Northern Panhandle
Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio, Tyler and
Wetzel
This is part 4 of 9 in the exploring all West Virginia's 55 counties series. You can find links to the rest at the bottom of this blog as well as a few YouTube videos.
Brooke County
Brooke County was
established in 1797 and was named after Robert Brooke, a governor of Virginia.
Today the county seat is Wellsburg.
I stopped at Gus’s Goodies, which dates back to 1935, to grab some treats. This is a family-owned
business that was started by two brothers who immigrated from Greece around
1912. The treats did not disappoint and
was a welcome sugar rush stop as I was on my traveling journey. I took some to go and enjoyed every single bite.
Hancock County
Hancock County was established in 1848 and was named after John Hancock who was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. Today the county seat is New Cumberland. This area is historically known for the Yellow Creek Massacre, where in 1774, the Iroquois leader Chief Logan’s family was massacred at Baker’s Tavern, which sparked the Lord Dunmore’s War. Also in 1781, Adam Poe had his famous fight with the Native Americans known as Big Foot.
Hancock is home to the World’s Largest Teapot. Originally this structure was a wooden hogshead barrel for the Hire's Root Beer company as an advertising campaign. It measures 14 feet high and 14 feet in diameter. In 1938 the barrel was purchased by Devon's Pottery Outlet Store and moved to West Virginia. A spout, handle and glass ball to the top was added as well as being covered with tin to form the teapot shape. It was used to sell concessions and souvenirs. The pottery shop was sold to Mary Wucherer and Rhelda Cain in 1947. It was sold again in 1971 to Cecil and Alice Fletcher who continued to sell pottery until they closed up shop as well. It sat abandoned until 1984 when C&P Telephone purchased the land. The pottery building was demolished and the teapot was next until Geneva Hill, a resident, brought the citizens together to save it.
In 1987 C&P Telephone donated the teapot to the City of Chester. Councilwoman Anne Ford formed a restoration committee and fundraising began for the $3,000 needed. In early 1990’s Chester City Council voted to provide more funds needed to restore the teapot. Today the door and windows are sealed shut. The glass ball had disappeared years earlier and now replaced with a gold-painted basketball. A ceremony was held on October 12, 1990 to celebrate the restoration completion. There is an annual teapot day held every year with vendors, music and mini teapot souvenirs are sold to help support the teapots upkeep.
Marshall County
Marshall County was established in 1835 and was named after John Marshall who was the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. The county seat is Moundsville. Marshall is home to Grave Creek Mound, the largest conical burial mound in North America built by the Adena people between 250 and 150 BC. It stands at an impressive 69 feet tall with a 295 feet diameter. A moat of about 40 feet in width and 5 feet deep used to encircle the mound and inside archaeological researches have discovered Adena remains and artifacts. In 1964 it was declared a National Historic Landmark.
One of the most notable people from this county was Dr. Harriet B. Jones. In 1886, she became the first woman to be licensed as a physician in West Virginia as well as the first women to be elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates once woman was given the right to vote in 1920.
On November 7, 1979, fifteen prisoners escaped followed by the January 1, 1986 Riot over two days in which three inmates were killed. Between 1899 to 1959, ninety-four men were executed in this prison, with eighty-five being hung until 1949 and open for public viewing until June 19, 1931. Public viewing stopped on June 19, 1931 when Frank Hyer was being hung for murdering his wife and the noose ended up decapitating him. Attendance was moved to invitation only. The last man to be hung was Bud Peterson.
By 1951, electrocution replaced hanging and the electric chair was nicknamed "Old Sparky". The state prohibited capital punishment in 1965 but nine men were electrocuted before then. Elmer Bruner being the last prisoner to meet Old Sparky's fate. Old Sparky is still at the prison today.
In 1986, the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled confinement to the 5x7 foot cells constituted cruel and unusual punishment and within nine years the prison closed with most inmates being transferred to Mt. Olive Correctional Complex.
Over the years the prison has been used for training and for movies. Castle Rock, the Hulu original series, based on the Stephen King's book was filed at the prison. There has been other shows as well as featured in the video game Fallout 76.
If you want a taste of India, then you can visit Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold. The Palace is located in New Vrindaban and covers 1,204 acres. In 1968, the community was founded by Kirtanananda Swami and Hayagriva Das, two disciples of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The Palace was built in 1973 as a home for Srila Prabhupada but he passed in November 1977 before it was finished.
The Palace was opened in 1979 and reported as "the magnificence of the Palace of Gold would be hard to exaggerate" by CBS PM Magazine; "a place where tourists can come and be amazed" by Life magazine; "Welcome to Heaven" by The New York Times; "Almost Heaven" by The Washington Post; and "It's hard to believe that Prabhupada's Palace is in West Virginia. In fact, it's hard to believe it's on this planet" by The Courier-Journal.
