Metro Valley
Cabell, Kanawha, Mason and Putnam
Cabell County
Cabell County was established in 1809 and was named after William H. Cabell, a Governor of Virginia from 1805 to 1808. The county seat is Huntington.
Cabell County is home to a lot of noteworthy people but I’m only going to list a few. Brandford Claude Dourif is an actor who is known for being the voice of Chucky in the Child’s Play franchise as well as Grima “Wormtongue” in the Lord of the Rings.
Huntington Ale House is a wonderful place to if you love mac & cheese. This place is just a few blocks away from Marshall University and is one of my go to when I visit the kiddo for lunch. It is a traditional steak house but we go for the award winning mac & cheese (voted #1 in West Virginia). If you are a beer drinker then they have a large list to choose from with 48 on tap. I personally love the Cajun Chicken Mac & Cheese that will give you a good spicy kick and cheesy pasta mixed with chicken and veggies. This can be a little pricy so be prepared before you go.
Another favorite to visit is Blenko Glass. Started in 1893 by William Blenko, an immigrant from London. Blenko started producing glass but it would not sell. It wasn’t until 1923, when it started making handmade glass items that things started taking off. Today, Belnko glass is somewhat of a collectable item. The water bottles being the most note-worthy. They even host events, like blowing your own glass pumpkin during fall, that makes it worth the trip.
Kanawha County
Kanawha County was established in October 5, 1789 and was named after the Native American tribe that once lived in the area. The county seat is Charleston which is also the states capital and has an average of 180,000 residents today.
Kanawha has many historical events over the years. Starting with the 1912 Bloody Miners Strike at the Paint Creek and Cabin Creek mines. On April 18, 1912, the union called for a strike. For the first month, the strike was without violence. However, this all changed on May 10, 1912, when the operators hired the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency to break up the strike by sending more than 300 mine guards. Three thousand armed miners marched to the steps of the state capitol in Charleston. By September 1, the number had risen to 5,000 angry miners and Governor Glasscock established martial law in the reason the following day which allowed 1,200 state troops to confiscate all arms and ammunition from all sides. By this time hunger, cold and unsanitary conditions had taken over the tent colony made up of miners kicked out of their homes. On February 7th, after an attack by miners, in retaliation, an attacked was done on Holly Grove miners’ settlement with an armored train and machine guns. In the end, on May 26, 1913, the United States Senate’s Committee on Education and Labor opened an investigation into conditions in the WV coal mines. There is an estimate of “perhaps fifty violent deaths” and not counting the deaths from living in the conditions in the tent camp.
In 1870 the first brick road in America was laid by engineer Mordicai Levi on Summers Street in Charleston as an experiment. By 1873 the rest of the block was finished. It wasn’t until later Levi retained a patent.
Some important people from the county would be Conchata Galen Ferrell who is known for playing Berta, a housekeeper on the sitcom Two and a Half Men. Jennifer Anne Garner is an actor who has been in many movies as well as winner of the Golden glove and SAG. Kathleen Alice Mattea is an country music singer. Randy Moss who was a football wide receiver. Phil Pfister was the winner of the 2006 World’s Strongest Man competitions. Jerry West was a basketball player and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Jason Williams is a basketball player.
There is many things to pick to visit in Kanawha County but I decided to talk about a small section of the old Historic Midland Trail as over time it has been forgotten. This trail started as an old buffalo path adapted into one of the many native American pathways across West Virginia. In the 1930’s it became the name of a cross-country route also know as U.S. Route 60. This route goes from the Chesapeake to the Pacific Ocean with over 100 miles going through West Virginia. In 2000, the portion between Charleston and White Sulphur Springs was designated a national scenic byway and from Charleston to Kentucky was designated a state scenic highway later on. This section will give you a small sample of historical places along the Midland Trail to visit. If you would rather watch a longer video with more information on this section, I did make a Youtube movie Malden to Belle, A West Virginia Historical Tour.
I'm started one stop before the video in Charleston at the Craik-Patton House right along the Kanawha River. The house was built in 1834 by James Craik. You can walk around the grounds and take a tour of the house. The Ruffner Log House is also on the property. The home was moved to the property in 1976 and believed to have been built between 1797 and 1800. Behind the house is also a lovely garden with paths to enjoy which reminds me of an English courtyard when the flowers are in bloom. They are open Monday – Friday 10am to 4pm.
Leaving the Craik-Patton House you head 3 more miles up to the city of Malden where the video starts. Malden is home to several historical locations you can visit. Starting with the African Zion Baptist Church. This is the location of the first Black Baptist Church which was organized in the 1850’s by freed slaves. The leader of this organization was Reverend Lewis Rice or “Father” to most. In 1865, a temporary structure was built by Lewis Ruffner (a local salt mine owner) and a Union General for the Church to meet. After the Civil War, West Virginia separated from Virginia and a new state was created in 1863. By the 1870’s, this area was home to over 1,500 black laborers during the expansion of the salt and coal industry. With this, the small church outgrew the building, and the African Zion Baptist Church was built in 1872 and still remains standing today. This church is a one-story framed structure with a gable roof and bell tower. It is the oldest African-American Church in Kanawha County and is nicknamed “Mother Church”. Reverend Rice passed on August 26,1902 at the age of 81. There is a monument for him located in the Spring Hill Cemetery in Charleston. This church was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1974 and tours are still being given.
