The stories and historic artifacts of the Blackwater region are a colorful and inspiring part of today’s vibrant culture.
Friends of Blackwater is installing interpretive signs along the Blackwater Canyon rail grade, explaining historical structures associated with the railroad, the coal and coke industry, and the communities of the Canyon.
We also operate the J.R. Clifford Project, which since 2004 has celebrated the history of civil rights in West Virginia by highlighting local heroes.
To get more details about our history projects or see the latest signs, click the button below.
On Saturday, August 15th at 10 a.m., we will be cleaning up the iconic coke ovens along the Blackwater Rail Trail to Douglas Falls. These ovens have interpretive signs, benches, and a bike rack, but have become so overgrown with vegetation that threatens to cover them up and weaken the structural integrity of these historic […]
Hello, Friends of Blackwater supporters. My name is Alicia Erjavec and I have been raised in West Virginia almost my entire life. I grew up in Clarksburg and graduated from Robert C. Byrd High School in 2015. I also graduated from Fairmont State University this past December with a degree in English Literature and a […]
Thanks to everyone who joined us for “Shootout at the Depot” – How a 19th Century Tucker County Gunfight Became a National News Sensation, and Pitted Neighbor Against Neighbor! Between Zoom registrants and Facebook attendees, we had over 50 people attend the live stream of this event, and we’re excited to share a recording of […]
Thanks to everyone who joined us for this wonderful webinar with Dr. Hal Gorby from WVU! Between Zoom attendees and people streaming via Facebook, we had a live audience of over 40 people join us for the event. If you weren’t able to attend, don’t worry – you can watch a recorded version of the […]
As famous in her heyday as any contemporary author today, Gene Stratton-Porter was a celebrated naturalist, author, photographer, and film producer. Born in Indiana in 1863, she grew up with a love of nature, especially birds, and spent her childhood roaming farms and forests, learning about their unique habitats and capturing the beauty of the […]
Our Heritage Signage Open House in Parsons, WV was a success! Thank you to all that attended this reception on Monday, March 9th, to view the newly hung miniature copies of our Blackwater Rail Trail signs in Piccolo Paula’s. Joe Dumire gave a great lecture about the local railroad industry and how it changed through […]
Have you seen the historic signs that FOB installed from Thomas to Douglas along the Blackwater Rail Trail? They cover topics from coal mining to railroad operation through the Blackwater Canyon, to historic local businesses and more. Friends of Blackwater is hosting an open house and reception in Parsons, WV on March 9th from 5-7 […]
The National Bank of Davis building is nominated to the National Register. The application will be reviewed by the WV Dept. of Arts, Culture & History on February 20. If that body approves the nomination then it goes on for federal approval. The required public meeting for comment will be held on January 13 at […]
Congratulations to Joe Dumire for receiving the Friends of Blackwater Volunteer of the Year award! Joe has been a tremendous help with the heritage preservation work that FOB does in Tucker County. A Thomas resident, Joe knows the ins and outs of this town’s local history and worked tirelessly to help FOB curate and install […]
Friends of Blackwater is looking to hire a new team member focused on Tucker County, regional history, 20th Century industry, and cultural heritage. If you’re interested in these topics, we want to hear from you! This Heritage VISTA Member position will be focused on studying and creating materials related to the industrial and cultural history […]
We’d like to share a huge shout out to the community members who showed up to our Blackwater Rail Trail Historic Sign tour on October 26th. This tour was led by speaker, and sign collaborator, David Vago who provided animated narration and expansion on the signs and the histories they tell. Mr. Vago is a […]
We are glad to announce that our friends at the West Virginia Geological Survey have been amazing by helping us archive and re-home a number of the engineering and industrial artifacts found inside the Engineering Building. The Engineering Building has long been the temporary turned semi-permanent home of a large number of core drilling samples, […]
