Kin & Coal presents

Preston County History Timeline - Prototype

Project updates

What's new in the timeline

The Preston County History Timeline 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.

New HistoryExpandedCorrectedNew Feature

August 29, 2026

Latest

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

New History
  • 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.
Corrected
  • 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.
New Feature
  • This What’s New page was added to make recent historical additions, corrections, source improvements, and site features easier to follow.

August 28, 2026

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

New 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.
New Feature
  • 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.
Corrected
  • 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

New History
  • 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.
Expanded
  • A related historical photograph was added to the Hopemont hospital history.
New Feature
  • 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