WV Historical Markers - Let's Find All 700

[vatrader01]

Markers are located on US Route 11 in Bunker Hill, Berkeley County WV, in Bunker Hill State Park.







The Monument to Col. Morgan Morgan was erected in 1926 by the Col. Morgan Morgan Commisssion.

The inscription on the plaque reads:

Erected by the State of West Virginia. In commemoration of the first settlement within the present boundaries of said State, which was made by Col. Morgan Morgan, a native of Wales, and Catherine Garretson, his wife, in the year 1726 on a tract of 1000 acres about 2 miles west of here.

Granted to him by colonial Virginia patent, and in recognition of the sterling character of the said Morgan and family who by their efforts and example, were largely useful in the community of which he was the founder and had great influence for good upon the early history of the territory now constituting this State.
His grave (marked) is nearby, adjacent Christ’s Episcopal Church formerly called Morgan’s Chapel, the oldest church in this State, which he helped organize and build.

Commissioners: Ephram F. Morgan, Governor of W. Va. • Harry P. Henshaw, State Senator • Mrs. Blanche M. Pickering • Haze Morgan.
A.D. MCMXXIV.

This marker is located at the cabin on Runneymead Rd.

[vatrader01]

Marker is on the corner of South Mineral ST. [US 220] and State Street. Keyser, Mineral County WV






Potomac State College of West Virginia University, West Virginia's only residential Junior College.
More from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potomac...nia_University

[Grape_Ape]

Bethany Church of Christ - Located at the corner of Church and Main Streets in Bethany West Virginia.

[Grape_Ape]

Alexander Campbell - This is the house he lived in located on the outskirts of Bethany. As I mentioned before, I spent alot of time in Bethany during my late teens and early 20's. The area surrounding Bethany was one of my favorite places to ride my new (back then) 1986 XL600R.

[pnoman]

GrapeApe,

Thanks for the new markers - nice to see some coming in from the Northern Panhandle. I don't make it up that way very often.

[pnoman]

Located at the junction of Rts 219 and 33 on the eastern side of Elkins. (Kitty-corner from McDonalds, and across the street from the giant Hiawatha).


Herman Guy Kump was born in Capon Springs, Hampshire County. In 1905, he graduated from the University of Virginia and opened a law practice in Elkins, Randolph County. He served for two terms as the county prosecuting attorney and as mayor of Elkins. Kump was an Army captain during World War I. In 1928, he was elected judge of the Upshur-Randolph judicial court.
Kump became governor at the height of the Great Depression, inheriting a state treasury deficit of $4 million. The legislature spent a record 240 days in session in 1933, developing a new tax program. In 1933, the State Road Commission was reorganized and added 31,000 miles of secondary roads previously maintained by the counties. In 1936, the legislature passed an important unemployment compensation bill. With the assistance of federal New Deal legislation, by 1937, the state was on a comparable financial level with most other states. During Kump's term, all schools were placed under the administration of the counties for more efficient management.


After his term as governor, Kump returned to his law practice in Elkins. He was president of the Citizens National Bank of Elkins, of which he was a founder, from 1924 to 1952. Kump was defeated for the Democratic nomination for United States Senate in 1940 and 1942. His son, Cyrus S. Kump, was also defeated in his attempt for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1952. Governor Kump died in Elkins in 1962.





Side 1 of Historical Marker.






Side 2 of Historical Marker.




Best view of the house I could get without trespassing.

Great riding in every direction from here. My favorite - head out Rt 33 toward Seneca Rocks.

[pnoman]

Located on the campus of Davis & Elkins College in Elkins.


In 1889, Senator Stephen Benton Elkins chose the site for what was to become one of West Virginia's grandest homes. Set atop a steep hill, the site overlooked the newly-founded town that bore Elkins' name; the mansion itself was to be called Halliehurst in honor of Elkins' wife, Hallie Davis Elkins.

From the beginning, the 56-room, 23,000 square foot mansion was hailed as a showplace. It was patterned after a castle on the Rhine River that Mrs. Elkins admired while visiting Germany. New York architect Charles T. Mott created a sprawling three-story plan which featured exterior walls of lapped siding and cut shingles, a steep hipped roof, large towers and turrets, numerous dormers, and tall stone chimneys. Later, rambling porches were added to the front and north facades.

Interior features included rich oak paneling, and beaded trim work, and massive fireplaces framed in marble with hand-carved wooden mantelpieces. It became the setting for elaborate social occasions, political caucuses, and business gatherings which attracted the elite from the region, including President Harrison, Andrew Carnegie and James Cardinal Gibbons.
After her husband�s death, Hallie Elkins and her family continued to spend their summers at Halliehurst. In 1923, however, she offered to deed the entire Halliehurst estate over to another of the family's endeavors, Davis & Elkins College. Halliehurst then became the focal point of the new campus, and found new life as the college president's home. Later uses included a woman's dormitory, dining hall, music and arts classes, and finally a counseling center.
Today, the venerable mansion is completely restored to the style and spirit of its original decor, and houses the office of the president and other administrative offices. (Notes from Alpha Associates Website)




Historical Marker - Side 1 - located on the junction of Rts 219 and 33 on the western side of Elkins, near the entrance to Davis & Elkins College.




Historical Marker - Side 2. That white sign off to the right in the background is the entrance to Davis & Elkins College.





View eastbound into Elkins.



Halliehurst mansion on the campus of Davis & Elkins College.

