About MH3WV

West Virginia Studies



“Why This Website…And More”

West-Virginia-welcome3

West Virginians are proud to be West Virginians. West Virginians, whether by birth or choice, whether current resident or “not-for-now,” all have a unique love for their state.

It may be impossible to find a song about West Virginia that does not include the word “Home.” When traveling, or moving to another place, we West Virginians will look for other people or things that remind us of Home. When crossing the state line – whether over a river or a mountain, between the mountains, or even through a mountain – and the sign says “Welcome to Wild and Wonderful West Virginia,” it really means “Welcome Home!”

This is the spirit that helped create MH3WV. It is a non-profit organization with a specific purpose:   “To support and enhance the teaching of West Virginia Studies.” We are independent and not part of any of the organizations to which we have internet links, though we work with many of them, and have gathered information to support our purpose.

This website is the first part. Here will be found dozens of links to WV and US websites, and more than a few YouTube videos, all showcasing the diversity of our hills, our heritage and our home. It will be constantly updated, never really finished, and we will highlight changes on the home page in the “What’s New” section. Whether you are a student, a teacher, or someone just wanting to learn more, this website can be your “One Stop Start” for West Virginia Studies.

There is more to come: a Facebook page, and Instagram (because that is where the young folks are, at least for now), perhaps Twitter and other social media. Items for the classroom will be developed as we receive feedback. See the contact page.   June 20, 2014



“Using the MH3WV.org Website”

logo

This website was designed to be usable in the classroom: for research and presentations by the teacher or individually by students;  for homework assignments;  or for home schooling.  It consists mainly of links to other, often primary resources,  and videos.

  • The website is “responsive”—it will automatically resize to be usable on PCs, tablets and even smartphones.
  • The Header — with the logo and links for Home, About, Search and Contact — is at the top of every page.
  • Pages and titles are on the HOME page.  Clicking on a page title or image loads that page.
  • Each page has a table of contents of the topics on that page.  Clicking on the topic scrolls/jumps down the page to that topic.
  • Results from “Search” will indicate which page(s) include your topic.  Once on the page, use CRTL+F to search on that page.
  • Links open in a new Window/Tab. 
  • We do not link to any websites that are commercial or political in nature, nor to any that have an abundance of advertising, unless specifically noted as such.

Videos: Videos do not require an internet connection to YouTube (or Vimeo).   These videos play on the MH3WV page—you will NOT see comments, thumbnails for “related videos,” nor advertisements. All videos and links on the MH3WV website have been screened for appropriateness and language.  But you are still urged to use due diligence and preview any Videos and/or Links you wish to use or assign. We make regular checks of links and videos, but please let us know of any issues or suggestions.   Email:  mh3wv@aol.com

(If you need an Adobe PDF viewer, download it here.  You may want to uncheck the boxes for optional McAfee software)



“Videos”

Videos do not require an internet connection to YouTube or Vimeo.  Those schools which have YouTube blocked will be able to view them.  These videos play on the MH3WV page—you will NOT see comments, thumbnails for “related videos,”  nor advertisements.
All videos and links on the MH3WV website have been screened for appropriateness and language.  But you are still urged to use due diligence and preview any Videos and/or Links you wish to use or assign.



We make regular checks of links and videos, but please let us know of any issues. Or Suggestions!   Email: mh3wv@aol.com



“Know Your State” — “Musical Pictures” — “Our Musical Heritage”

MH3WV – “The One Stop Start” for West Virginia Studies – was inspired, in part, by a series of short radio programs from the 1950s and early 1960s in Kanawha County on WCHS, produced with the Junior League of Charleston and Kanawha County Schools, variously called Know Your State, Exploring Your State, or simply, Your State. Along with similar programs, Our Musical Heritage and Musical Pictures, many of the audio programs and printed materials are available on a website. A more complete story is there.


“Our Thanks To…”

  • all the national and West Virginia state agencies to which we have links, because their work preserves our history and culture, and makes that information easily available to everyone, including students in WV Studies
  • the other, mostly non-profit, organizations to which we have links
  • individuals and organizations who have posted YouTube and other videos
  • students, faculty and staff of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Law Clinic of the West Virginia University College of Law
  • West Virginia Division of Culture and History
  • West Virginia Department of Education
  • West Virginia Public Broadcasting
  • West Virginia Humanities Council
  • MyRadioNetwork.us
  • Morgantown Printing and Binding
  • WV Web Developers


“Updates”

When a state or federal agency changes the URL/web address for a site, seldom is there a redirect from the previous URL.  When we discover it, we attempt to find the new URL and update it on MH3WV, or go to Archive.org’s “Wayback Machine” to find a previous version of the site to link.

