The small town of Richwood, West Virginia once had a booming lumber and coal economy, but since the 1980s most of the jobs in town have left the area, as have 42% of the population. Every dollar is needed here, and the town relies on its annual Feast of the Ramson to help rejuvenate the […]
The John Wesley Methodist Church in Lewisburg was built in 1820 and continues to hold services. It is located on E. Foster Street and is one of the oldest brick churches in West Virginia. As was common at the time, the John Wesley Methodist Church was built with a second story slave gallery, and today […]
photo by Mike Costello On Saturday, April 26th the town of Richwood, West Virginia will serve 2,000 pounds of wild ramps, along with bacon, potatoes, cornbread and sassafras tea. Richwood prides itself as being the “Ramp Capitol of the World”, and its Feast of the Ramson Festival is the oldest ongoing ramp celebration in the […]
in the monitor community near Pickaway, Monroe County on U.S. Route 219 by Dixie Lee Hoke-Webb The two-room Fairview School was located near Pickaway on US 219, about 3 miles south of the Greenbrier/ Monroe county line at Second Creek and about 5 ½ miles north of Union. This is the fourth building for Fairview […]
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 […]
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 […]
Last weekend the isolated Randolph county town of Pickens drew a couple thousand visitors to eat at the annual Maple Syrup Festival. About 45 gallons of fresh West Virginia Maple Syrup were consumed in two days at the Pickens pancake breakfasts. After I grabbed a plate of buckwheat pancakes and sausage, I met up with […]
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 […]
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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