North, South, East, or West there is a Main Street or On TRAC community near you! Each of these locations offers a unique small town experience. Never has the phrase ‘So much to do and so much to see’ been more aptly applied. I can only cover a handful of the highlights of these quintessential West Virginia towns, but there’s plenty more of them to explore!
The Charleston East End Main Street website features a list of the funkiest and most popular bars and eateries around. Afterwards, you walk it off on a self-guided tour of the district. Further north, you can drive into Fairmont via the Million Dollar Bridge. Spanning the Monongahela River, this route frames the townscape against the rolling hills. Once in the historic Downtown District, you can enjoy the seamless blend of revival styles ranging from Beaux Arts to Colonial to Italian Renaissance and Neo-Classical Revival. After stopping in Fairmont, continue on scenic Route 250 to Mannington and enjoy the Historic Home Tour or visit the Miniature Railroad Museum. In the Eastern Panhandle, Martinsburg boasts blocks upon blocks of local small businesses, ideal for a day of shopping. Another possibility is a trip to Wheeling and West Virginia’s Independence Hall via the nation’s first roadway, historic U.S. Route 40. Or take a ride around the Potomac Highlands on one of the Mountain Rail Adventures departing from Elkin’s historic rail depot or from nearby Durbin. Another possible outing is to Sutton, where you can step in to history. This town is a part of three trails promoted by the state’s tourism bureau – The Historic Theatre Trail, Civil War Trail, and the Historic New Deal/CCC Trail. All of these trails will be featured in later Excuse for an Excursion postings.
Why just visit either Main Streets or On TRAC communities? These towns are bundled all around the state, and traveling from one town to the next makes for a great day trip! And each of these locations has events scheduled year-round so be sure to look-up upcoming events when planning your visit. So stopping making excuses to stay at home this weekend, instead make an excuse for an excursion! Looking for an engaging and uncomplicated weekend trip around West Virginia? The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia is here to provide you with the simple solution. PAWV’s new blog series, Excuse for an Excursion, is filled with suggestions of easy ways to explore West Virginia’s built heritage and enjoy successful preservation efforts around the state.
Each month there will be a new theme and suggested itineraries of how to fit in all the fun and culture West Virginia has to offer. The posts cover a wide range of interests – Main Streets communities to historic springs, churches to railroads – there’s something for everyone! So stop justifying reasons to stay home, and make an excuse for an excursion around wild and wonderful West Virginia! Hello everyone, my name is Caitlin Hucik and I am serving with PreserveWV Americorps at Cockayne Farmstead in Glen Dale, WV. My family roots lie in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania. I am lucky enough to have been raised in two communities with rich history-Weirton, WV and Windber, PA. From a very early age, I have been exposed to history -the perks of being a teacher’s daughter I suppose. So, working in a museum seems like second nature to me.
I received a Bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master’s degree in public history from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and also spent time studying abroad on Semester at Sea through the University of Virginia. Before moving to the Wheeling area, I worked at numerous museums in Johnstown and Somerset, PA. My passions in life are travel, women’s history, and saving historic places so when I learned about PAWV’s AmeriCorps position I did not hesitate to apply. Being able to return to my home state and share a piece of its history is a best-case scenario. The Cockayne Farmstead, originally called Glendale Farm, is a circa 1850 farm house. The Cockayne family came to West Virginia in the 1790’s and built a prosperous sheep farm by the 1890’s. Their American Marino sheep where sold as far away as Australia and their wool won a bronze medal at the Philadelphia Exposition in 1876. The family was influential locally as well; the Cockayne women were talented musicians and artists while the Cockayne men ran for political office and contributed to the commerce of Marshall County. Their stories combine to create a colorful history, one which I am privileged to learn and share with others. My goals for this year are to build the volunteer base at Cockayne, organize and repair over 12,000 primary documents, and create the first temporary exhibit focusing on the Cockayne women. I am thrilled to be serving at such an interesting site and I look forward to the rest of my year here. This service initiative is administered by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, the statewide grassroots nonprofit dedicated to the support and promotion of historic preservation in the Mountain State. The PreserveWV AmeriCorps members develop and participate in a variety of community projects related to historic resource improvement, historic preservation, heritage tourism development, and nonprofit organizational capacity building. For more information, visit www.pawv.org. PreserveWV AmeriCorps is funded in part by Volunteer West Virginia, the state’s Commission for National and Community Service, and by the Commission for National and Community Service. Purchase one for yourself, and send one as a gift! The cost of the booklet is $10 plus $2.50 for shipping and handling. There are two ways to purchase the booklet:
Join Main Street Morgantown at Barnes & Noble (3000 University Town Centre Dr.) from Friday, December 13 – Sunday, December 15 for the Barnes & Noble Bookfair Supporting Main Street Morgantown. For every customer that mentions Main Street Morgantown’s name prior to making a purchase during these days, Barnes & Noble will donate 20% of the proceeds to MSM.
