By Allen Hamrick
June 20th, 1863, – the date that the borders to split Virginia into two very different states was recorded into the annals of history. Through the labor pains of a nation engulfed in internal warfare during the War Between the States, the newly born state that we now call home emerged. Here the air was always fresh and free, and mountains ran as wild as the animals that inhabited them. As time moved on, so did progress and the gradual evolving of a state that has changed to meet the needs of her population.
Although not as wild as they once were, the people who established homes here were rugged, full of grit and in want of a way of life that was free where one could go deep in the hollers and nearly escape civilization. The new state was majestic and rugged, progress moved slowly and mountain people adapted. To live here was both a gift and an opportunity to create a life of your own without intervention…but, make no mistake, it was hard living.
While still citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the first pioneers built cabins and forts along rivers and streams and blazed trails through Native American hunting lands often resulting in their untimely deaths. Treaties were made and broken by greedy folks who wanted all the resources that the mountains had to offer. To get that, the Native peoples had to go, and so the wars were on and the genocide of a culture was on the horizon. Those were the darker days of the state, and, though they must be remembered, the state had to move on.
Through bloodshed and adversity, our beloved state rose from ashes and became one of the greatest suppliers of coal and timber in the country. Even that greatness had its difficulties with unsafe mines and brutal working conditions in the timber fields. Since then, times have flourished as well as diminished over the years, but much of the state stays the same. Towns have boomed and then become ghost towns as industry came and went, but the people have adapted and forged lives for themselves regardless of the situation.
West Virginia has some of the most spectacular scenery east of the Mississippi. Our valleys are littered with streams that have world class fishing and boating opportunities, and our hills are a lush green in the spring and summer and spectacular hues of color in the fall. The camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, biking, sightseeing, star gazing, eating and shopping are topnotch because the people here have always been unique. West Virginia’s history remains vivid even today. Everyone who has stepped foot in the tracks of our ancestry has become part of the continuing story of this state, with the idea that in some ways we can be a part of those who have walked these hills before us.
Our small county of Clay, like many other counties, has yielded a great deal of resources of coal, timber and gas all in the name of progress – revenue for our state and employment for our people. For the good of future generations, we now must embark on preserving our great state so that the generations of the past can continue teaching the generations of the future.
This state we live in, Almost Heaven West Virginia, is a great place. She inspires creativity and an insatiable desire to bring out your adventurous side. One simply looks at the horizon of so many hills and gets lost in the infinity of the dreams of exploration. Be proud of your state; she is as old as time itself yet so young at 163 years. Her story continues to be told over time whether we are here or not, so leave your mark, create your own story, and take a journey as often as you can. This is your rite of passage; you are a West Virginian after all.
