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| West Virginia Archives and History | |
|---|---|
| Name | West Virginia Archives and History |
| Formed | 1905 |
| Jurisdiction | West Virginia |
| Headquarters | Charleston, West Virginia |
| Chief1 position | State Archivist |
| Parent agency | West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History |
West Virginia Archives and History The West Virginia Archives and History unit preserves and provides access to primary source records management and historical materials relating to the state of West Virginia, holding manuscripts, rare books, maps, photographs, and audiovisual collections that document events from the American Revolutionary War era through the contemporary period. Staff coordinate with state institutions such as the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, the West Virginia State Museum, and the West Virginia Library Commission, and collaborate with regional repositories including the Library of Virginia, the Ohio History Connection, the Maryland State Archives, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Library of Congress.
Established in the early 20th century, the agency traces roots to efforts by Governor William E. Glasscock and legislative acts in 1905 that sought to centralize records after statehood controversies stemming from the American Civil War. Early directors consulted with archivists from the New York State Archives, the Massachusetts Archives, and the Pennsylvania State Archives to adopt standards from the Society of American Archivists. During the 1930s the institution benefited from programs like the Works Progress Administration and collections expanded with donations from families associated with the Hatfield–McCoy feud, veterans of the Spanish–American War, and miners involved in the Battle of Blair Mountain. Cold War-era transfers included records related to the Manhattan Project operations in the region and Cold War civil defense plans tied to Fort Ashby and other installations.
Holdings encompass state government records, judicial papers, legislative journals including those of the West Virginia Legislature, military service files from the Union Army and Confederate States Army veterans domiciled in the state, and business archives from firms like the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and coal companies connected to the United Mine Workers of America and the West Virginia Coal Association. The manuscript collections feature correspondence from political figures such as Francis H. Pierpont, Arthur I. Boreman, Cecil H. Underwood, Jay Rockefeller, and Shelley Moore Capito; industrial records from companies like Pittsburgh Coal Company; and cultural materials tied to authors including Pearl S. Buck and musicians linked to the Appalachian dulcimer tradition. Cartographic holdings include maps from the U.S. Geological Survey, route maps of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and mining plats from the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 era. Audiovisual archives include film reels of West Virginia State Fair events, oral histories with participants in the Battle of Matewan, and radio broadcasts archived from stations like WBOY and WOWK-TV.
The main facility is situated in Charleston, West Virginia adjacent to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge-related exhibits and near the Kanawha River corridor, with satellite materials housed in regional repositories linked to campuses such as West Virginia University, Marshall University, Fairmont State University, Davis & Elkins College, and the Bethany College archives. Conservation labs collaborate with specialists at the National Archives Building and use standards from the American Institute for Conservation; climate-controlled stacks preserve bound volumes, maps, and metal-based photographic media such as those produced by Mathew Brady-style studios and Appalachian photographers associated with the Farm Security Administration project.
Public services include reference assistance for genealogists researching families tied to Appalachian coalfields, veterans researching service in conflicts from the Mexican–American War through the post-Cold War era, and legal researchers tracing land grants issued under the Northwest Ordinance-era jurisprudence transformed by West Virginia state statutes. Education programs partner with the West Virginia Department of Education to develop curricula on the Civil Rights Movement in West Virginia, labor history linked to the Coal Wars, and primary-source workshops used by teachers at institutions like Greenbrier East High School and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Outreach includes traveling exhibits to venues such as the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia and presentations at conferences of the Society of American Archivists and the National Council on Public History.
Researchers may access finding aids and digitized materials that include scanned legislative journals, photographic collections, and oral history transcripts produced in partnership with the Digital Public Library of America and the HathiTrust Digital Library. Digitization projects prioritize fragile collections like Civil War pension files, mining safety reports tied to the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, and early 20th-century newspapers such as the Charleston Daily Mail and Wheeling Intelligencer. The archives employ cataloging standards drawn from the Library of Congress Subject Headings and coordinate metadata interoperability with regional initiatives like the MountainWest Digital Library.
Administratively housed within the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, oversight involves the state archivist and advisory boards with appointees from the West Virginia State Legislature, academic representatives from West Virginia University Research Corporation, and liaisons to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding sources include state appropriations approved by the West Virginia Legislature, grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, project support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and private philanthropy from foundations such as the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and corporate sponsors tied to regional corporations like Massey Energy (historical donors) and Mountain State Educational Television partnerships.
Major initiatives include curated exhibits on the Battle of Blair Mountain labor conflicts, a centennial exhibition on statehood celebrating events around June 20 associated with the admission of West Virginia, digitization of the E. V. White photographic corpus, collaborative oral history projects with the United Mine Workers of America archives, and temporary exhibits displayed at the West Virginia State Capitol and the Culture Center gallery. Special projects have documented responses to the Great Flood of 1937 in the Ohio River Valley, preserved records from the Greenbrier Resort related to Cold War continuity plans, and assembled family papers of pioneering figures such as Felix Stump and Anna Jarvis-era correspondence.
Category:Archives in the United States Category:Libraries in West Virginia