A private, nonprofit state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the West Virginia Humanities Council is observing its 50th anniversary in 2024, taking some bows via traveling exhibits, commissioned artwork, stage portrayals of historical figures, and other events and mementos.
Commemorative activities are being held in Huntington, Beckley, Shepherdstown, and other cities throughout the year. A week-long West Virginia Day celebration is scheduled in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä as well.
Founded in June 1974 as the Committee for the Humanities and Public Policy in West Virginia, the organization has been devoted to creating and curating grants and programs for fellow nonprofits and managing and preserving the Mountain State’s historical properties.
In 1976, CHAPP established its headquarters at Sullivan Hall on the West Virginia State College (now University) campus. The agency would remain in Institute until relocating to the Union Building in downtown ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä in February 1990. The WVHC bought the historic MacFarland-Hubbard House, which was a Civil War hospital as well as a private residence since its 1836 construction, in 1999 and finished initial restoration a year later.
The house, a National Register of Historic Places landmark, serves as the Council’s current state headquarters. The site’s downstairs area hosts the Little Lecture Series, open houses, book discussions, and other public gatherings throughout the year.
CHAPP was renamed the Humanities Foundation of West Virginia in 1978. It became known officially (and since) as the West Virginia Humanities Council in May 1990.
A semi-centennial victory lap
“For 50 years, we have tried to remain out of the spotlight in the various types of work we’ve done in all our permutations we’ve been,†said Eric Waggoner, who has served as the WVHC’s executive director since 2019.
“As we came up on our 50th anniversary, we sort of realized we’d been telling West Virginia’s story for five decades through millions of dollars in grants and programs and other projects. So we’re treating this anniversary as a kind of a victory lap for everything the Council has been able to do,†Waggoner said.
The 2024 semi-centennial events are enabling WVHC officials to travel around the state extensively, too, he noted. “They’re letting us get out in the world, meet our donors and grantees and program partners, be in the room to tell our stories, and thank them for their support.
“It seems that, at this time in public life when there’s so much divisiveness, loud voices, anger, and disagreement, it’s vital to remember that if the American Experiment is going to succeed, we all need to be invested in making society what we want it to be. The humanities are uniquely positioned to do that. We all believe here that humanities represent the best of what society is capable of.â€
An online encyclopedia and traveling exhibits
The WVHC launched its West Virginia Encyclopedia in 2006 and converted it online four years later as e-WV. (Culled from West Virginia Encyclopedia files, “This Week in West Virginia History†retrospectives are published Wednesdays in the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Gazette-Mail Metro Kanawha section.)
The Council also sponsors traveling exhibits illustrating and elucidating historical topics such as the Hatfield-McCoy Feud and “Born of Rebellion: West Virginia Statehood and the Civil War,†a 400-square-foot-plus display delineating West Virginia’s tumultuous path to becoming the 35th State during the Civil War.
A revamped “Born of Rebellion†was displayed during a 50th anniversary event/reception at Marshall University’s Drinko Library on Feb. 29. The exhibit will remain on display at the Huntington library through Monday, March 18.
“This is a complete revitalization of an exhibit the Council first released in 2005 and toured again during the Sesquicentennial,†WVHC Program Officer Kyle Warmack said in a Feb. 27 Marshall University release. “The original was fantastic but focused narrowly on the legal question of statehood. This time, we widen the lens to include a kaleidoscope of West Virginia perspectives.â€
Those perspectives include diary entries of Civil War-era Upshur teenager Sirene Bunten, as well as recollections of civilians and soldiers from other parts of West Virginia.
Smaller and easier to install, but equally informative “micro-exhibits†for smaller venues are also available to borrow for public display.
Specifics about hosting a traveling exhibit can be found on the WVHC website (URL below) or by emailing Kyle Warmack at warmack@wvhumanities.org.
History Alive! programs
Established in 1990, the Humanities Council’s History Alive! program transforms local scholars into historical figures through period-appropriate dress, wigs (at times) and their extensive knowledge of their subjects in oratorical performances at schools, libraries, museums, and other public venues throughout West Virginia.
History Alive! subjects have included Mother Jones, Pearl S. Buck, Walt Disney, “Peanuts†creator Charles Schulz, and figures pre-dating statehood such as Thomas Ingles, the son of famed frontierswoman Mary Ingles.
In standard History Alive! performances, the actor will speak in character for 30 or 35 minutes to his or her student or adult audience. The historical figure then fields questions from the audience for 10 to 15 minutes before breaking character to engage in discussion as himself or herself to remark about research or similar topics.
History Alive! performances scheduled for March include:
- 4 p.m., Thursday, March 14, Mother Jones, Robert F. Kidd Library, Glenville State University 100 High St., Glenville
- 11 a.m., Saturday, March 16, Col. Ruby Bradley, Edgewood Summit, 300 Baker Lane, ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä
- 2 p.m., Saturday, March 23, Col. Ruby Bradley, Calhoun County Public Library, 250 Mill St., Grantsville
- 2 p.m., Sunday, March 24, Little Lectures: Glenn F. Williams, speaking on “Dunmore’s War: America’s Last Colonial Conflict,†MacFarland-Hubbard House, 1310 Kanawha Blvd, E., ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä
- 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 27, Thomas Ingles, Cacapon State Park Lodge, 818 Cacapon Lodge Drive, Berkeley Springs.
Additional History Alive! and ancillary program dates can be viewed at . Contact the WVHC at 304-346-8500 or visit the website for more details about scheduling a History Alive! program.
