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Preston County Through Time

An interactive history timeline

Project updates

What's new in the timeline

Preston County Through Time is a living project. New events, sources, photographs, corrections, and ways to explore the county's history are added regularly. This page records the changes visitors are most likely to notice or use.

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Showing all 68 updates, newest first.

October 11, 2026

Latest

A new way to explore Preston County’s church history

  • The new Churches directory brings together 174 listings from the 1979 Preston County West Virginia History. Search by church or minister, filter by district, and see the establishment date, first minister when listed, and the 1979 Present Minister column—including notes where a church was listed as closed.
  • Some listings also lead to related PCTT stories, beginning with Mt. Zion–Rohr.
Explore the Churches directory

October 9, 2026

Explore Preston County through historical maps

  • Compare historical maps with today’s geography in our interactive Historical Maps viewer. Switch between maps and adjust their transparency to explore old place names, waterways, and routes against a modern map with Preston County’s boundary outlined.
  • Included is a map published in 1932 reconstructing George Washington’s journeys of 1770 and 1784, offering a visual companion to his 1784 visit to Spurgeon’s. Historical map alignment and reconstructed routes are approximate.
  • Find Historical Maps under Explore in the navigation.

October 8, 2026

Population history expanded through 1970

  • The historical population sections on ten Preston County community pages now include the 1960 and 1970 federal census counts, extending the series from 1910 through 1970.
  • The update includes Albright, Brandonville, Bruceton Mills, Kingwood, Masontown, Newburg, Reedsville, Rowlesburg, Terra Alta, and Tunnelton. Each section includes the census table, an updated chart, and links to the original census reports.
  • Rowlesburg’s totals include notes explaining its portions in Portland, Reno, and Union districts. Kingwood’s section also notes a boundary change recorded by the 1960 census.
Explore Preston County’s population history

October 8, 2026

New: Population Through Time

  • How many people called Preston County home? Explore the county’s population from 1820 to 2020, plus new Historical Population sections on ten community pages featuring census counts from 1910, 1920, and 1930. Charts, tables, and links to the original census reports make the figures easy to explore, with notes explaining missing counts, historical names, and town boundaries—including Rowlesburg’s spread across three districts.
Explore Preston County’s population history

October 7, 2026

Albright’s Postmasters, 1856–1958

  • Explore Albright’s recorded postmasters, from Samuel Albright’s 1856 entry through Victor G. Overbeck’s assumption of charge in 1958. The new section includes a name roster, expandable appointment details, and six original federal record images, with source links and notes identifying uncertain readings.
Explore Albright’s postmasters

October 6, 2026

Easier-to-browse community pages

  • Community and place pages now put the timeline near the top, with section links on fuller pages and a consistent layout for stories, photographs, postal records, and recordings. Story cards and each community’s individual material remain available, while simpler pages show only the sections they need.
Explore community and place pages

October 6, 2026

Meet Arzana Ward, Arthurdale’s first postmistress

  • A new People profile brings together Arzana Mae Talkington Ward’s biography, service at Reedsville and Arthurdale, newspaper clippings, and federal postal records. Biographical details and family materials were contributed by Nikki Ward Haines, Arzana’s great-granddaughter. The profile retains source notes and identifies the conflicting birth years in the supplied biography and newspaper photograph caption.
Read Arzana Ward’s profile

October 6, 2026

Growing up in Arthurdale

  • Jim McNelis’s recollections add a resident’s perspective on farming, shopping, and community life in Arthurdale’s early years. The short story section includes a citation and link to his article in the Summer 2012 issue of Goldenseal, with a research note distinguishing remembered dates from the documented timeline.
Explore growing up in Arthurdale

October 5, 2026

Bruceton Mills confrontation date and account corrected

  • Corrected the Bruceton Mills confrontation date to July 20, 1921, using contemporary newspaper reporting. Revised the account to describe a suspected attempted bank robbery and explained the conflicting August 16 date in WVU’s photograph catalog.
Read the corrected Bruceton Mills entry

October 5, 2026

One search connects Preston County’s stories and records

  • Search PCTT brings the site’s published history together in one place. Look up a family name, community, or subject to find matching timeline stories, community pages, people, post office records, postmaster material, visual-history captions, and source descriptions. Results show the type of material, a matching excerpt, and a direct link, with filters to narrow your search. Try Oak Park, Arzana Ward, Reedsville, Bretz, or McGrew—and discover connections across collections that might otherwise take several separate searches.
  • Find Search PCTT in the main navigation. The search includes transcriptions published on the site; it does not search text inside untranscribed images or the contents of outside archives.
Try Search PCTT

