No special access restriction applies.
The Writers Project was created in 1935 as part of the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). Its purpose was to provide employment for historians, teachers, librarians, writers, and others with qualified skills. The field of assignment for those hired was usually confined to the locality of a writer's residence, although some assignments were for statewide subjects.
The objective of the project was to produce a series of sectional guide books under the name "The American Guide" focusing on the history, geography, and cultural and economic resources of the United States. Other topics of interest developed, however, and were added to the Project, such as urban and rural folklore, first person narratives or life histories, studies of the cultures of ethnic groups, and authentic narratives of ex-slaves.
The Writers Project became a casualty of World War II. The monies needed to meet the demands for defense were drained from the Writers Project, ending the program in 1942.
archives and manuscripts; pamphlets; photographs / postcards / prints / etc.
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Writers' Program in West Virginia Records, A&M 0454, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
183, 454, 527
Papers created by the Writers' Program in West Virginia (ca. 1935-1942), a part of the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). For more information regarding this Program, please see the Biographical / Historical Note.
The Writers' Program collection is arranged into series established on the basis of topics. This topical arrangement simply emerged from the documentation resulting from the subject-based research assignments delegated to the writers.
There are six series in the collection:
Series 1. Counties, Boxes 1-86
Series 2. General Material, Boxes 87-89
Series 3. Folklore by County, Boxes 89-91
Series 4. Harpers Ferry, Boxes 92-93
Series 5. Fact Book, Boxes 93-103
Series 6. Writers Project, Boxes 103-108
Series 7. Oversize, Box 109
The Counties series, the largest series in the collection, includes material focused on the following topics: natural setting, points of interest, places and place names, early life and occupations, the people, history, Civil War history, biographical sketches, transportation and communication, commerce and industry, cultural and social advances, county government, education, religion, annual events, permanent organizations, and folklore. Other series in the collection cover many additional topics.
The sources accessed by the writers for their research include: interviews and eyewitness accounts, court records, governmental records, church and cemetery records, family records, and school records. The personnel of local historical societies, educational institutions, governmental agencies, and community organizations were consulted for information as well. In some cases the personal memories and observations of the writers were used as source material. Much of the material in the collection includes cover sheets that indicate sources. The resulting quantity and quality of research and writing varies within the collection.
Published material consulted and transcribed by the Writers' Program includes: newspapers, magazines, journals, bulletins, pamphlets, booklets, high school yearbooks, surveys, business and industry statistics, textbooks, blue books, encyclopedias, and atlases.
Unpublished material, or archives and manuscripts, consulted and transcribed by the Writers' Program includes letters, telegrams, diaries, photographs, transcripts of interviews, and narratives.
Although most material consists of transcriptions, some original documents can be found in the collection as well, both published and unpublished.
Items of special interest include originals and transcripts of letters from the Civil War period in the General Material series. The Harpers Ferry series includes several firsthand accounts regarding the Ferry's rich history, including John Brown's 1859 raid and the Civil War.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
The West Virginia County series includes records for 53 of the state's 55 counties, excluding Mineral and Morgan Counties (Mineral County records are in A&M 183):
1. Barbour, boxes 1-4
2. Berkeley, boxes 4-5
3. Boone, box 5
4. Braxton, boxes 6-7
5. Brooke, box 7
6. Cabell, boxes 7-10
7. Calhoun, box 10
8. Clay, box 10
9. Doddridge, boxes 10-14
10. Fayette, boxes 14-16
11. Gilmer, boxes 16-20
12. Grant, box 20
13. Greenbrier, boxes 21-22
14. Hardy, boxes 22-23
15. Hampshire, box 23 (see also A&M 183)
16. Hancock, box 24
17. Harrison, box 24
18. Jackson, box 25
19. Jefferson, boxes 25-27
20. Kanawha, boxes 28-29
21. Lewis, box 29
22. Lincoln, box 29
23. Logan, box 30
24. Marion, box 30
25. Marshall, box 31
26. Mason, boxes 31-36
27. Mercer, boxes 37-42
xx. Mineral (in A&M 183)
28. Mingo, boxes 43-45
29. Monongalia, box 46
30. Monroe, boxes 47-53
31. McDowell, box 54
32. Nicholas, boxes 55-57
33. Ohio, boxes 57-58
34. Pendleton, box 59
35. Pleasants, box 59
36. Pocahontas, boxes 60-64
37. Preston, box 65
38. Putnam, boxes 65-67
39. Raleigh, boxes 68-70
40. Randolph, box 71
41. Ritchie, box 71
42. Roane, box 71
43. Summers, boxes 72-75
44. Taylor, boxes 76-77
45. Tucker, boxes 78-80
46. Tyler, box 80
47. Upshur, boxes 80-81
48. Wayne, box 81
49. Webster, boxes 81-83
50. Wetzel, box 83
51. Wirt, box 83
52. Wood, boxes 84-86
53. Wyoming, box 86
Each county in Series 1 contains records documenting some or all of the following 18 topics:
1. Natural Setting. Includes: photographs, clippings, recordings of personal observations, interviews, geological surveys, information from county government nurseries, and the West Virginia Blue book, describing the topography, wild life, terrain, and botanical characteristics of counties.