Across the street you will find the Hale House. This home was built in 1838 and was the residence of Doctor John P. Hale who moved from Virginia in 1840. He quickly found that medicine was not as interesting as the booming salt business and by the 1860’s, his salt works was thought to be the largest in North America and supplied the meat-packing center of Cincinnati. He served as a surgeon during the Civil War and organized an artillery battery for the Confederate Army fought at the Battle of Scary Creek. The salt business collapsed in the 1870’s so Hale went on to other interests. He started the first brick-making machinery, a bank, built Charleston's first luxurious hotel, Hale House, and formed Charleston’s first gas company and steam ferry business. He became an author who published a pamphlet on Daniel Boone’s years in the Kanawha Valley dated 1883, Trans-Allegheny Pioneers dated 1886 and History of the Great Kanawha Valley dated 1891. John was also the instrumental force in getting the capital of West Virginia moved from Wheeling to Charleston in 1870 and later became the mayor. Hale was the great grandson of legendary Mary Draper Ingles who escaped from the Shawnee and used the Kanawha River to find her way back home to Virginia in 1755. Her story was “fictionalized” in the novel, “Follow the River.” He was a lifelong bachelor and passed in 1902 at the age of 78. His grave is also in Spring Hill Cemetery and, by his order, was shaped to resemble a small mound, reflecting his interest in the ancient native cultures.
A little further down the road is the JQ Dickinson Salt-Works. This area is owned by the 7th generation of Salt makers, Nancy Burns and Lewis Payne, a brother-sister team who decided to continue family history. In 1817, brine was first drilled in the area using hollowed tree trunks for pipe walls. By 1850, three million bushels of salt were being produced in one year. In fact, in 1851, the London World Fair awarded “The Best Salt in the World” to The Great Kanawha Salt. This area was the largest salt producing region in the United States. The salt at JQ Dickinson is 100% natural and contains many minerals. Their processing is by letting Mother Nature do most of the work with no machines and instead using good old-fashioned knowledge to get the job done. You should add this place to your tour and learn about how the brine is pumped up from an ancient ocean underneath the Appalachian Mountains, stored in beds until all the water has evaporated which leaves the beautiful salt that can be purchased in their gift shop. They are also open to weddings and are known to host some amazing Farm to Table events.
While you are exploring the historical places in the area, I highly recommend you stop at Bellissimo which is in the middle of these section of the Historical Midland Trail Tour. This restaurant is owned by 2 brothers, Amr and Mohamed Elassal, who moved here from Egypt. Their love of cooking is inspired by their mother. You can read about them in an article published in the Gazette by the Foo Guy on Feb 20, 2018. I have been eating here for many years and the casual dining experience along with the amazing food is something you will not forget. I recommended the garlic knots, Hawaiian Pizza, Buffalo Chicken Salad, pepperoni roll, Philly cheese steak sub with the works and don’t forget the homemade ranch dressing! If you want to eat outside, grab it to go and eat at the picnic shelters at the Marmet Locks which you can learn more about in video.
Mason County
Mason County was established in 1804 and was named after George Mason who was a delegate to the US Constitutional Convention. The county seat is Point Pleasant.
This area is also where the October 10, 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant took place where the Shawnee/Mingo Warriors, lead by Chief Cornstalk attacked the Virginia militiamen under Colonel Andrew Lewis. Cornstalk ended up retreating and the Virginians marched into the Ohio Valley which compelled Cornstalk to agree to a treaty, ending the war. This battle is said to be the first engagement of the American Revolution.
Michael Joseph Owns invented the machine which automated the production of glass bottles. In 1903, he formed the Owens Bottle Machine Company which produced 240 per minute and reduced labor costs by 80%.
Fans of Mothman will know this area well. Back on November 15, 1966 the residents of Point Pleasant began experiencing some strange events such as lights in the sky followed by mysterious “men in black” but the most talked about was the flying creature with glowing red eyes. On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge collapsed causing 46 people to die. Many believed the Mothman was a warning to the town of what was about to happen. The 2002 movie The Mothman Prophecies was made based off of this strange occurrence written about in the 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel. This area is now the location for the Mothman Festival every year on the third weekend in September. There is also a 12-foot-tall metallic statue of the creature by artist Bob Roach in 2003 now sits in the middle of town.
The Mothman Museum is the World’s Only Mothman Museum and a great place to learn about the tales of Mothman while seeing memorabilia or buy those souvenirs. The museum has rare eyewitness accounts of what happened on November 15, 1966. They are open every day and the museum will cost between $2-$5.
Putnam County
Putnam County was established in March 11, 1848 and was named Israel Putnam who was a hero in the French and Indian War as well as a General in the American Revolutionary War. The county seat is Winfield.
The Battle of Scary Creek, which was the first Confederate victory in Kanawha Valley during the American Civil War, was fought here on July 17, 1861.
There is a long list of people from here is only a few; Michael Barber who was a football player inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Minnie Buckingham Harper became the first Black woman legislator in the United States in 1928. Harper was appointed by Governor Howard M. Gore to fill her husband’s position to the West Virginia House of Delegates after his passing.
Gritt’s Farm is one of those places you look forward to every pumpkin season. This farm is family owned since 1927 when the farm started to take root by Veto and Nally Gritt. Today the farm is owned by Bob Gritt. This farm provides farm fresh produce to retail locations as well as employees over 100 people. So, if you see the name Gritt’s Farm in West Virginia, you that they are a long-time business you should support. My family goes here every year to get our pumpkins. It is fun to walk around the pumpkin patch and pick the perfect pumpkin to take home. While there you can also have fun with the many attractions such as; train rides, corn barn, pumpkin bowling, tractor rides, cow milking, corn slide, hay maze, mountain slide, pumpkin house, goat barn, tricycle track, wagon rides and so much more.
If you want to learn about the other 8 areas of West Virginia, you can find a link here. I have also created a few YouTube videos that goes with this series.
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