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National Historic Landmarks are places the U.S. government recognizes as very important to American history. West Virginia has 17 of them.
These landmarks represent a wide variety of moments in history, including ancient prehistoric sites, bridges, schools, historic buildings, people, events, and even a radio telescope.
National Historic Landmarks do not have special legal protection. One former landmark, the prison where labor leader Mother Jones was held, was demolished by its owners in 1996 and removed from the list.
At this large prehistoric site near the Ohio River north of Huntington, archeologists have uncovered evidence of human occupation dating from 9,000 years ago up to a village from about 1550–1600 AD, just before Europeans arrived in the area. Arche...
Grave Creek Mound in Moundsville is the largest cone-shaped earthen mound in North America. Built by the Adena people more than 2,000 years ago, it stands 62 feet tall and contains about 57,000 tons of earth.In the 1800s, early settlers found buri...
Traveller’s Rest is a historic limestone house in Jefferson County once owned by Revolutionary War General Horatio Gates.The house was originally built in the 1770s and later expanded. It is one of the few known works by architect John Ariss. Toda...
Alexander Campbell was an important religious leader, teacher, and writer who helped found the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Born in Ireland, he moved to Brooke County in 1811 and founded Bethany College in 1840.Campbell supported public...
When it opened in 1849, this was the longest suspension bridge in the world. It carried the National Road across the Ohio River and helped make Wheeling an important transportation and industrial center.Designed by engineer Charles Ellet Jr., the ...
Bethany College was founded in 1840 by Alexander Campbell in Brooke County. It is the oldest four-year college in the state and is known for its strong liberal arts education.The campus is also known for Old Main, an important example of Gothic Re...
The Jefferson County Courthouse in Charles Town is the only building in the United States that has hosted two treason trials.In 1859, abolitionist John Brown led a failed raid on nearby Harpers Ferry, trying to start a rebellion against slavery. H...
West Virginia Independence Hall is known as the birthplace of West Virginia. Opened in 1859 as a federal custom house, it later became the meeting place where leaders created the new state during the Civil War.Today, the building is a museum about...
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops is a historic railroad complex built in in 1866. Earlier repair shops were destroyed during the Civil War. After the war, this new complex became an even more important repair and maintenance sit...
Weston State Hospital was a large mental health institution in Lewis County that operated from 1864 to 1994. It once housed more than 1,000 patients.The hospital had a huge main building, its own farm, and a cemetery. It was used for treatment for...
This was the Morgantown home of Alexander Luark Wade, a Monongalia County educator who changed how rural schools taught students in the late 1800s. He helped move one-room schools toward a graded system where students advanced through levels.His s...
Davis & Elkins Historic District includes two historic Elkins homes: Halliehurst (shown here in 1905) and Graceland. Halliehurst was the home of Stephen B. Elkins, and Graceland belonged to Henry Gassaway Davis, who was also Elkins’ father-in-...
Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton was the site of the nation's first Mother’s Day celebration on May 10, 1908. It was organized by Anna Jarvis to honor her mother, who had worked at the church for many years.The church later became a h...
The Greenbrier is a luxury hotel built on the site of natural mineral springs in Greenbrier County. Beginning in the late 1700s, White Sulphur Springs was a popular vacation spot for wealthy visitors and politicians. It grew even more after the Ch...
In 1920, coal miners in southern West Virginia tried to unionize, but many were fired and evicted from company-owned homes. Tensions grew between miners and private detectives hired by coal companies.On May 19, 1920, fighting broke out in Matewan ...
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, Pocahontas County, is home to the historic Reber Telescope, one of the first instruments to detect radio waves from space.The telescope was built by astronomer Grote Reber in 1937. With it, h...
The Bretz coke ovens in Preston County are part of the Elkins Coal & Coke Company Historic District. They were among the last “beehive” coke ovens still used in West Virginia. Built around 1903 and expanded by Stephen B. Elkins, they turned co...