[face_plant]

GRAPE APE I AM GONNA KILL YOU
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MY TAGS :(

where u live and when u riding i r from wellsburg
at least let me hit wheeling, and grimes farm ok? pwleeeeeesssseeee

[pnoman]

Located next to the city parking garage on 2nd St and Hewes Ave in Clarksburg. The marker is listed as missing, but was relocated about 100 feet away on a landscaped traffic island in front of the Methodist Church on 2nd St.

School was held on this property every year from 1795 until the 1980s, except from 1861-1865 when the existing building was used as an Army hospital and prison.

The first facility was the Randolph Academy built in 1795. In 1843, that building was replaced by another, becoming Northwestern Virginia Academy. That building was razed in 1895 and the next facility became Clarksburg High School until 1913, when it became the Towers Elementary School.

The school was closed and torn down around 1990.



Historical Marker located in front of Methodist Church on 2nd St between Pike St and Hewes Ave.





The empty lot where the school stood is between the parking garage (on the left) and the abandonded Central Jr High School (the dark red brick building peeking around the corner on the right from behind the church). Straight ahead of my bike, the spot in the wall where the steps went up to the front door is filled in with cement blocks.




A view of the marker and Methodist Church from the other direction.





The Towers School in it's original form. Note the pointy spires that are missing on the next photo. Also, note the Central Jr High School was not built yet (see next photo).




After some renovations, the Towers School looked a little more "modern". Note the Central Jr High School is now it's neighbor to the right. (That's where I went to 7th & 8th grades). Remnants of the front wall by the sidewalk are still visible in the 2nd photo above).

Now the Towers School is gone, and the Central Jr High School is abandoned and boarded up. (Too expensive to tear down with all that asbestos we enjoyed breathing as young adolescents )

[pnoman]

Located about 30 miles west of Clarksburg at the junction of Rt 50 and Rt 18, West Union has a population of 800. It seemed like a nice, old-fashioned 'town' with a real (although small) downtown, something you don't much of any more.

The town has it's own website - http://www.westunion-wv.com/ - and it has an interesting pair of aerial photos. If you click on the second photo and enlarge it, you can see the historical marker above the spire of the County Court House and slightly to the left along the road.




Historical Marker located along Middle Island Creek on the east side of town.




View of downtown West Union (County Court House) from the marker location.





Downtown West Union.




Doddridge Co Court House.


From here, jump on Rt 18 south toward Glenville for a nice ride.

[pnoman]

Matthew Mansfield Neely served as the 21st Governor of WV from 1941-1945. He is the only West Virginian to have served in both houses of the US Congress and as Governor.

To read more : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_M._Neely




Historical Marker located on Rt 18 near Market, WV, between Rt 50 and the Gilmer Co line.




View northbound on Rt 18 - CR13 (Named "Porto Rico Road" ) is to the left.



A view out "Porto Rico Road" from the marker.

Rt 18 is a nice ride from Rt 50 south into Gilmer Co.

[pnoman]

Best known for designing the WV State Seal and Coat of Arms (seen at the top of the Historical Markers).

Also a writer - "Handbook of WV" (To order, click here)

Not much is written about this man, so there's not much to report.





Historical Marker located on Rt 18 just north of the Gilmer Co line near Leopold, WV.





View south along Rt 18 heading towards the Gilmer Co line.





Although the marker did not specificially state this was his house, it's the only house nearby, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say this was probably it.


Sorry for the brief report, but Google didn't have much at all. If I find more information about him, I'll add it later.

[vatrader01]

Marker is located at intersection of Route 50 and WV 29 North, Hampshire County WV.





More information on Ice Mountain can be found here

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/no...s/art1208.html

[vatrader01]

Marker is located on Route 28 in Mineral County WV, before the bridge crossing into Cumberland, MD.





From Wikipedia

In 1750, the first frontier fort, Fort Ohio, was built at Ridgeley. It was, at the time, the westernmost outpost of colonial civilization and was most commonly referred to as the "New Store" settlement at the time. The New Store was primarily a trading post created by the Ohio Company which included prominent members including George Mason and Lawrence Washington. There is evidence that Joseph Chapline, the founder of Sharpsburg, Maryland, who also was in charge of the construction of Fort Cumberland, organized the construction of the New Store settlement. The settlement was used for various purposes from 1750-1763. Early Ohio Company residents who worked at the settlement (and who explored the surrounding countryside) included Hugh Parker and Christopher Gist.
In May 1754, George Washington led a company of troops to meet Joshua Fry at the storehouses at Fort Ohio. Fry was a colonel and commander in the Virginia Militia. He was to take command of the forces sent to the frontier. Fry was thrown from his horse, died, and was probably buried in early Ridgeley as Fort Cumberland had not yet been built. Washington then took command of the troops, his first military command. Washington staged an attack from Fort Ohio against a French detachment of 40 men that resulted in the death of French diplomat Ensign Joseph Coulon de Jumonville. This action is considered the first shot fired in the French and Indian War.
In Spring 1755, Washington returned to the area to prepare for General Edward Braddock's attack on Fort Duquesne (commonly referred to as Braddock's March). Fort Cumberland was under construction at the time, and was used as the center of planning for the attack, while Fort Ohio was commandeered and used as well. Both a very young Daniel Boone (21) and Daniel Morgan (20) worked in the area to plan and carry out the ill-fated assault.

[pnoman]

Located about midway between West Union and Glenville on Rt 18.




Historical Marker southbound on Rt 18 entering Gilmer Co.




View southbound on Rt 18.





Same marker - northbound on Rt 18 entering Doddridge Co.




View northbound on Rt 18 entering Doddridge Co.

Rt 18 is a nice ride, but there are parts of the pavement that are a little rough (like in the picture). Nothing bad, but just don't be in too much of a hurry around the corners.