2. Points of Interest. Includes: narratives and research reports collected and prepared by Writers' Program staff, clippings, photographs, maps, and magazine articles regarding subjects deemed to have special significance in the counties such as historic houses, businesses, parks, public buildings, markers, forts, memorials, Native American burial mounds, and battlefields.
3. Places and Places Names. Includes: clippings, narratives, statistics, and histories regarding the naming of cities, towns, communities, and geographic features in the counties.
4. Early Life and Occupations. Includes: research reports collected and prepared by Writers' Program staff, narratives, oral histories, photographs, and illustrations documenting the lives of the first white settlers. Most occupations focused on survival and involved farming, hunting, and fur trading. There are also several narratives recording the relationships between the settlers and the Native Americans.
5. The People. Includes: research reports collected and prepared by the Writers' Program staff, clippings, census records, and magazine articles among other materials, regarding the diversity and ancestry of past and present residents in the counties, including documentation of their races, nationalities, religions, and cultures.
6. History. Includes: research reports collected and prepared by the Writers' Program staff, narratives, muster lists, poll records, oral histories, photographs, clippings, maps, and archeological information regarding the history of the counties, usually beginning with the "aborigines" or native inhabitants, the first European settlers, and the relationships between the two cultures, including conflicts; and establishment of county governments and commerce under colonial rule, and later as part of an independent nation. There is also information pertaining to local citizen involvement in battles and wars such as The French and Indian War (1755-1763), Dunmore's War (1774), The American Revolution (1775-1783), The War of 1812 (1812-1814), The Mexican-American War (1846-48), The Spanish -American War (1898), and The First World War (1917-1918).
7. Civil War History. Includes: research reports collected and prepared by the Writers' Program staff, clippings, narratives, muster rolls, causality lists, correspondence, interviews, personal memoirs, photographs, songs, and poems pertaining to the involvement of county residents, both Union and Confederate, in the "War Between the States", including accounts of battles, skirmishes, and related events, mostly in the West Virginia and Virginia region.
8. Biographical Sketches. Includes: research reports collected and prepared by the Writers' Program staff, clippings, narratives, and photographs regarding notable citizens of the counties.
9. Transportation and Communication. Includes: research reports collected and prepared by the Writers Program staff, photographs, surveys, maps, clippings, schedules, statistical charts, transcripts of court records, deeds, and contracts recording the history and development of transportation infrastructure, including roadways, bridges, railroads, waterways, and airfields in the counties, including the introduction of new modes of transportation. There is also information regarding the history and progress of communication technology such as the pony express mail delivery, the telegraph, telephones, radio, airmail delivery, and newspapers.
10. Commerce and Industry. Includes: photographs, clippings, ephemera, statistics, geological surveys, transcripts of mine reports, and biographies of entrepreneurs regarding the major industries of the counties such as mining, oil and natural gas drilling, and the processing and transportation of coal and timber. There are also histories of once successful enterprises, including grain and lumber mills, iron ore producers, glass factories, and potteries.
