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West Virginia & Regional History Center facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The West Virginia & Regional History Center (WVRHC) is a special place that keeps important old documents and items. It's the biggest collection of its kind for West Virginia and the nearby Appalachian region. People sometimes call it the "West Virginia Collection" because its name has changed over the years. The WVRHC is part of the WVU Libraries. It holds a huge number of items, including over 36,000 boxes of old papers, 100,000 books, and more than a million photographs. It also has old newspapers, microfilms, recordings of people's stories (called oral histories), films, and folk music. The WVRHC gets many items as gifts. It helps people learn about and save the history and culture of West Virginia and the central Appalachian area.

Discovering West Virginia's Past

The Center started in the 1920s. A history professor at WVU, Charles Ambler, wanted to save West Virginia's historical records. In 1930, the University made space to store these items. The first big collection they received was the "Waitman Willey Papers." Waitman Willey was an early Senator for West Virginia. He was the person who suggested West Virginia become a state on May 29, 1862.

In 1931, Professor Ambler traveled all over West Virginia. He found hundreds of small collections of old papers stored in attics and churches. Many of these were given to the university. This included papers from important political figures like Henry Gassaway Davis, Francis H. Pierpont, and Johnson Newlon Camden.

In 1933, the collection, then called the "Division of Documents," was officially approved by the WVU Board of Governors. In 1934, the West Virginia Legislature said the collection was an official place to keep state government records. The Center grew quickly by adding records from Monongalia and Ohio County, and many city records. It grew even more with the papers of Governor Arthur I. Boreman and other governors. Money from President Franklin Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration helped hire the first assistants. In 1935, the Center hired its first full-time archivist, a person who manages historical records.

Growing the Collection

Through the 1940s and 1950s, the WVRHC kept growing. They added photographs, rare books, magazines, and multimedia items like films. Because they actively looked for new items, the Center grew from 375 collections in the 1930s to over 1,500 by 1970. It doubled again by 1990 and is still growing today as West Virginia's main history reference center.

The WVRHC covers all parts of West Virginia's history. This includes how the state was formed during the American Civil War, how its government developed, and its history of business and industry. Its Civil War collection has many journals from soldiers and personal papers from early politicians. It also has two rare 35-star American Flags. One of these flags hangs at the Center's entrance. Union soldiers raised this flag over Sheperdstown right after West Virginia became the 35th state in 1863.

The WVRHC also has interesting items not directly about West Virginia. These include 600 works and items from science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It also has original old books of William Shakespeare's plays. Another special item is the journal of an officer from the all African American 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, which fought in the Civil War.

Special Collections

The WVRHC has many unique collections. Here are a few examples:

West Virginia History Online

Since 2004, the West Virginia and Regional History Center has been working to make its collections available online. This is called a digitization project. By 2017, they had put over 52,000 historical photographs online. The Center has over a million photographs in total, and more are added digitally every day. This online collection is the largest group of West Virginia and Appalachian photographs you can find on the internet. More than half a million people visit the WVRHC website each year to see them!

Celebrating West Virginia Day

The West Virginia and Regional History Center takes part in the yearly West Virginia Day event. This event celebrates West Virginia's birthday. The WVRHC helps host a party and shows off different parts of its collection during this time. The theme changes every year. Depending on the collection, the celebration might include speakers, discussions, book signings, readings, and special viewings of items.

Images for kids

  • WVRHClogo

    The logo for the West Virginia & Regional History Center