At 1:00 p.m. this Saturday, December 14th, Main Street Morgantown has arranged for Lynn Stasick, PAWV Statewide Field Services Representative, to host a preservation talk at Barnes & Noble. The talk will give a brief overview of preservation related topics, followed by a Q & A. Lynn has created a list of his favorite preservation books, including A Field Guide to American Houses, Old House Dictionary: An Illustrated Guide to American Domestic Architecture 1600-1940, Historic Preservation: An Introduction to Its History, Principles, and Practices, and Nearby History, Exploring the Past Around You, which will be available for purchase at Barnes & Noble during the event. Lynn works with the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia to provide on-site assistance with needs assessment, redevelopment, sustainability plan creation, funding source identification, and preservation project grant-writing assistance. For more information about Lynn and his preservation activities, please visit PAWV’s website http://www.pawv.org/newhire.htm. MSM, Monongalia Arts Center, Barnes & Noble, and PBS have also partnered to provide an array of other events throughout the three day event. These events will encompass activities focusing on topics including Downtown Abbey, historic preservation, poetry, prose, and a children’s art activity. Main Street Morgantown, a tax exempt not-for-profit organization, is dedicated to the betterment of Morgantown’s Downtown and Wharf Districts through thoughtful revitalization. MSM focuses on creation of a safe and welcoming physical design in the district; active recruitment, retention and promotion of the district; preservation of local history through architecture and design in the district; and achievement of a vibrant and successful business community through partnership with local stakeholders, both public and private. For more information please visit our website or Facebook at http://www.downtownmorgantown.com or http://www.facebook.com/mainstreetmorgantown.
I have experience in digital marketing, event planning, archaeology, volunteer management, copy editing, and web content development. Ultimately, my goal is to pursue a master’s degree in cultural resource management.
I am thrilled to be serving at Main Street Morgantown (MSM), the most decorated Main Street in West Virginia. MSM won the Great American Main Street Award in 1998 and has won over 80 individual, committee and project State awards in the past 23 years. In addition to helping with Small Business Day, Chocolate Lovers’ Day, MedExpress Kids’ Day, Art is Food, Arts Walk, and the many other events MSM hosts in Downtown Morgantown and the Historic Wharf District, I will be dedicating a lot of my time to revamping and marketing the Historic Downtown Morgantown Audio Walking Tour and establishing the Downtown and Historic Wharf Districts as a cultural district. Overall, I can’t wait to learn more about wild and wonderful West Virginia and the beautifully historic town of Morgantown. This service initiative is administered by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, the statewide grassroots nonprofit dedicated to the support and promotion of historic preservation in the Mountain State. The PreserveWV AmeriCorps members develop and participate in a variety of community projects related to historic resource improvement, historic preservation, heritage tourism development, and nonprofit organizational capacity building. For more information, visit www.pawv.org. Preserve WV AmeriCorps is funded in part by Volunteer West Virginia, the state’s Commission for National and Community Service, and by the Commission for National and Community Service. Taking place December 3, 2013 – the Tuesday after Thanksgiving – #GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a national moment around the holidays dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping. PAWV joined #GivingTuesday because we want to celebrate all the nonprofit organizations devoted to bettering our communities, our state, our nation, and our world. We want to recognize the efforts not only of our dedicated staff, AmeriCorps members, and Board of Directors, but also the efforts of all the volunteers and staff working to preserve our heritage and re-use it to improve the places we live. We believe one of the best ways to do this is by joining this national initiative. Seeing an opportunity to channel the generous spirit of the holiday season to inspire action around charitable giving, a group of friends and partners, led by the 92nd Street Y, came together to find ways to promote and celebrate the great American tradition of giving. Thought leaders in philanthropy, social media and grassroots organizing joined with 92nd Street Y to explore what is working in modern philanthropy and how to expand these innovations throughout the philanthropic sector. The concept gained steam, and bybringing together a group of founding partners — including the United Nations Foundation, DonorsChoose.org, Mashable,and Venture Three Capital — a nationwide series of discussions about how to make #GivingTuesday a success is already underway. #GivingTuesday is a counternarrative to Black Friday and Cyber Monday because it reminds us that the spirit of the holiday giving season should be about community and not just consumerism,” said Kathy Calvin, CEO of the UN Foundation. “The most meaningful gift we can give our children, loved ones, friends, and neighbors is the commitment to work together to help build a better world.” For more details about the #GivingTuesday movement, visit the #GivingTuesday website (www.givingtuesday.org)
My name is Malina Suity. I’m a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and it’s becoming a pattern in my life that I just keep leaving and coming back home over and over again. I’ve left this time to serve in Preserve WV AmeriCorps at Main Street Fairmont, to learn how to, and help, preserve and develop some true architectural treasures a little bit further up the Mon than I’m used to. In the past, I left to attend Ohio Wesleyan University and receive a BA in English and Medieval Studies. I came back, left Pittsburgh again to see what life was like in New York City, and came back when I realized it wasn’t for me. I left again to pursue a Master’s degree in Public History at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. And when I came back home again, I thought it was for good. I served in AmeriCorps in Pittsburgh through KEYS Service Corps at Reading is Fundamental Pittsburgh. That opportunity raised my awareness of the crisis in education, but also in our historic neighborhoods, not just in my city, but across the region. And when I finished my term, I decided to join up again, this time with a focus on my passion: history and preservation.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation featured a lengthy article about the progress at McCoy fort.
There are some great photos, and it’s definitely worth a read. Check it out at http://blog.preservationnation.org/2013/11/15/deconstruction-discovery-west-virginia-community-digs-fort-mccoy-colonial-past/#.Uoppi-K-fTp |
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