11. Cultural and Social Advances. Includes: newspaper clippings, magazines articles, correspondence, ephemera, and narratives regarding museums, literary activities and libraries, the arts and theater, medical and health resources, and benevolent organizations.
12. County Government. Includes: memoirs, historical narratives, and other material regarding the formation of the counties and their governments; the location of courthouses; the establishment of laws and statutes, law enforcement, and a judicial system; and New Deal infrastructure projects. There are also transcripts of census records, and of court records such as taxes, wills, deeds, and election results.
13. Education. Includes: research reports and narratives collected and prepared by Writers' Program staff, newspaper clippings, class schedules, school enrollments, records of Boards of Education, and photographs regarding the histories, curriculums, facilities, and faculties of county public ("free") grade schools, high schools, private and parochial schools, trade schools, colleges, and West Virginia University. In addition there is information pertaining to several "Negro" or segregated schools and colleges.
14. Religion. Includes: narratives, research reports collected and prepared by the Writers' Program staff; photographs; correspondence; ephemera; and transcripts of church, court, and cemetery records. The bulk of the information pertains to the history of individual Christian churches, regional circuit riders, local clergy, denominations, church buildings, and church schools. There is also material regarding the local African-American churches such as the A.M.E. (the African Methodist Episcopal) church.
15. Annual Events. Includes: newspaper clippings, magazine articles, narratives, calendars, photographs, and ephemera documenting yearly festivals, fairs, contests, parades, jubilees, concerts, and galas among other traditional celebrations in the counties.
16. Permanent Organizations. Includes: narratives, newspaper clippings, and directories documenting clubs, charity groups, councils, associations, societies, lodges and other assemblages such as county historical societies, 4-H clubs, Daughters of the American Revolution, Kiwanis, the Rotary Club, YMCA, YWCA, Boy Scouts, and the Red Cross.
17. Correspondence. Includes: letters, telegrams, memoranda, reports, and assignment sheets with notes and comments recording communications between Writers' Program supervisors, writers, public officials, and local citizens.
18. Folklore. Includes: transcripts of stories and interviews, newspaper and magazines articles, autograph and scrapbook verses, remedies, recipes, song lyrics, and square dance calls, among other materials. The information documents West Virginia's local cultures, traditions, and lore handed down through generations such as ghost stories, legends of local heroes, treatment for physical ailments, omens, and superstitions.
Notable items in the County Series include:
information regarding Native American burial grounds and artifacts (located in Marshall County, box 31, folders 5 and 6);
a narrative explaining how the dispute over the location of the courthouse in Beverly was settled with a game of horseshoes (located in Randolph County, box 71, folder 3);
research regarding the history of transportation along the Ohio River and its tributaries, including the modes used by Native Americans and early European traders, and Ohio River lock schedules and shipping records for 1926-1936 (located in Mason County, box 33, folders 5 and 8);
a transcript of a 1776 "Petition of the Dissenters of the Tuscarora Congregation in Berkeley County" addressed to the "House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Virginia" regarding the recent "deliverance from British oppression" and a request to suspend the Ecclesiastic Establishment (located in box 4, folder 6);
a transcript of several diary entries, 1861/April to 1864/July, authored by Sue N. Riddle, a parishioner of the Presbyterian Church at Martinsburg regarding local Civil War battles, army occupations, involvement of churches in the area, destruction of property, and the arrest of local resident Andrew Hunter (the prosecutor in John Brown's trail) by the Federal Army (located in Berkeley County, box 4, folder 6);
a transcript of an eyewitness account pertaining to the formation of the Monroe Guard (Company D, 27th Virginia, Stonewall Brigade), and a transcript of a letter from Lieutenant John Tiffany of the Monroe Guard to his parents in Monroe County, West Virginia, describing the Battle of Chancellorsville (Tiffany was killed seven weeks later at Gettysburg) (located in Monroe County, box 50, folder 3);
several photographs of industrial sites and workers in southern West Virginia, ca. 1890-1930 (located in Mercer County, box 40, folder 2);
photographs documenting railroad structures, workers, trains, and passenger travel, ca. 1888-1940 (located in Mercer County, box 40, folder 7);
several copies of "The White Sulphur Springs Echo" and the "Lee Week Herald", ca. 1932-1937, recording events celebrating Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his three post-war holidays at White Sulphur Springs, 1867-1869, including facsimiles of original newsletters from ca. 1870s (located in Greenbrier County, box 22, folder 3);
and information regarding colonial pottery and artisans, such as "Master" Foulke and his apprentice, John Thompson (samples of their unique works and tools are in the Smithsonian Museum) (located in Monongalia County, box 46, folder 9).