October 4, 2026

Arthurdale and Reedsville postmaster records are now available

  • New Postmasters sections on the Arthurdale and Reedsville post-office pages make the original National Archives register images and reviewed transcriptions easier to explore. Arthurdale’s record follows five postmasters from the office’s 1935 establishment through 1963; Reedsville’s two records preserve entries from Emma K. Watson through Glenn R. Holmes’s recorded 1971 retirement.
  • The pages retain the federal records’ administrative dates and abbreviations without treating every entry as a complete term of service. The Reedsville section also links to Arzana Ward’s story across the two communities.
Explore Arthurdale postmasters

October 4, 2026

Arzana Ward’s service links Reedsville and Arthurdale

  • A new section on the Arthurdale community page follows Arzana M. Ward from her May 13, 1918 Reedsville appointment to her role as Arthurdale’s first postmistress when that office opened in 1935. The story includes a June 17, 1918 newspaper notice and distinguishes its publication date from the federal register’s appointment date.
  • Family information and source materials were contributed by Nikki Ward Haines, Arzana Ward’s great-granddaughter.
Read Arzana Ward’s story

October 3, 2026

Ten more views of Preston County from the James Brown Collection

  • Ten photographs from the James Brown Collection bring more of Preston County’s railroad, industrial, school, and recreation history into view. Explore stations and depot scenes in Albright, Masontown, Rowlesburg, and Bretz; Cascade’s former schoolhouse and coke-oven landscape; and three additional views of Oak Park.
  • New Historic photographs sections on five community pages let visitors explore these undated images alongside each community’s history. The photographs also appear in Explore in Pictures, with collection credits, cautious captions, and links to larger images.
Explore in Pictures

October 3, 2026

Four more communities connect history and postal records

  • New community pages for Hopemont, Independence, Manheim, and Reedsville bring their existing PCTT timeline material together with the original National Archives postal documents. This completes the current set of confirmed post-office/community relationships with exact PCTT place matches. Each page remains open to future research, sources, photographs, and community knowledge.
Explore Reedsville

October 3, 2026

Five more communities gain a home for postal history

  • New community pages for Brookside, Clifton Mills, Eglon, Etam, and Fellowsville connect each place’s existing PCTT history with its original postal documents and maps. The pages make clear where research is still developing while creating a place for future photographs, sources, and community knowledge.
Explore Fellowsville

October 2, 2026

Five more communities gain a home for postal history

  • New community pages for Albright, Aurora, Brandonville, Bretz, and Bruceton Mills bring each place’s existing timeline history together with its original postal documents and maps. The amount of history differs from place to place; each page makes that research visible while providing a home for future photographs, sources, and community knowledge.
Explore Bruceton Mills

October 2, 2026

Community history and postal records come together

  • Cascade now has a community page bringing together its existing timeline history and five postal-record images. New pages for Cuzzart, Bull Run, and Rohr follow that approach, with introductions grounded in the available sources and clear research qualifications. Postal Records sections also connect the existing Arthurdale, Kingwood, Masontown, Rowlesburg, Terra Alta, and Tunnelton community pages to their original documents. Research and the addition of community material are ongoing.
Explore Cascade’s community page

October 2, 2026

Explore Preston County’s historic post office records

  • The new Post Offices directory brings together 392 National Archives images, with an index checked against the original records by Shirley Radabaugh. Search office names and variants, browse alphabetically, and open individual record pages with maps, applications, location reports, research notes, and links to related PCTT history. A link to the original National Archives collection is included. Find Post Offices beside Communities in the navigation.
  • This is an ongoing research project. Record dates are not necessarily office opening or closing dates, proposed offices are identified through their source descriptions, and unresolved name relationships remain visible. Detailed postmaster histories are being added as original records are transcribed and reviewed.
Explore Post Offices

October 1, 2026

A new way to share what you know

  • Our new contribution form makes it easier to suggest a correction, share a story or memory, recommend a source, or report a website problem. Find it under About → Contribute or follow a contribution link on the site. When opened from a history entry or community page, the form automatically identifies that entry or community. Name and email are optional, and every submission is reviewed before anything is published.
Share something about Preston County

October 1, 2026

Recognizing the people behind the history

  • Our new Contributors & Acknowledgements page recognizes the people and institutions whose photographs, local knowledge, specialized review, and research assistance help shape Preston County Through Time. Find it under About in the navigation.
Contributors & Acknowledgements

October 1, 2026

Explore Preston County in pictures

  • Explore in Pictures brings together photographs, maps, documents, and videos connected to PCTT’s stories. Browse by media type or place, search captions, open larger images, and follow links to the history and original sources. Find it in the main navigation.
Explore in Pictures

October 1, 2026

Find updates by type on What’s New

  • The labels on this page are now clickable. Choose New History, Expanded, Corrected, or New Feature to see matching updates, newest first. Each filter shows how many notices match and highlights the selected type. Labels within individual notices work too, and All updates returns you to the complete list.

