September 25, 1784 · Bruceton Mills
Traveling through what is now Preston County, George Washington crossed Laurel Hill and reached “the ford of Sandy Creek at one James Spurgeons,” which he placed about 15 miles from Ice’s Ferry. The editors of his diary identify the ford as apparently near present-day Bruceton Mills.
Washington continued toward the Youghiogheny Glades, where he recorded spending the night outdoors, sheltered only by his cloak during a heavy rain. His diary names Spurgeon’s place as a landmark along his route but does not record an overnight stay at the Spurgeon home.
Research status: Verified to source
Read full entry and research notes →1851 · Rowlesburg / Cheat River
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad built a Fink truss bridge across the Cheat River at Rowlesburg in 1851, according to the Historic American Engineering Record. HAER identifies it as the first of three successive bridges at this crossing. The Smithsonian’s B&O Railroad Records preserve an undated view specifically identified as the Fink bridge, along with another undated view of the Cheat River bridge near Rowlesburg. Together, the engineering record and archival images document the earliest bridge generation in this crossing’s history.
Research status: Verified to source
Read full entry and research notes →April 26, 1863 · Rowlesburg
Confederate forces under Brig. Gen. William E. "Grumble" Jones attacked Rowlesburg in an effort to destroy the strategically important Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bridges and viaducts. About 250 Union troops under Maj. John H. Showalter repelled the attack and preserved the rail line known as "Lincoln's Lifeline."
Research status: Verified to source
Read full entry and research notes →March 4, 1869 · Kingwood / Preston County
James Clark McGrew of Kingwood began the first of two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. A merchant and banker who had opposed Virginia’s secession in 1861, McGrew represented West Virginia’s Second Congressional District until March 3, 1873.
Research status: Verified
Read full entry and research notes →October 4, 1933 · Arthurdale
After Eleanor Roosevelt visited depression-stricken coal communities in northern West Virginia, the federal government acquired Richard Arthur's farm near Reedsville on October 4, 1933, for its first experimental subsistence-homestead community. The Preston County Journal reported the following day that the purchased farm comprised 1,017 acres and that the price was understood to have been $35,000. These figures refer to the Arthur farm purchase, rather than the larger project tract assembled through additional acquisitions. Initially called the Reedsville Experimental Community, the settlement was subsequently named Arthurdale for the former landowner.
Research status: Verified to source
- Citation / research lead
Preston County Journal, “Government Buys Arthurdale Farm for $35,000.00,” October 5, 1933 — transcription, West Virginia Archives and History
No direct online link recorded for this citation.
Read full entry and research notes →