—December 2023—

Added “On-Line Resources by County”  [County Information]

Added “Jefferson County Courthouse” to list of National Historic Landmarks  [National Parks, Forests, More]

Updated several broken links  [State Symbols]

Added “John C. Norman” to WVPB’s Poster Gallery;  Added Season 2 of “The Future is You!”; updated several links  [Educator Resources]

Added more information on “Lake Shawnee Haunted Amusement Park”  [Special Places]

Added “County Location Maps”  [West Virginia County Information]

Updated several broken links  [Music/Dance]

Added “Berdine’s Five and Dime”  [Special Places]

—November 2023—

Added links for “West Virginia Forward” Website and West Virginia Forward’s “West Virginia Made Goods and Products” Website  [Made/Grown]

Added “Location Reel — West Virginia Film Office” and “Sizzle Reel — West Virginia Film Office”  [Educator Resources]  [Other]

Replaced West Virginia Covered Bridge “Location Map” (pdf) with a new version  [Transportation]

—October 2023—

Added “Our Lady Of The Pines – Smallest Church in 48 States”  [Special Places]

Added “Born of Rebellion: West Virginia Statehood and the Civil War” Exhibit and “WV Encyclopedia Exhibit Companion”  [Statehood / Civil War]

Added “Burning Rock Off-Road Park”  [Special Places]

—September 2023—

Added videos:  “The Forgotten Ghost Town Of Thurmond West Virginia” and ” History-rich Nuttallburg tells a story of coal mining in West Virginia’s New River Gorge ”   [National Parks/Forests/More]

Added “Seneca Rocks” short video  [National Parks/Forests/More]

Added “Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory” video  [Special Places]

Added “Cheat Summit Fort” and “Camp Allegheny”  [Statehood / Civil War]

Added “Discovery World on Market”  [Museums}

Modified URLs for several links, including: “The Campaign of 1861 in Western Virginia”  [Statehood / Civil War]

Added “Battle of Corricks Ford: A History”;  “Born of the Civil War”;  Rich Mountain Battlefield’s “Color Brochure”  [Statehood / Civil War]

—August 2023—

Updated URLs for “JR Clifford Curriculum” [African-Americans]

Updated URLs for US Army Corps of Engineers “Navigation Projects” [Transpotation] and “Flood Control Projects” [National Forests/ Parks/More]

Added “Blenko’s 2023 WV Day Piece”  [Made/Grown]

West Virginia will soon have a new State Park:  Summersville Lake  [State Parks/Forests]

Added “Pollinator Zones at WV State Parks”; “Hawks Nest Lodge Tour”; “Cacapon Lodge Tour”; “Glade Creek Gristmill: Babcock’s world-class attraction”; “Blackwater Falls Makeover Makes it a Destination for Downtime”; “All Aboard: Cass Scenic Railroad”   [State Parks / Forests]

—July 2023—

West Virginia has a new State Rail Trail! Elk River Rail Trail [State Parks/Forests]

—June 2023—

Added “MidAmerican Energy Hydroelectric Power Plant Virtual Tour”; “MidAmerican Energy Wind Farm Virtual Tour”; “MidAmerican Energy Solar Farm Virtual Tour”; “MidAmerican Energy Geothermal Plant Virtual Tour”; “MidAmerican Energy Combustion-Fueled Power Plant Virtual Tour”; “MidAmerican Energy Coal-Fueled Power Plant Virtual Tour”   [Energy/Natural Resources]

Added “WVU (simple gifts)”   [Music/Dance]

Added “WVU Marching Band Phoenix 2021”  and re-added several videos that had become unavailable [Music/Dance]

Added “Right Time. Right Place. Right Now. #WVFilm in #AlmostHeaven”  [Educator Resources]  [Other]

Added  “Why this Hydrogen Breakthrough Matters”; “These Mini Nuclear Reactors Can Be Installed Anywhere”   [Energy/Natural Resources]