October 1, 2026

West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Arthurdale video joins the community page

  • The Arthurdale community page now includes “Arthurdale: A First Lady’s Legacy” in a new Watch & Listen section. Visitors can watch the embedded video alongside the community’s history and follow links to related timeline entries. West Virginia Public Broadcasting is clearly credited as the producer and publisher, with a link to its original YouTube publication.
Watch the Arthurdale video

October 1, 2026

Rowlesburg residents recount their losses in 1985 flood coverage

  • The 1985 Election Day flood entry now includes an embedded NBC News report with Tom Brokaw from November 1985. The approximately 90-second video features Rowlesburg residents describing what they lost, adding firsthand accounts to the written history. NBC News is credited as the original broadcaster, and a note identifies the YouTube upload as unofficial. A separate Watch on YouTube link is also available.
Watch the Rowlesburg flood report

September 30, 2026

Bretz’s company store and railroad in an undated photograph

  • A photograph from the James Brown collection now accompanies the entry on the Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad reaching Bretz. It shows a steam locomotive beside the company store, with people gathered near the tracks and on the porch. The photograph is labeled undated, and the caption makes clear that it is not identified as showing the railroad’s September 1903 arrival.
See the Bretz company-store photograph

September 30, 2026

Watering the beehive coke ovens at Bretz

  • A circa-1968 photograph from the Library of Congress now accompanies the entry on the Bretz coke ovens entering full production in 1907. The Historic American Engineering Record image shows workers watering the ovens, steam rising above the brickwork, and railroad cars alongside. The photograph includes a source credit, a link to the LOC record, and an option to open the full image; its caption identifies it as a later operating view.
See the Bretz coke ovens photograph

September 30, 2026

Oak Park in photographs, newspaper notices, and visitors’ memories

  • Two undated photographs from the James Brown collection now show Oak Park’s entrance sign and large wooden slide. A new “A day at Oak Park” section draws on Peggy Ross’s Summer 1994 Goldenseal interviews, including Charlie Hawkins’s memories of the slide and the Bishoff family’s work at the park.
  • A linked July 22, 1909 Preston County Journal notice documents plans for a Knights of Pythias picnic and M&K excursion service, including a $1 round-trip fare from M&K Junction. Research notes distinguish the planned outing from a confirmed event and explain why the park’s exact opening date remains unresolved.
Explore Oak Park’s photographs and memories

September 30, 2026

Three generations of the B&O bridge across the Cheat at Rowlesburg

  • New linked entries cover the 1851 Fink bridge, the 1870 Bollman bridges, and the circa-1910 Warren truss. Links lead to Smithsonian and Library of Congress archival images. Research notes preserve the photographs’ dating limits and the unresolved relationship between the 1888 washout reports and HAER’s bridge chronology.
Explore the Rowlesburg bridge story

September 28, 2026

A James Brown collection photograph accompanies Roosevelt’s Arthurdale visit

  • The May 27, 1938 commencement entry now includes a photograph identified as Roosevelt’s arrival in Reedsville, courtesy of the James Brown collection. The caption preserves its undated status and describes the connection to the visit as tentative. The entry can be found through both Arthurdale and Reedsville.
See the photograph and graduation entry

September 25, 2026

George Washington reaches James Spurgeon’s place near present-day Bruceton Mills

  • The September 25, 1784 entry now includes Washington’s own account of reaching the Sandy Creek ford at James Spurgeon’s place, with links to the Library of Congress diary PDF and his original handwritten diary. A five-paragraph excerpt can now be read on the page itself, followed by Morton’s record of Spurgeon’s 400 acres on the west side of Big Sandy in 1785.
  • A section of Reading Howell’s 1792 map of Pennsylvania now accompanies the entry. Its caption directs readers to Morgan Town, the Cheat River, Big Sandy and Little Sandy along the lower edge, with a link to the full-size Library of Congress image. The map provides geographic context rather than a confirmed tracing of Washington’s exact route.
  • The entry distinguishes the editors’ approximate location near present-day Bruceton Mills from Washington’s own account. He recorded camping farther along his route that night; the diary does not establish whether he entered the Spurgeon home earlier that day.
Read about Washington at James Spurgeon’s place

