall tale told by a man named Johnny Hill, in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Gibbs Kinderman brings us this archived recording of Johnny Hill’s magical story about some very peculiar hens. The above photo of the chickens was taken […]
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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