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Latest Stories

Route 340 Closure Begins Early In The Morning On September 12

Route 340 Closure Will Affect Traffic For Three Months

Route 340 Closure Traffic Will Hit Jefferson County And Surrounding Region

Childcare Options Needed In Jefferson County

Appalachian Heritage Festival At Shepherd University To Highlight Family And Community

School Attendance Matters For Academic Skills

State Legislature Meets For Special Session In August

West Virginia Legislature’s Meeting Schedule

Hammerhead Worm Has Odd Habits

Moulton Family Transfers 82 Acres To Expand Local Park

Grandparents Day Has West Virginia Roots

Making Connections To Overcome Roadblocks

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In Print

Observer 2023-08 cover

Kearneysville Methodist Cemetery

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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