West Virginia’s significant place in national history can be seen through its array of historic landmarks. From Wheeling Suspension Bridge – where visitors can admire breathtaking views of Ohio River – to Mother’s Day Church (National Historic Landmark-designated) in Morgantown, there’s plenty to discover!
From John Brown’s raid site to a top-secret Cold War bunker, discover these unique historical sites.
Greenbrier Inn
The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs is one of West Virginia’s premier attractions, boasting an historic luxury resort dating back to 1778 that has hosted 26 presidents and their families since then. Home to various historic structures – such as its first parabolic radio telescope and 140 beehive coke ovens among others – the resort also hosts 26 presidents each year who stay there.
Hotel guests have discovered an extremely top-secret government bunker designed to house both House and Senate lawmakers as well as their staff in case of emergency, which remained unknown for 30 years until a reporter revealed its existence in 1992.
Matewan Historic District provides an outstanding example of an early 20th-century coal mining community, from where gunfights triggered West Virginia Mine Wars hostilities, and where several labor leaders established headquarters. Today it remains a popular tourist destination due to its rich history.
Matewan District
West Virginian oral history recounts a dark chapter: the Matewan Massacre. On May 19, 1920, Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency arrived in Matewan to evict mine workers who had pledged their oath to the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA).
The Matewan Massacre would become a landmark event during West Virginia Mine Wars and contributed further to an already simmering conflict between UMWA members and coal mining companies in West Virginia.
The area includes John Brown’s raid, which was the largest labor union uprising in U.S. history. Other historic landmarks within this district include a parabolic radio telescope and E.B. Chambers’ homestead homestead – many with their own museum telling their tale and providing insight into events which shaped West Virginia itself.
Elkins Historic District
Elkins Historic District is significant under Criterion C as an accumulation of Romanesque and Italianate style buildings that epitomize its development as a center for commerce in Randolph County, including banks (#16, 21 and 26) grocery stores, warehouses and more.
Criterion B is also important, because this district represents the work of Henry Gassaway Davis and Stephen Benton Elkins in developing it based on their interests in coal and land, particularly Roaring Creek coal fields, for which they created a rail route, terminating at Leadsville/Elkins.
Davis acquired a large tract of land near Elkins that would become its downtown. An initial plat map was drawn up in 1888; in 1889 the city was officially laid out with railroad yards being constructed as part of this venture by Davis in addition to opening a bank there.
Mother’s Day Church
West Virginia is home to numerous historic sites. From John Brown’s Abolitionist Uprising at Harpers Ferry to former prisons such as Moundsville’s and Grafton’s Railway Complexs, there’s much for history enthusiasts in West Virginia to uncover.
Many of these sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing buildings, districts, structures, objects and sites that have significant importance in American history. It is administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior; in West Virginia its oversight falls to State Historic Preservation Office.
Visitors to Mother’s Day Church, founded by Anna Reeves Jarvis and celebrating its first commemoration in 1908, will see original Sunday School chairs she used in Sunday School classes as well as the memorializing stone wall containing all of the town mothers’ names. Inside is also an exhibit and museum which chronicle her mother-centered activities – Mothers’ Day Work Clubs established by Jarvis combat child mortality, fight for women’s rights and help to ease lingering resentments during the Civil War period.