September 25, 2026

Cuzzart’s post-office proposal and appointment records

  • A new 1884 entry follows Albert Engle’s application to establish the proposed Cuzzart Post Office. The original application and its hand-drawn site map can now be opened directly from the entry.
  • The January 5, 1886 Cuzzart entry has been revised as Albert Engle’s postmaster appointment. Its exact original ledger page is now available directly on the page, alongside a link to the broader National Archives record group.
  • Together, the two entries distinguish the community’s documented 1884 post-office proposal from Engle’s 1886 appointment. Lulu Ringer’s account that Ashbel Chidester’s wife secured the name Cuzzart is presented as compatible local memory; the application confirms the name reached federal paperwork but does not identify who chose it.
Read Cuzzart’s 1884 post-office proposal

September 24, 2026

Cuzzart’s history in Lulu Ringer’s own hand

  • Cuzzart’s entry now includes Lulu Ringer’s two-page handwritten History of Cuzzart (1980), shared with permission by her granddaughter, Judy Kay Lipscomb. The document preserves community memory of the schoolhouse, Pleasant Valley Church, the post office and store, severe weather, local work, and the arrival of electricity.
  • The entry presents the original pages with a reading aid and clearly distinguishes Ringer’s 1980 local-history account from claims that still need corroboration in official records and contemporary sources.
Read Lulu Ringer’s Cuzzart history

September 24, 2026

Manheim’s cement works: from Buckhorn to Alpha

  • Our first two Manheim entries trace Buckhorn Portland Cement’s June 1903 opening and Alpha Portland Cement’s acquisition of the mill, reported by March 4, 1909. Geological and court records document the plant’s beginnings, financial difficulties, and expansion under Alpha. A March 12, 1903 Preston County Journal notice adds evidence of recruitment before the June opening, offering laborers 15 cents per hour. The March 4, 1909 Journal confirms the Alpha purchase and plans for repairs before restarting; source notes distinguish the reported transfer from the still-unconfirmed reopening date.
  • The Alpha entry includes a link to G. E. Gibson’s historical photograph of the plant in WVU Libraries’ West Virginia History OnView collection, with attribution and a note explaining its uncertain date.
Explore Manheim’s cement history

September 21, 2026

Cuzzart’s federal postal record

  • Added a new entry for Cuzzart, anchored in Albert Engle’s January 5, 1886 appointment as postmaster—the earliest federal postal appointment currently located for the community. The entry distinguishes that documented appointment from Cuzzart’s earlier, still-researched community history.
Explore Cuzzart’s postal record

September 16, 2026

Before the towns: Preston County’s geological history

  • Five new entries explore the ancient seas, sediment layers, coal-forming wetlands, folded rocks, and continuing erosion behind Preston County’s landscape. They connect geological history with familiar places, including Coopers Rock, Chestnut Ridge, and Cheat River Canyon.
  • Each entry includes scientific sources and research notes explaining the approximate dates and what the evidence establishes. Follow links to John Renton’s geology field-trip guide, the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, and research on Cheat River Canyon’s caves.
Explore the five geology entries

September 16, 2026

Cool Springs Park: a Route 50 stopping place

  • Two new entries follow Harlan Castle’s early-1949 business opening near Rowlesburg and the July 13, 1981 fire, followed by the family’s rebuilding. Both draw on Norman Julian’s Spring 1991 Goldenseal article. The opening date refers to Castle’s business; the property’s earlier roadside history remains under research.
  • A dedicated Cool Springs Park place page brings together its roadside beginnings, store and attractions, fire and rebuilding, source citation, and both connected timeline entries. Find the entries under Cool Springs Park or Rowlesburg.
Explore Cool Springs Park

September 14, 2026

Masontown’s beginnings: Hartley Green, a store, and a post office

  • The Masontown entry is now Verified to source. Morton’s county history, page 273, describes the Hartley Green clearing, William Mason’s store built in fall 1855, and the village laid out in 1856 with lots auctioned for $5 to $7 each. A National Archives register also documents William G. Mason’s July 3, 1856 postmaster appointment. The entry links both records and distinguishes their evidence from the town’s official naming history.
Explore Masontown’s beginnings

