Andrew's world West Virginia history

  I have lived in the Charleston area all my life. I’ve never lived within the city limits, but I’ve always lived within half an hour or so from downtown Charleston. So, as you can imagine, I’ve spent more than a little time downtown. Charleston, although it’s a small city in comparison to other cities, has a rich history that I have come to appreciate. There are a lot of reminders of the past that I'm sure most people don’t even give a second thought, as they walk or drive by. For example, Clendenin Street was named after Colonel George Clendenin and his family who built fort Clendenin (renamed Fort Lee) to protect settlers from Indians . They built this fort with the help of other families, like the Tacketts who eventually moved down river and built their own fort, Fort Tackett near present day St. Albans, and a group of greenbrier county rangers. Fort Clendenin was started in 1788 and would later become the town of Charleston. The city was originally supposed to be calle...

     Every year since it became a Federal holiday in 2021, I've heard people wondering what is Juneteenth? Why are people getting off work for it? I admit I didn't know either in 2021, so I read about it, something I do in every situation and recommend you do, too. So anyway, I figured this year i'd publish a post on my blog instead of trying to educate people a little bit individually. That's the beauty of having this particular platform to shout from.      The Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1st, 1863. Most people know that this was supposed to grant freedom to all enslaved African Americans. However, certain areas were still controlled by the Confederacy and the Emancipation Proclamation couldn't be enforced.      The last of the enslaved African Americans were in the western most Confederate state of texas, in a town called Galveston Bay. On June 19th, 1865, more than two years after the slaves should've been freed, the U...