Harrison County West Virginia Historical Society

Harrison County West Virginia Historical Society The purpose of the Harrison County West Virginia Historical Society, Inc. is to preserve, promote, a
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is to preserve, promote, and develop the objects, properties, and sites related to the history and culture of Harrison County, West Virginia.

I have a picture of the Unidis High School football team of West Milford. My grandmother, Golda Coffindaffer Dean, went ...
10/22/2025

I have a picture of the Unidis High School football team of West Milford. My grandmother, Golda Coffindaffer Dean, went to school there with her sister, Orpha, and her two brothers, George and Walter. I have the names of people in this picture. I am not sure of the year but in 1926 Coach Bond was not on the faculty.

We have the 1923 and 1926 yearbooks at the historical society. This picture I am posting had to be after 1926. Does anyone else have early Unidis High school items? So many of our high schools from that time no longer exist.

People in the photo:
Coach Paul Bond
Standing: Aubrey Parks? Burnside?, Claude Pfow, Charrel Pierce, Excel Bartlett, George Coffindaffer, Robert West, Arthur Heston, Paul Gill
Sitting: Darrell McConley, Ralph Morris, Walter Coffindaffer, Bill Warder, Emory Stout.

I any of the names need correction feel free to let us know. Feel free to share your memories concerning Unidis High School as well.

We have had to move 3 times in the last few years. Most recently, the Amy Roberts Vance House was packed up so it could ...
10/02/2025

We have had to move 3 times in the last few years. Most recently, the Amy Roberts Vance House was packed up so it could be scanned to make a structural assessment.
These moves have left the office space at the Harrison County Board of Education a bit chaotic. So for now, we box and label.
Today I found the labels my-sharp-eyed sister, Carla (Beverly) Costa, saved from oblivion. These labels were being tossed by a neighbor during clean-up day.
Someone had taken the time to cut the labels out of discarded clothing. Perhaps they were looking to make something of them. Perhaps a postage stamp quilt?
Most of these labels are from local stores, most of them no longer in business. Looking through them is like taking a walk downtown decades ago. To most these are trash, but to us they are a small treasure.

Recently, we received a donation from Cathy Bellotte. I am sharing one of the photos. Noted on the back is a listing of ...
09/27/2025

Recently, we received a donation from Cathy Bellotte. I am sharing one of the photos. Noted on the back is a listing of names. They are Pete Perri, Oscar, Jeanne, and Sam Bellotte. I assume Oscar and Jeanne are also members of the Bellotte family. Does anyone out there remember them?

We have been trying to organize our yearbooks. I found one for the Monticola yearbook for 1929 which is for WVU. Not rea...
09/07/2025

We have been trying to organize our yearbooks. I found one for the Monticola yearbook for 1929 which is for WVU. Not really Harrison County but as I looked through it, I found pictures of Anna Virginia Rector. She graduated in 1929 from WVU and this was her yearbook.
I found an Anna Virginia Rector Murphy in find a grave. It shows her birth as 1/26/1907 and death February 1986 aged 79. She was buried in the Odd Fellows Cemetery. I believe this is the person whose yearbook we now have. If so, she lived her life in Harrison County. Does anyone remember her? Was she a family member?

Yearbooks are popular items for people looking for family members Before you throw an old yearbook away think of us at The Harrison County WV Historical Society or at the Clarksburg History Museum.

As an example, I found pictures of my grandmother and great uncles in the Unidas high school yearbooks from the 1920s. Her pictures as a young girl in her basketball uniform and the activities she was involved in were priceless.

09/07/2025

Update on website development.

We have been working on creating a new website since Weebly was acquired by Square. If you try to access the old website it will take you to our new one.
The new page will be easier, hcwvhs.org. If you type in either the old or the new you will come to the new page. The new site has the added SSL certificate for security.
Understand that we are basically using a rough draft with parts of it just being place holders. There will be a bit of a learning curve for us. Setup is almost complete for the basics.
When the content is updated, we will let you know. Thanks for your patience.