Includes two original manuscript drafts that were submitted with the editors' comments for Chapter 4: The People, of The History of Monroe County.
General Material includes information related to West Virginia culture such as music, folklore, history, literature, education, artisans, and points of interest. There are also photographs and information regarding Smoke Hole in Pendleton County, and narratives pertaining to "old characters" of West Virginia, some of which were published in "Mountain State Tintype", a Writers' Program collaboration. The materials in this series include: correspondence, transcripts of court records, transcripts of interviews, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, narratives, editorial essays, and publications.
Notable items in the General Material Series include:
a transcript of Colonel (rank of Captain at the time) Charles Lewis' journal entries of 1756/October-November, recording a march of the Virginia Rangers with Colonel George Washington to the Patterson Creek Valley (now Mineral County), an area heavily attacked by native Americans during the French and Indian War (located in box 87, folder 8);
several transcripts of Civil War letters from both Confederate and Union soldiers involved in numerous battles of the war (some letters also broke the news to families of the wounding and death of loved ones involved in the battles) (located in box 87, folder 8);
three original letters, including an 1861 love letter, an 1861 letter authored by make-up artist and mimic Shannon Butcher, and an 1865 letter from Confederate prisoner of war Stephen Points Jr. in Fort Delaware to Miss Artie Pribble of Wirt County (located in box 88, folder 8).
This series documents West Virginia's local cultures, traditions and lore handed down through generations such as ghost stories, legends of local heroes, treatment for physical ailments, "tokens" or omens, war songs, love songs and hymns, memory book verses and tombstone inscriptions, and games (including "Go to the Mill" and "Steal Partners", played during social gatherings such as "Molasses Boilin's" and "Apple Cutting" parties). The materials in this series include: transcripts of interviews, narratives, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, poems, remedies, recipes, lyrics of songs and ballads, square dance calls, games, omens and superstitions, and seasonal customs.
Notable items in the Folklore Series include:
remedy for sore and sprained muscles ("apply coal oil, with a chicken feather, no other kind of feather would do, on affected parts") (located in box 90, folder 2);
lockjaw prevention ("if anyone has a puncture wound from a nail, grease the nail and carry it in their pocket until healed, they will never have lockjaw") (located in box 91, folder 5);
omens and superstitions ("combings of hair carefully burned lest some bird finds it and builds it into its nest, in which event the person from whose head the hair came would suffer with headache until the fledglings left the nest") (located in box 91, folder 5);
omens and superstitions ("take a hoe or spade into the house and a member of the family will die within the year; trim your toenails on Good Friday and you will not have toothache") (located in box 91, folder 6);
a narrative regarding traditional gatherings called "workings", usually involving an act of "neighborliness" by the surrounding neighbors helping each other with such tasks as barn raising, harvesting, quilting, and "putting up" food for storage (located in box 91, folder 9).
This series documents historical events such as John Brown's raid, Civil War battles and skirmishes, and the harassment and arrests of local citizens by occupying armies. There are also items regarding the striking geographical setting of the Harpers Ferry area and its culture. The materials in the series include: narratives, letters, eyewitness accounts, newspaper clippings, poems, and research reports collected and prepared by the Writers' program staff.
