By Allen Hamrick
June 20th, 1863 – finally a new state those at the time could call home, a place where fresh air was free and mountains ran as wild as the animals that inhabited them. All a person had to do to live here was to be stronger than the mountains, a task that few could handle. The new state was majestic and rugged, completely unhinged by progress, and to live here was both a gift and an opportunity to create a life of your own without intervention…but it was hard living. 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. Sometimes, through negotiating, treaties were made and then broke by greedy folks who wanted all the resources that the mountains had to offer. To achieve that, the Natives 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 that difficulty the state rose from ashes and became one of the greatest suppliers of coal and timber in the country. Even that had its difficulties with unsafe mines and brutal work in the timber fields. Since then, times have flourished as well as diminished over the years, but the state stays the same. Towns have boomed and become ghost towns as industry came and went, but the people moved on and forged lives for themselves regardless of the situation.
Now we live in the hills and valleys of some of the most spectacular scenery east of the Mississippi. These hills and valleys allow some of the best views in the world, and they are covered with a blanket of lush green forest. The valleys are littered with streams that have world class fishing and boating opportunities. People from all over travel great distances to camp, hike, hunt, fish, bike, sight see, stargaze, eat and shop in this state because the people here have always been unique.
The story of our rich history is like a living monologue of wonder and imagination. West Virginia’s history remains vivid with the idea that in some ways we can be a part of those who have walked these hills before us. We owe it to ourselves to remember; else our ancestors’ efforts were in vain. Once someone travels to this state they never forget and continue to return to its drawing power. Unfortunately, history is not taught in schools to the degree it once was. The importance is not as prevalent with those that govern the state as can be seen in many counties who struggle with staying afloat. Our county, as with others, is used to make money with the natural resources and beauty and yet all of history dwindles like melting snow.
Our small county of Clay, like other counties, has yielded a great deal of resources of coal, timber and gas all in the name of progress; money for our state and jobs for our people. For the good of the generations on the rise, we now embark on preserving our great state so that the generations of the past can still teach the generations of the future. Our state is strong because we stand together and that alone is the only way we move forward. If we let it fall into the pages of a book that is never opened and take down all the buildings that were once full of life, then we lose and should be called Western Virginia. Our county and state could have been among the richest in history as well as progress, but businesses come in, they take then leave.
This state we live in, almost heaven West Virginia, is a great place. She inspires creativity and an insatiable desire for adventure, one just 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 162 years. Her story continues to be told over time whether we are here or not, so leave your mark in the state, create your own story, and take a journey. This is your right of passage; you are a West Virginian after all.
