“For the People: New Deal Art Along Highway 219” highlights works of art created under New Deal era programs and agencies, particularly the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, that are housed in federal buildings in towns situated on U.S. Highway 219. The online exhibit examines murals housed in U.S. post offices. Dozens of small towns […]
It would be easy today for visitors in Ronceverte to pass by one of the area’s most historic buildings without even knowing it. Down on Main Street sits the shell of Shanklin’s Grand Theatre, which at one time represented the heart of a once bustling little city. But interest in places like the old theatre–which […]
The Green Space Lewisburg, WV In the heart of downtown Lewisburg, WV, there is a small city park on Washington Street where bands play in the summer, and the community gathers year round. It is known as the Green Space, and it once was the sight of a favorite comic book store called the King […]
In Williamsburg, WV, one of the oldest historical structures is hidden beneath a wooden barn, situated below cold knob mountain and the rolling farmland of the Greenbrier Valley. Fort McCoy, which was built around 1770. The historic community of Williamsburg is located about 11 miles west of US 219 and the town of Renick. Zoe […]
Spencer Beery, a talented musician who plays multiple instruments, is in Birch Graves’ 6th grade class at Greenbrier Episcopal School in Lewisburg. Spencer and his mother drove up US 219 to Renick where Spencer interviewed a local bluegrass legend, Richard Hefner. In addition to interviewing Richard, Spencer put together this great video for his social […]
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 […]
Buttercups and buttered-bread mark the town of Frankford. Founded in 1769, Frankford was the first settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. The town was once a trading center; now it is well known for a bakery, offering an old-time treat: breads baked according to traditional recipes of the region.
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Renick was settled by William Renick and Captain Robert McClanahan in 1769. When the train still ran, it was a major agricultural trading center. In the early 1900s Renick was home to one of the first creameries in the area. Here they processed milk for the local farms even in the hardest of times, when there was no bridge and they had to ferry the milk across the Greenbrier River on a boat.
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“There were enough kids for two baseball teams.”
The community here was once filled with running creeks, fertile farmland and the sound of baseball bats cracking on a Sunday afternoon.
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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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