(photo available below)
For 65 years, travelers in West Virginia have enjoyed the hundreds of historical markers along the state’s highways and byways. Now, the information from these markers is available in a new book, “Marking Our Past: West Virginia’s Historical Highway Markers,” published this month by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.
The book makes all the state’s prehistoric, historic, scenic and geological highway marker inscriptions and locations available in a readily accessible format. With complete inscriptions arranged alphabetically by county, more than 130 historical photographs, a brief history of the state’s marker program, and a comprehensive index, the 224-page publication is the most complete collection to date of these popular reminders of West Virginia’s rich past. The retail price of the softcover book is $12.95.
In addition to bookstores around the state, the book is available at the Cultural Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling and Grave Creek Mound Historic Site in Moundsville. For more information or to order by mail, call (304) 558-0230. The price for mail orders, including tax and postage, is $15 per book.
The West Virginia State Historical Highway Marker Program is a project of the Department of Arts, Culture and History’s Archives and History Section. Requests for new markers are presented for consideration to the West Virginia Archives and History Commission.
Publication of the book was funded in part from the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Enhancement program administered by the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways. Proceeds from the sale of “Marking Our Past” will benefit the marker program, which has been funded primarily through private donations since the 1980s. A recent survey found nearly one-third of the state’s markers were either missing or in need of repair.
The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Visit the Division’s web site at www.wvculture.org for more information. The Division is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
- 30 -
5"x7" JPG image (approx 300K). Left-click to open in browser, right-click to save to computer
