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Latest Stories

Two Commissioners Refuse To Meet

Local Woman Plays For USA Team In Amputee Soccer Tournament

Shepherdstown Day Care Center Celebrates 50 Years

Imaginary Horribles – An Artist’s Perspective

Local Residents Will Perform “The Anvil” At Courthouse In October

Friends Of Music Presents Poulenc Trio In October

Halloween Fun In Jefferson County

Events & Activities – October 2023

Comment On Air Permit Modification For Rockwool Factory In Ranson Due Oct 23

Jefferson County Planning Commission Takes Comments On Future Land Use

The Emotional Benefits Of Fishing

Stall Tactics On Jefferson County Commission

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In Print

Observer 2023-08 cover

Cemetery

Historic Designation For Fairview Cemetery

February, 2023 Tagged With: Cemetery, Charles Town, Fairview Cemetery, Gibsontown, In Print Feb 2023

Fairview cemetery

Fairview Cemetery of Gibsontown, established 150 years ago, is the largest black cemetery in Jefferson County and was recently designated a county historic landmark. Read the Full Story >>

Uncovering History & Reconnecting a Community

September, 2020 Tagged With: Boyd Carter, Cemetery, civil war, Hartstown, Kearneysville Methodist Cemetery, Mountaineer Gas

Sunrays shining into the Methodist Episcopal Cemetery.

Following the abolition of slavery, African American communities were rapidly established throughout Jefferson County. Churches were cornerstones of these communities — serving as houses of worship, schools, and community centers. The African American community in Kearneysville was known as Hartstown. Read the Full Story >>

Building Hartstown

August, 2020 Tagged With: Boyd Carter, Cemetery, Hartstown, Kearneysville Methodist Cemetery, SIGHTLINE, St. Paul’s Baptist Church

An imposing granite headstone marks the burial plot of Mascena and Sara Hart.

Following the end of the Civil War, formerly enslaved men, women and children developed many self-sustaining communities based on proximity to employment opportunities. Hartstown (or Harts Town) was the name of one such community that developed in Kearneysville, West Virginia. Read the Full Story >>

Remembering Hartstown

August, 2020 Tagged With: Boyd Carter, Cemetery, civil war, Hartstown, Kearneysville Methodist Cemetery, rockwool, SIGHTLINE INTRODUCES

St. Paul’s Church — paid for and built by the members of the congregation.

Appalachia is often viewed through a narrow lens. The stories of Black communities throughout the region are often left untold or simply overlooked. Acknowledging these communities and preserving their stories helps us to truly understand the broad patterns of the cultural landscape in which we live today. Read the Full Story >>

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