September 13, 2026

The courthouse fire, Elihu Gregg, and Preston Academy

  • The March 7, 1869 courthouse-fire entry now explains the loss of county records and Preston Academy’s temporary use as a courthouse, with additional court and county-history sources.
  • A separate entry follows Gregg’s 1869 trials at Preston Academy, the appeal that overturned his first conviction, and the second trial. It also documents William G. Brown Sr.’s role in the prosecution.
  • New People profiles for Elihu Gregg and William G. Brown Sr. connect their stories to the timeline and supporting sources, with research notes preserving uncertainties in the evidence.
Explore Gregg’s trials and appeal

September 13, 2026

Three banks, one shared Preston County history

  • Three linked entries trace The Terra Alta Bank’s 1891 charter, Bruceton Bank’s 1903 charter, and their October 11, 2005 combination as Clear Mountain Bank. The new entries follow the institutions across more than a century while keeping the origin of the Clear Mountain name appropriately undocumented.
Explore the three-bank story

September 12, 2026

The 1896 Tunnelton cloudburst

  • A newly added entry documents the severe July 21, 1896 cloudburst that damaged or destroyed a substantial part of Tunnelton and ruined nearby crops and fencing. The contemporary reports mention possible loss of life, but no named victims or confirmed death total has been located; the entry preserves that uncertainty and links both newspapers.
Explore the cloudburst evidence

September 11, 2026

James Clark McGrew and Preston County’s path to statehood

  • A new entry follows Preston County delegate James Clark McGrew into a private April 20, 1861 discussion among western Virginia Unionists, an early step in the political movement that soon gathered at Wheeling and ultimately led to West Virginia statehood.
  • The 1869 congressional entry now focuses on McGrew’s two terms representing West Virginia’s Second District, with an official U.S. House source and a Library of Congress portrait.
  • A new Persons profile connects McGrew’s Preston County business and civic life with his service at the Virginia convention, in West Virginia’s first legislature, and in Congress.
Follow James Clark McGrew’s life

September 10, 2026

Preston County Supply Company at Cascade

  • A new entry traces the company’s 1910 corporate filing and a 1912 newspaper report about filling its larger icehouse for summer. Research Notes distinguish its later name change and legal dissolution from the still-unverified dates of store operations.
Explore the company’s history

September 10, 2026

1951 Air Force B-26 crash near Eglon

  • A community recollection led to the story of a U.S. Air Force bomber that crashed southeast of Aurora on November 16, 1951, killing all three airmen aboard. The new entry also documents the weeklong winter search headquartered at Aurora High School and explains the event’s remembered connection to Brookside.
Explore the crash and search

September 8, 2026

Improved sources for the Bull Run (Jenkinsburg) Bridge

  • Updated the 1912 bridge entry to use West Virginia Land Trust as its main source, with a supporting National Bridge Inventory sheet confirming the construction year and dimensions. Research notes explain the evidence and the construction details still awaiting documentation.
See the bridge and its sources

September 8, 2026

Browse the timeline by source

  • Added Browse by Source: search newspapers, books, government records, archives, and other cited sources; explore their connected entries by place or topic; and open a shareable timeline view filtered to a source. Supporting citations and related photographs are included, with original reference details and research status retained.
Browse the sources

September 8, 2026

Mt. Zion Church in the Rohr community

  • Added an 1883 entry for the establishment of Mt. Zion Church in Rohr, documenting Jacob Cale’s donation of the church ground and the work of Henry Rohr, Edwin Gibson, and young Calvin Rohr during construction. A 1972 Dominion-Post profile preserves an earlier circa-1870 building tradition, while Preston County Deed Book 74, page 259, confirms that Mt. Zion was already standing when Jacob and Clarissa E. Cale formally conveyed the parcel to Evangelical Association trustees in 1893.
Explore Mt. Zion Church’s history

September 8, 2026

Fatal 1918 railroad wreck near Tunnelton

  • Added the April 17, 1918 West Virginia Northern wreck at Marion water station near Tunnelton, which killed engineer Frank Pugh, fireman Patsy Hohman, and N. B. Johns. The entry links to the next day’s Preston County Journal report and includes research notes on what the contemporary account establishes.
Explore the wreck and its sources

