Andrew's world West Virginia history

In Fayette County, West Virginia, at the confluence of the Gauley River and the New River, which forms the Kanawha, is a town called Gauley Bridge. The town is named after an actual bridge that was built in 1822 to carry the James River and Kanawha Turnpike over the Gauley River. Before this, the area was referred to as Kincaid’s ferry. The Kincaid family settled there in around 1812. Mr. Kincaid who ran the ferry was tried and convicted of arson when the covered bridge burned in 1826. This was a strategic point to control in the Civil War and the area, which was originally southern in sympathy, was taken and retaken three times between 1861 and 1862. The union forces would keep control until the end of the war. A wooden bridge over the Gauley was burned, rebuilt and burned again. The piers of the bridge are still standing! They’re visible from the modern bridge. One of the highest water falls in WV is in Gauley Bridge, at 60 feet. You gotta check out Cathedral Falls. Gauley bridg...

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...

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...