Legend has it that Canaan Valley gets its name from an early fur trader who arrived in the valley in the 1700s and declared “Behold, the land of Canaan”, comparing the area to the biblical promised land. Many early visitors had the opposite opinion, however, in 1853, Harper’s Monthly Magazine described the area as “filled […]
The Fish and Wildlife Service recently protected critical habitat for four species of Endangered mussels. Most of us assume that getting a species listed as Endangered means it will automatically be protected, but in reality it can take years for the agency to designate and protect critical habitat. In the case of these species, it […]
Walk along the main street in Thomas, WV and you will no doubt be distracted by the unique art that decorates the windows of the many galleries that call Front Street home. If you pause in front of Bloom (formerly Lamplight), artist Rosalie Haizlett’s illustrated map of Blackwater Falls State Park might draw you in, […]
We are excited to announce a major public workshop on “”Climate Change and Public Health: Addressing the Growing Crisis,” on September 21st, 2019, in Morgantown, West Virginia. Learn more and RSVP here to reserve your place! Accelerating global warming and climate change are affecting every facet of human life and well-being. Economic, physical, and mental injuries from […]
Friends of Blackwater climate consultant and WV3C Director, Logan Thorne, was recently featured in a story by Morgantown station WBOY about addressing climate change in the Mountain State. Read the entire story at: https://www.wboy.com/news/addressing-climate-change-in-west-virginia/ Special thank you to Abigail Lawhead from WBOY for putting this together!
Across the street from our office sits the former Davis Coal and Coke Company engineering building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its important role in the history of industry in the area. When the coal industry was booming, miners from Thomas, Douglas, and other surrounding towns would have […]
Environmental justice and activism takes all sorts of different forms. Images of picketing and protesting and dramatic demonstrations come to mind, but realistically, environmental justice in Tucker County looks a lot more like restoring mine-scarred land and respecting our history, while still learning from past environmental mistakes. Experience Learning, an education center based out of […]
The automated Mayfly sensors purchased with grants from The North Face® Explore Grant and the WV Department of Environmental Protection have been successfully programmed and assembled. Thanks to Northern Garret High School’s AP Biology class and Alderson Broaddus University’s hydrology and environmental club students, these sensors are ready to be deployed out into the field […]
On Sunday, July 7, 2019, Friends of Blackwater was excited to present a “world premiere” performance of a dramatic trial re-enactment, at Cottrill’s Opera House on Front Street in Thomas, West Virginia. The new play, by FOB Board member Tom Rodd and Priscilla Rodd, tells the story of a famous 1897 murder trial in the […]
The name Cacapon is thought to be derived from a Shawnee word meaning “medicine waters”, which referred to the Cacapon River. The area that became Cacapon was logged and converted to small farms early in its history, but by the early 1930s, these “truck farms” were no longer economically viable and families were selling the […]