September 7, 2026

Neighboring counties in Preston’s story

  • Added the Supreme Court’s 1910 decision upholding the Deakins line along Preston County’s Maryland border, with the original ruling and the later boundary survey.
  • Added Lake Lynn’s 1926 opening on the Cheat River, with engineering records and construction photographs preserved in Preston resident Harry S. Laird’s albums.
  • Expanded the National Road entry to explain how neighboring transportation markets shaped Brandonville and northern Preston, with a link to the historical route map presented by e-WV and credited there to the Library of Congress.
  • Expanded the 1985 flood entry with upstream Tucker County context and links to documentary photographs from Parsons.
Explore these county connections

September 7, 2026

Our Lady of the Pines at Silver Lake near Eglon

  • A new 1958 entry documents Peter and Elizabeth “Beanie” Milkint’s construction of Our Lady of the Pines as a memorial to their parents. It traces the tiny sandstone chapel’s Catholic uses, roadside fame, and carefully qualified “Smallest Church in 48 States” claim, with research notes explaining the date, location, and limits of the claim.
  • The entry links to Carl E. Feather’s complete Spring 2000 Goldenseal article, a corroborating 2001 Washington Post report, and a licensed 2017 photograph of the chapel.
Visit the chapel’s timeline entry

September 7, 2026

Maple Grove Child Rescue Home near Eglon

  • A new May 21, 1921 entry documents the dedication and opening of Maple Grove Child Rescue Home on the former Charlie Jones farm near Eglon, following Church of the Brethren child-welfare efforts begun in 1914.
  • A separate 1940–1942 entry traces the recommendation to close the home and its eventual sale to Clifford Feather, with part of the proceeds later supporting Camp Galilee.
  • The source trail includes the 1945 history of the Church of the Brethren’s First District of West Virginia, two Gospel Messenger volumes, an identified 1936 photograph of the home, and a wider 1939 view.
Explore Maple Grove’s history

September 6, 2026

Aurora’s mills, resorts, artists, preservation, and life along Route 50

  • Thirteen new entries strengthen Aurora’s timeline, beginning with John Stough’s small Wolf Creek mill in 1790 and following the construction and 1841 opening of Red Horse Tavern along the Northwestern Turnpike.
  • Aurora’s development as a mountain resort is now represented by James H. Shaffer’s 1872 summer hotel, Wilmer P. Vale’s development of Brookside Resort beginning in 1882, and John A. Lantz’s large resort hotel built in 1886.
  • Later entries document Branson Haas’s 1922 purchase of Brookside Woods, Mountain Top Garage’s 1940 wrecker-service authority, Haas’s 1942 sale of 118.5 forested acres to the state for Cathedral State Park, and the Brookside Historic District’s 2013 addition to the National Register.
  • Three entries add Aurora’s overlooked art history: the founding of the Youghiogheny Forest Colony in 1929–1930, Lewis Stemple’s decades of painting rural Preston County, and the Aurora artist’s preparation of the 1973 National Register nomination for Red Horse Tavern.
Explore Aurora’s timeline

September 5, 2026

Masontown’s 1918 school fire and rebuilding campaign

  • Two contemporary newspaper reports now document the January 3, 1918 fire that destroyed Masontown’s twelve-room high school and the community meeting three days later that raised approximately $17,000 toward rebuilding it.
  • The existing 1918 Masontown school entry now identifies the three-story building as a replacement for the school constructed in 1914, rather than implying that high-school education at Masontown began in 1918.
Follow the fire and rebuilding

September 5, 2026

A 1916 construction notice for Bull Run School

  • A newly added August 3, 1916 entry documents the Valley District Board of Education’s call for bids to construct a one-room frame school building near the Bull Run store. The entry distinguishes the documented construction plan from the school’s still-unconfirmed completion and opening dates.
See the Bull Run School notice

September 5, 2026

Education becomes its own timeline topic

  • Education now has its own topic filter, making Preston County’s schools, school districts, and major education decisions easier to explore separately from religion and social institutions.
Browse education history

September 5, 2026

Preston County school buildings and the 1977 regional reorganization

  • Three new entries trace the buildings later associated with Preston County’s regional high schools: Masontown’s replacement high school in 1918, Bruceton High School’s new building in 1922–1923, and Terra Alta High School in 1925.
  • A 1977 entry separates building history from school identity, documenting the creation of Central Preston, East Preston and West Preston high schools from older community schools and buildings.
Explore the school chronology

September 5, 2026

Harriet B. Jones and the founding of Hopemont

  • Two new entries follow Terra Alta-raised Dr. Harriet B. Jones from the beginning of her medical practice in Wheeling in September 1885 to her election to the West Virginia House of Delegates in November 1924.
  • The 1911 tuberculosis-sanitarium authorization entry now connects Jones’s work with the Anti-Tuberculosis League to the selection of her brother-in-law W. T. White’s farm near Terra Alta. Its source trail includes the November 11, 1911 conveyance recorded in Preston County Deed Book 131, page 504.
  • The 1913 Hopemont entry now documents construction of three cottages with space for 60 patients instead of repeating that the sanitarium was established that year.
Explore Jones and Hopemont