There are several narratives written by Jennie Chambers (ca. 1845-1907) recording events involving Jennie and her family, who lived on Bolivar Heights above Harpers Ferry. These include Jennie's firsthand accounts of:
1. John Brown's raid (located in box 92, folders 5a and 5c, including photocopies of Jennie Chamber's full account as printed in Harper's Monthly, 1902; folders 6a-photocopy and 6c-original newspaper clipping relating an excerpt of Jennie's story);
2. the seizing of the United States Armory by the Virginia militia after the State's secession, and her father's arrest for refusing to yield the armory to the rebels (located in box 92, folders 9a-photocopy, 9b-transcript, 9c-original document);
3. a heroic episode in 1861 when Jennie, running before the enemy, warned Union pickets of approaching Confederate cavalry (located in box 92, folders 9a-photocopy, 9b-transcript, and 9c-original document);
4. Jennie's description of the frightening experience of hiding with her family in their cellar in the midst of the shelling by Stonewall Jackson's artillery during the September 15, 1862 attack, and her amazement of the soldiers' conduct after the Federal surrender (located in box 92, folders 9a-photocopy, 9b-transcript, and 9c-original document).
There are also records documenting events before and after the Civil War, such as a transcript of an 1847 letter from William Shipman of Jefferson County, a United States Army soldier fighting in the Mexican War, regarding the orders from Washington to split up Zachary Taylor's Army (located in box 92, folders 2a-photocopy, and 2b-transcript).
Other notable items in the Harpers Ferry series include:
a transcript of a 1914 interview with John Thomas Allstadt, who was taken hostage by John Brown's raiders in 1859 (Allstadt, 18 years old at the time, was held with his father and others as hostages in the engine house at Harpers Ferry. His eyewitness account of the two day ordeal includes descriptions of the Marines charging the engine house and the capture of John Brown.) (located in box 92, folders 6a-photocopies, 6b-transcripts, and 6c-original clipping);
an original 1895 letter from Kate Field to Mrs. Lightner regarding Miss Field's choice of the property on Bolivar Heights for the relocation of John Brown's Fort (The fort had been targeted for demolition after being on exhibit at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and Kate Field raised both public awareness and funds to rescue the fort.) (located in box 92, folders 8a- photocopy and transcript, 8b-original);
a narrative relating the last minute reprieve of three Union deserters as they faced a firing squad on Camp Hill, Harpers Ferry (located in box 92, folders 10a-photocopy, 10b-transcript, 10c-original document);
original and transcripts of letters regarding three brothers, Samuel, Collin and Charles Noland, all Confederate soldiers (Two brothers were POWs at Fort Delaware and one brother was mortally wounded soon after writing to his mother from camp on 20 September 1863.) (located in box 92, folders 11a-photocopies, 11b-transcripts, and 11c-original).
The Fact Book series contains:
1. Fact Book--General, boxes 93-98 2. Fact Book--Manuscript of "West Virginia, A Guide to the Mountain State", boxes 99-100 3. Fact Book--African-Americans, boxes 100-103
The materials in this series includes: research reports collected and prepared by the Writers' Program staff, narratives, inventories, geological studies, transcripts of government reports and records, correspondence, maps, magazine articles, illustrations, bibliographies, statistics, ephemera, graphs, clippings, bibliographies, manuscripts, newsletters, transcripts of court records, newspaper articles, editorials, and interviews.
1. "Fact Book--General" includes material regarding several topics that are also listed in the Counties series, however this material relates to the State. There is also information pertaining to agriculture, architecture, sports and recreation, coal, labor and miners, federal and state government, courts, public health and other services, Revolutionary War records, West Virginia authors, Greeks and Lithuanians in West Virginia, covered bridges, geology and geography, and newspapers published in West Virginia.
Notable items in Fact Book--General include:
typescripts of the 1795-1800 Kentucky and Virginia boundary line settlement, and excerpts from 1870 United States Supreme Court Reports regarding the transfer of Jefferson and Berkeley Counties from Virginia to West Virginia (located in box 95, folder 1);
a typescript of the 1919 report from a commission appointed by West Virginia Governor Cornwell regarding the charges by coal miners against coal operators (the coal operators were accused of employing armed guards and posting them in the Guyan field of Logan County to physically assault and intimidate miners) (located in box 95, folder 6).
2. "Fact Book--Manuscript" includes a set of typescripts for "West Virginia, A Guide to the Mountain State".
3. "Factbook--African-Americans" contains materials from ca. 1815-1942 documenting African-Americans in West Virginia, including records regarding slavery, abolition, and antebellum laws. There are also biographies of several prominent individuals, and information regarding educational institutions, organizations, and rural life.
