The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) recognized the latest inductees of the Golden Horseshoe Society on Tuesday, June 11 at the West Virginia Culture Center. This year, 227 8th graders participated in a total of three ceremonies as they were knighted into West Virginia history.
Abigail Grandon, James Gunter, and Gabriel Shamblin, all of Clay Middle School, were knighted at the ceremony.
This year marks the 308th anniversary of the Golden Horseshoe legacy, and it remains the longest-running program of its kind in the country with the annual state recognitions dating back to 1931. In 1716 Governor of the Virginia Colony Alexander Spotswood organized and recognized a delegation of men who explored the land west of the Allegheny Mountains (most of which is now West Virginia). He presented each with a small golden horseshoe to commemorate their bravery in crossing the mountain.