September 5, 2026

Research-status guidance and filtering

  • An expandable guide above the timeline now explains all four research-status labels: Verified, Verified to source, Captured · not verified, and Needs verification.
  • A new Research status filter lets visitors build a timeline view containing only entries at a selected level of review. Shared links preserve the selection.
Use the research-status guide

September 4, 2026

Monongalia County and Preston County’s earlier jurisdiction

  • An October 7, 1776 entry records Virginia’s division of the District of West Augusta and the creation of Monongalia County, which governed much of the future Preston County area until Preston was created in 1818.
Explore the 1776 county entry

September 4, 2026

Four Fort Pitt deserters and an early camp near Aurora

  • A 1761 entry follows William Childers, Joseph Linsey—also spelled Lindsey—and brothers John and Samuel Pringle from Fort Pitt into the Youghiogheny headwater glades, where early county histories place their camp near present-day Aurora.
  • The entry explains that an older description of the men as the county’s “second white men” meant the next documented Euro-American group after the Eckerlins—not the second individuals—and identifies the story as a later account rooted largely in recollection and local tradition.
Explore the deserters’ story

September 4, 2026

The Eckerlin brothers and the early settlement at Dunkard Bottom

  • A circa 1754 entry introduces Samuel, Israel, and Gabriel Eckerlin and their religious settlement at Dunkard Bottom on the Cheat River near present-day Camp Dawson.
  • A fall 1757 entry records the attack that ended the settlement and the capture of Israel and Gabriel during the French and Indian War.
  • The entries explain why older Preston County accounts and the roadside marker name “Thomas Eckarly” or “Thomas Echarlin,” while modern research based on Ephrata and colonial records identifies the leading brother as Samuel Eckerlin.
  • They also distinguish the documented capture of Israel and Gabriel from the older claim that the brothers were killed at Dunkard Bottom.
Explore the Eckerlin entries

September 3, 2026

Citizen-led restoration along the Cheat River and Deckers Creek

  • A spring 1994 entry connects the mine-water blowout near Albright with the formation of Friends of the Cheat and the beginning of its citizen-led restoration work.
  • A 1995 entry records the formation of Friends of Deckers Creek and identifies the organization as serving a watershed that spans Preston and Monongalia counties.
  • A June 2016 entry marks the EPA’s documentation of the Cheat River’s recovery after years of acid-mine-drainage treatment, monitoring, and partnership.
Follow the watershed restoration

September 2, 2026

Community history hubs and a fuller Arthurdale chronology

  • Seven community history hubs now bring Kingwood, Rowlesburg, Terra Alta, Masontown, Newburg, Tunnelton, and Arthurdale into focused views with brief introductions, major historical threads, and every connected timeline entry.
  • A new Communities index also links directly to additional places in the timeline and makes clear that a shorter list reflects research still in progress—not a community’s historical importance.
  • Six entries strengthen the timeline’s 1960s coverage: National Natural Landmark designations for Cranesville Swamp and Cathedral State Park, Preston County’s vote for Lyndon Johnson, Hopemont’s transition from tuberculosis sanitarium to state hospital, Kingwood Public Library’s move to its present building, and the end of passenger service at Tunnelton’s depot.
  • A June 1934 entry records the arrival of Arthurdale’s first 50 homesteader families and acknowledges that opposition prevented the integrated community Eleanor Roosevelt wanted.
  • A 1937 entry marks completion of the 165 planned homesteads, including the final 40 stone houses begun during the summer of 1936.
  • The October 1933 land-acquisition entry no longer treats the differing acreage figures for Richard Arthur’s farm and the larger project tract as a single settled measurement.
  • The 1947 entry now distinguishes the sale of all Arthurdale homes—most to their resident homesteaders—from the separate sale or transfer of public land, community buildings, and businesses.
Browse the community histories

August 31, 2026

A daily connection to Preston County’s past

  • On this day in Preston County now highlights a local timeline event when its month and day match today’s date in Preston County, with a direct link to the full entry and its source.
  • The feature uses only reviewed, source-linked entries with an exact date. Broader context events, unreviewed leads, approximate dates, and date ranges are excluded. If several events match, visitors can expand the card to explore the others; if none match, the card stays hidden.
See today’s Preston County history