—May 2023—

Added “The Journey of Natural Gas”  [Energy/Natural Resources]

Added “Historic Carrollton Covered Bridge reopens following extensive repairs”   [Transportation]

Added “2023 Golden Horseshoe Winners List”   [Golden Horseshoe]

Added video “Paw Paws”   [Made/Grown]

Added “The West Virginian that helped invent Rock ‘n’ Roll”  [African-Americans]

Added videos “Riding a diesel mantrip thru a West Virginia coal mine”; “Animated map of the major oil and gas pipelines in the US”; “Liquified Natural Gas: From Treatment To Transport | ExxonMobil”; “Oil and Gas Formation” [Energy/Natural Resources]

Updatd URLs for Archives and History’s “Highway Markers” that had been changed by A&H;  Added info and link to “The Historical Marker Database”  [Research Resources]

—April 2023—

Added video “How Ex-Miners Turn Toxic Land into Lavender Farms”  [Made/Grown]

Added videos “A look at Carter G. Woodson’s legacy”; “Hidden Stories: Dorothy Vaughan” ; and ”The Human Computer – Dorothy Vaughan’  [African-Americans]

Added link to WVPB’s article “Dirt, Soot, Smoke And Oil: Mechanics Take on the Dirty Job of Repairing Antique Trains”  [State Symbols]

Added link to WVPB’s article “A Guitar Surgeon Gives Old Instruments Their Voices Back“  [Music]

Added WV Tourism video “Almost Heaven. . .”  [Other & Educator Resources]

Added WVPB/WV Archives video about the Capitol building [Capitol Complex]

Updated several URLs [State Symbols]

Added several videos and rearranged the page [Energy/Natural Resources]

Updated URLs for US Dept of Energy Websites [Energy/Natural Resources]

—March 2023–

Added article from The Verge about WVU’s PRT [Transportation]

Updated URLs for Federal Highway Administration’s websites for Historic American Road and Scenic Byways (Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, Midland Trail, Washington Heritage Trail, Coal Heritage Trail, and Highland Scenic Trail) [Transportation]

Added videos for West Virginia Wildlife Center [Special Places] and Forks of Coal State Natural Area [State Parks and Forests]

—February 2023—

Extensive additions and revisions to West Virginia State Capitol Building and Complex page

Added “Folk Music of the Southern West Virginia Coalfields” and “Songs & Stories of Scott’s Run Project” [Music and Dance]

Added “Holly Grove mansion’s 200 years bring Ruffner reunion to Charleston” [Capitol Complex]

Added 1982 version of “The West Virginia Capitol: A Commemorative History” and “West Virginia Capitol Brochure – History – Facts – Mansion – Museum” (late 1950s) (pdf)  [Capitol Complex]

Added link to “State Museum Virtual Tour” [Capitol Complex]

Added WBOY TV’s “The origin story of West Virginia’s Golden Horseshoe they don’t teach you in middle school” [Golden Horseshoe]

Added Daily Mail WV’s “John Warren Davis” article [African-Americans in West Virginia]

—January 2023—

–Added Marshall University’s “Camp Washington-Carver Virtual Museum Exhibit” [African-Americans in West Virginia]

–Added “Teach with Movies – Matewan” [Educator Resources]

–Added links for the most recent (2017-2018) Blue Book [Reference Resources]

–Added scans of a brochure and a multi-part booklet from the mid 1970s about WVU’s PRT. [Transportation]

–Added scans of a brochure about the Houses of Arthurdale. [Special Places]

—December 2022—

–The US Army Corps of Engineers removed the websites for locks and dams on the Ohio, Kanawha and Monongahela Rivers.  The websites have been retrieved from Archive.org’s “Wayback Machine” and are available again. [Transportation]

—November 2022—

— West Virginia State Parks changed the URLs for the parks’ and forests’ websites without redirection to the new URLs.  The links from MH3WV have been updated to the new URLs. [State Parks/Forests]



“Policies”

We will not link to any websites that are commercial or political in nature, nor to any that have an abundance of advertising, unless specifically noted as such.   We try not to add any additional commercialism to the classroom.

We do not collect any personally identifiable information, such as names, email addresses, etc.





 

Resourceful Links