Wv Est. 1863.

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Who was murdered in lock 4?

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I read about a murder in the area the other night that really piqued my interest and I went down the rabbit hole. The murder was in 1858 and led to the first white man being legally hanged in Kanawha County. Late in the evening of Wednesday, January 20th, 1858 or early in the morning of Thursday, 21st, Mary Susan Turley was murdered by her husband Preston S. Turley. The couple were residents of the neighborhood around lock 4 in what is now Alum Creek, this was way before Alum Creek or even Rome, wv. Susan was found the following Monday night about midnight, which was almost ten years exactly since her and Preston were married. The river had been dragged for quite a distance from their house, which sat almost directly on the riverbank. Preston, who was in bed at his father's house, about a mile away, was immediately arrested.It was said that he left his house when they started dragging the river. His initial claim that she drowned herself was disproved by the 69-pound rock that...
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The Mohler house AKA Hill Grove

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This house has always intrigued me, but I didn’t know exactly what to call it or much else about it until a couple years ago when I was looking at some articles another historian posted on his Facebook page. Not everyone knows the name of this house, but it is a landmark in St. Albans, West Virginia. I’m of course talking about the Mohler house AKA “Hill Grove” This mansion on Pennsylvania Ave. is considered by many to be the best, or at least one of the best, examples of Victorian Queen Anne Architecture in the state. This house had a twin in Charleston, but it was demolished. It was built for William Mohler in approx. 1900 William Mohler Mr. Mohler was an impressive man. He owned 13 other houses in St. Albans and was a very successful businessman. He owned Mohler lumber company, sat on the board of several banks and was president of the St. Albans electric and water company. He was also a stockholder of the Boone County Bank in Madison and stockholder of Panaguio Mine co. in Me...
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The pumpkin house

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     The 'ber months are among us now, so I thought I would write a little about one of WV's most popular fall attractions, The Pumpkin House in Kenova, WV. The house. The house itself is the homestead of Joseph Miller, built in 1891. Joseph S. Miller (1848-1921) was a prominent citizen of WV. He was an attorney and  served many years of his life in local government, served as WV auditor, was appointed as commissioner of the IRS and ran for Governor of WV in 1884  (he dropped out of the race). Joseph became good friends with president Grover Cleveland and Cleveland actually spent the night at the house once. The fact about Joseph Miller that I love is his daughter's name was Lavalette and that's where the town of Lavalette, WV got it's name... But that's the topic for another day Since Joseph Miller, other prominent members of the town have resided in the house, including current owner Ric Griffith who served two terms as Mayor of Kenova and is currently a state...
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