August 30, 2026

A county introduction, easier sharing and printing, and lifetime views

  • Preston County at a Glance introduces the county’s location, formation, and history, with source links and direct paths into town, industry, and lifetime views.
  • The homepage and A Life in Context now offer matching share-link popups and print-friendly timelines. Printing the unfiltered homepage includes a warning before continuing with the entire timeline.
  • A Life in Context lets visitors enter a known lifespan and see the Preston County and wider-context events that person lived through, including their approximate age at each event.
  • A Life in Context starts with years rather than a name, and its privacy explanation links directly to the FAQ.
  • Visitors can choose a topic, place, keyword, year, decade, around-year window, or custom date range and use Share this timeline view to create a link that reopens the same selections.
  • The shared link also preserves whether wider national and world context is included, making it possible to send a focused research view without asking the recipient to rebuild the filters.

August 29, 2026

CCC and WPA history, Kingwood civic history, major weather events, and clearer source trails

  • Two local Civilian Conservation Corps entries connect Camp Preston near present-day Camp Dawson with the beginning of Coopers Rock State Forest’s development in 1936; each includes a related West Virginia History OnView photograph.
  • Three documented Works Progress Administration entries cover Kingwood’s 1935–1940 concrete sidewalk projects, the WPA-assisted 1937 Preston County highway map, and the Historical Records Survey’s preservation of county records.
  • Three Kingwood entries fill gaps in the county-seat story: the 1869–1870 replacement courthouse, the construction of Kingwood High School in 1922, and the August 25, 1934 dedication of the present courthouse. Related West Virginia History OnView photographs accompany each entry.
  • Seven verified weather events were added, spanning the Great Rowlesburg Flood of 1888 through the Preston County ice storm of 1999.
  • The new entries include Terra Alta’s record-setting January 1977 snowfall, the 1985 Election Day flood, the 1991 derecho, the 1996 snowmelt flood, and the 1998 tornado.
  • The 1996 flood and 1999 ice-storm entries now link directly to the underlying NOAA Storm Data reports instead of a general NOAA page.
  • The 1870 newspaper entry now correctly identifies the Preston County Herald and explains its 1877 name change to the West Virginia Argus; its source trail now includes the Library of Congress and a related 1890 OnView photograph.
  • This What’s New page was added to make recent historical additions, corrections, source improvements, and site features easier to follow.
  • The project explanation, research methods, source information, and About Shirley material were consolidated into a clearer About & FAQ page with collapsible questions.
  • The homepage source explanation now opens only when requested, bringing the timeline controls higher on mobile screens, and a visible last-updated date helps visitors recognize recent work.

August 28, 2026

A wider historical context, a dedicated railroad topic, and early town history

  • National and world context was added for World War I, the 1918 influenza pandemic, women’s suffrage, Prohibition, the Great Depression, World War II, and other events that shaped life in Preston County.
  • A West Virginia temperance and Prohibition sequence now follows the story from organized temperance activity in Rowlesburg through the repeal of the state prohibition amendment in 1934.
  • The 1767 Mason–Dixon survey and three Revolutionary War context entries were added.
  • Early settlement, town-layout, incorporation, and name-change milestones were added or clarified for Aurora, Brandonville, Terra Alta, Masontown, Tunnelton, and other Preston County communities.
  • Railroads became a separate topic with 37 entries, making the county’s railroad history easier to explore without mixing it into the broader transportation category.
  • A wider-context option now helps visitors place Preston County events beside important state, national, and world events.
  • Four shortened railroad headings were restored to their full titles, and an unrelated Romney Short Mountain Railroad entry was removed.
  • A larger set of imported headings was cleaned up for clearer public display without changing the underlying historical information.

August 27, 2026

Railroad engineering, Terra Alta banking history, photographs, and methodology

  • Entries were added for the original Kingwood Tunnel, the Tray Run Viaduct near Rowlesburg, and the closing of Oak Park.
  • Four entries now trace the Terra Alta Bank from its 1891 charter through its move from the historic downtown building in 1991.
  • A related historical photograph was added to the Hopemont hospital history.
  • The How This Was Made page was strengthened to explain more clearly that AI assists with research organization and presentation while sources, verification, corrections, and editorial judgment remain human-led.

Keep exploring

Every addition opens another door

Use the timeline's date, topic, place, and keyword controls to find the newly added history—or follow a source link and continue the research for yourself.

Explore the timeline