Howesville, West Virginia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Howesville
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 Howesville
Location in West Virginia
Howesville
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Preston |
| Elevation | 2,218 ft (676 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1540535 |
Howesville is a small, quiet place in Preston County, West Virginia, United States. It is an "unincorporated community," which means it doesn't have its own local government like a city or town. Instead, it's part of the larger county. Howesville is also known as a historic "coal town," meaning it grew because of coal mining nearby. It sits high up, about 2,218 feet (676 meters) above sea level.
Howesville's Story
Howesville got its name from a man named James D. Howe. He opened a store there in the 1860s. Many of the first people who settled and built up the community were from Germany.
St. Joseph's Church and Cemetery
In Howesville, you can find St. Joseph's Cemetery and a Catholic Church. The first church building was put up in the 1840s. Later, a new church was built to replace it. Nicholas Borgman, who helped build the first church, was the very first person buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery. This happened in January 1847, and his gravestone is still there today.
The Great Meteorite Hoax of 1920
In 1920, a fake news story, called a hoax, spread across major newspapers in the United States. The story claimed that on November 22, 1920, people in Howesville were very scared when a large meteor supposedly fell there.
The news dispatch said that the meteor hit the main part of Howesville, near the train station. It supposedly exploded as it buried itself in the ground. The loud blast was heard for miles around. The story even claimed that a car parked near the train station was damaged, and the people inside were dazed but not hurt. The fake report also mentioned that because Howesville had no telephones, it was hard to get more details about the meteor that night. Luckily, it was all just a made-up story!