Notable materials in Fact Book--African-Americans include:
several transcripts of county court records regarding slavery, such as wills claiming slaves as chattel (for delivery to a new owner "forever"), declarations of emancipation, bills of sale for slaves, records regarding the use of slaves as payment to settle debts, and indictments of "free negroes" on various charges (many of whom were charged with remaining in the Commonwealth of Virginia after manumission);
transcripts of articles and editorials, ca. 1814-1860, from western Virginia newspapers addressing several issues regarding slavery such as expansion into the territories of the western United States, abolition of slavery, treatment of freemen, and reactions to Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin";
newspaper article regarding an attempt by slave traders to kidnap a free African-American in Wellsville, reported 1858/7/17 in The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (located in box 100, folder 3);
article entitled "Slave Trade Horrors" reporting the capture by authorities of a slave trade vessel off the Virginia coast (out of 120 slaves on board all but two were age eleven or younger) reported 1841/12/4 in The Kanawha Republican (located in box 100, folder 3);
transcripts of newspaper articles and editorials from western Virginia newspapers regarding John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry, the raiders' trials, their executions, and the reactions of Virginians, the deep south, and northern states (located in box 100, folder 4 and box 103, folder 1);
interviews, narratives, and research reports regarding successful and prominent African-Americans in West Virginia (ca. 1900-1942) such as John Warren Davis, President of West Virginia State College (located in box 100, folder 5);
transcript of the Virginia Court of Appeals decision regarding a challenge to a deceased slave-owner's Will (The Will declared his slaves were to be allowed to choose either freedom or to remain enslaved to a new master. The court ruled against the last request of the deceased and in favor of the executor of the Will, claiming the African-Americans were not capable of making such a decision and therefore were to stay in bondage.) (located in box 100, folder 8).
Includes records related to publication of "West Virginia, A Guide to the Mountain State". Includes correspondence, narratives, research reports, and forms collected and prepared by the Writers' Program staff. Correspondence is between federal and state offices of the Writers Program, government officials, local chambers of commerce, national and state publications and newspapers, prominent historian Dr. Roy Bird Cook (located in box 104, folder 6), and West Virginia University professors such as Louis Chappell and Maurice Brooks, among others (located in box 104, folders 1-5). Several of the narratives are in a traveling tour format, recording directions, locations, and information pertaining to points of interest throughout the state. There are also drafts, final manuscripts, and galleys for "A Guide to the Mountain State". Also includes magazine articles, newspaper clippings, statistics, chemical analyses, photographs, manuscripts, and illustrations related to publication of the "West Virginia, A Guide to the Mountain State".
Additional administrative records for the Writers' Program in West Virginia can be found in A&M 527, West Virginia University, WPA Writers Project, Records, at this repository.
Notable items in the Writers' Project series include:
information pertaining to mineral springs such as White Sulphur Springs, Salt Springs, Capon Springs, and Old Sweet Springs, among others (located in box 103, folder 4);
historical narratives regarding the first telephone service in West Virginia, and the introduction of the first night-train travel service by Henry G. Davis (both items located in box 103, folder 9);
transcripts of correspondence (1747-1754) between The Board of Trade and Plantations and the Royal Governors of the Colony Of Virginia regarding French encroachment and Indian attacks in the English colony's territory, including a 1754 letter from Governor Dinwiddie reporting "Mr. Washington's" observations during his recent expedition to the western Virginia territory (located in box 104, folder 9);
transcripts of excerpts from the 1743-1748 journals of Moravian missionaries Leonard Schnell, Robert Hussey, Matthias Gottschalk, Joseph Spangenberg, and Matthew Reutz during their travels through northwestern Virginia (Patterson Creek and South Branch) down the Shenandoah Valley to Georgia, recording their observations of the wilderness and reactions to their ministries (located in box 104, folder 11);
transcript of a proclamation from Virginia's Royal Lt. Governor Gooch, warning settlers that "... Itinerant Preachers have...crept into this Colony...those corrupters of our Faith and true religion to propagate their shocking doctrines..." (located in box 104, folder 11).
Includes oversize material transferred from other record series. Includes: publications related to Greenbrier County and White Sulphur Springs transferred from box 22, folder 3.