04/28/2025

We are alarmed that in the past two days the AmeriCorps agency has sent home all AmeriCorps NCCC members and placed approximately 85% of its federal staff on paid administrative leave. This sudden freeze of AmeriCorps agency staff and the removal of NCCC members from service will have a detrimental impact on AmeriCorps members, volunteers, and our states and communities they serve.

Read our full statement: https://bit.ly/42zldGb

04/28/2025

WYK has finished the second assessment on the Amy-Goff-Vance House. There is one more assessment we wish to have completed in the near future. Following that, we will have to develop an approach to making needed repairs. As many of you may be aware, grant opportunities used in the past are no longer there. We will persevere nevertheless. We will continue to provide updates.

I have had a family member reach out to us concerning Shirley Lipscomb. She was married to Bill Strickengloss and was ki...
03/31/2025

I have had a family member reach out to us concerning Shirley Lipscomb. She was married to Bill Strickengloss and was killed in an automobile accident on 5/1/1987. Now Bill has died and his surviving wife would like to return items to the family of Shirley Lipscomb. I have been given permission to share the information. I will share her birth certificate showing her birthplace as Clarksburg and the names of her parents. Please respond to [email protected] and I will forward to the family.

Just received notice of this event. Please make a note and try to attend. It sounds very interesting.
02/27/2025

Just received notice of this event. Please make a note and try to attend. It sounds very interesting.

11/09/2024

It has been some time since we were able to send a newsletter. We no longer have a director. That also translated in to not having someone to work one on one with an Americorps Member.
Fortunately, WYK donated a BizHub printer that would allow us print large jobs. The previously donated one needed expensive repairs. The newer printer had to be configured for our use.
So, our office staff has been reduced and skills those people had were lost.
Fortunately, Beth Gain, Americorps Member at the Clarksburg History Museum, helped me in the creation of a Winter 2024 WAG* issue. Members of HCWVHS helped with the planning and presentation of the John W. Davis event this summer. We are now looking to 2026 for the US 250th celebration. Our newsletter going forward will therefore have news from both organizations.
People on our mailing list and the mailing list at the Clarksburg History Museum will have a newsletter sent out this week. In celebration of our newsletter's resumption, we are sending out a color edition! Yes, we are burning through printer ink, but we wish to thank you for your patience over the past couple of years.
If your previously received a newsletter and do not get one, email us at [email protected] and update your information.

Sherri Heavner

I just wanted to share this information for the presentation this evening. Hopefully some can attend.
10/08/2024

I just wanted to share this information for the presentation this evening. Hopefully some can attend.

08/23/2024

The historical society has been directing their efforts toward assessments of the Stealey-Goff-Vance House. The goal is to stabilize and correct the weakened center portion of the building.

WYK Associates has arranged for CADNETICS to perform 3D Laser Scanning of the interior and exterior as well as photography using 3D Paintcloud. This part of the project will be a valuable aid to the next work scheduled. Total cost of this phase was $8282, partially covered by donation.

The next phase comprises an Architectural Assessment and Structural Evaluation. The total cost for those services is $15,950.

We wish to thank the City of Clarksburg and the Harrison County Commission for a grant of $5000 each toward that amount. That represents roughly 2/3rds of that amount covered. We have always enjoyed the support of our community in our efforts and are grateful.

This leaves us covering $5,950. If you wish to support us in this endeavor you can earmark any donation toward that project.

The end goal is the determine the feasibility of making the house a stable and safe environment. Once work is completed we envision this space being dedicated to community use for small events and education as needed.

This is a long term project and we ask for your patience. We are already more than a year into this effort. If you wish to be of assistance in the future you can email us at [email protected]. There are many ways our mission can be supported and we welcome volunteers.

Address

445 West Main Street, Suite 150
Clarksburg, WV
26301

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+13047094902

Website

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