Now you can take a tour of the Palace (no pictures allowed inside) and walk around the grounds. Inside you will find a hallway that walks around a center square filled with rooms. The walls are all decorated from ceiling to ground with the best materials you can find around the world. It really is an art work in itself. This is an active location for thousands of Krishna devotees to come and worship so it is important that you respect the culture while there.
Around the grounds you will find peacocks freely walking about. From what I understand the peacock was one of Swami Prabhupada favorites so you will find the colors or feathers within the palace as well.
Ohio County
Ohio County was established in 1776 and was named after the Ohio River. The county seat is Wheeling.
On my bucket list was to visit Mt Wood Overlook as I was always fascinated by its history. Back in 1921 the property was bought by Dr. Andrew Harness and his wife Mabel to build their dream home. However, in 1925 the construction stopped because Dr. Harness was indicted on 2 counts illegal sales of drugs in a sting operation. The doctor was said to be devoted, kind and generous to his patients. He would often sell drugs under the table to help his patients avoid the high costs and avoid taxes. He ended up serving is time and then he left the area with his family. The property turned into an open canvas for graffiti artists, under age drinking and drug dealers. The city finally stepped to clean up the area by adding murals, trash cans and picnic tables. Mere hours after the work was done, new graffiti had been added over the mural as the community loved the old graffiti. Today it is often found to be the backdrop for many photographers and lots of visitors came to enjoy the beautiful view it has to offer.
If you love old vintage toys, Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum is a must to visit. This museum was once a public school built back in 1905. On March 18, 1997, the building was sold at auction and the museum was born. It is a two-story building with basement; all filled with childhood memories for you to enjoy. The old classrooms are now converted into different toy rooms. There is the Doll Room which date back to the 1920’s with the nation’s largest interactive dollhouse. One of my favorite rooms was for Miniatures Room dating back to the 1930’s. The Transportation Room are from the 1800’s to present. The Game Room dates back to 1920’s. You can’t miss the Puzzle Room which has one of the largest puzzles in the world at 6 feet tall and 22 feet wide. And of course, there is train rooms to explore and play. The basement is nothing but Peanut Gang for all those Snoopy fans like me. Ticket price will run between $7.50 to $15.00 and they also have party room rentals as well.
And if you are looking for a unique place to stay, there is also a 1926
Baltimore & Railroad Caboose C-2019 on the property. It holds four people with access to a full
bathroom in the museum, one of the nation’s largest train libraries, kids play
area, small eating area and a TV with VCR/DVD player.
Tyler County
Tyler County was established in December 6, 1814 and was named after John Tyler Sr who was the father of President John Tyler. The county seat is Middlebourne.
When you think of Tyler County, Marble King come to mind! Marble King was founded in December 1949 by Berry Pink and Sellers Peltier and is the only domestic marble manufacturer which keeps their products all Made in America. Pink “The Marble King” traveled around the country hosting marble tournaments and giving way marbles along the way which is how the company got its name. When running at full production, this company can make over one million marbles a day. In 1983, Marble King was sold to Roger Howdyshell who dedicated his life to the facility until his death in 1991.
His daughter, Beri Fox, now
continues the Marble King legacy. Next
time you watch “Goonies”, “Hook” or “Home Alone”, know that those marbles used
are from Marble King. Today they still ship marbles worldwide and a
contributing sponsor of The National Marble Tournament since 1968. There is a gift shop where you can purchase
those beautiful marbles but when I visited, it sadly was closed. They are only
open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
They do have an online gift shop though.
Wetzel County
Wetzel County was established in 1846 and was named after Lewis Wetzel a frontiersman. The county seat is New Martinsville. History has that Wetzel County was the home of the Jennings Gang of sixteen members. They were known for robbing and shooting which nearly all members served terms in the penitentiary. A secret organization named, the Redmen, was formed to put a stop to the gang. John Jennings, thought to be the leader, was woken by a gun shot during the night of June 12, 1873. As he looked out of his window, he saw a mob of people with their faces painted red. He was ordered to surrender but he refused. His wife tried to help by handing him an ax when a rope was attempted to be put around his neck. That action resulted in Jennings being shot and killed. His wife was also shot twice but lived to tell the tale.
While traveling, I stopped at Quinet’s Restaurant for breakfast on a beautiful morning. This restaurant was founded in 1941 and was the winners of the “Best Places to Eat Coast-to-Coast” in 2008. It was everything you would want in a West Virginia Restaurant. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by locals there eating their morning breakfast and was even offered a seat at their table. That is the kind of WV local kindness that makes this state so great. The walls are covered with pictures of famous people and the tables have old black and white pictures made into the table. For breakfast I had the Bob Corace which is two eggs, meat of choice, fried potatoes and two slices of very thick buttered toast for around $8. It was really good and I’m not really a big fan of fried potatoes but I ate them all. It is worth taking a trip here if you are looking for some good food.
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