‘West Virginia’s journey to statehood was anything but simple.’ So leads the poster explaining the new exhibit hosted by the Pocahontas County Libraries in partnership with the WV Humanities Council. The “Born of Rebellion” exhibit, displayed in part across each of Pocahontas County’s local libraries, invites residents and visitors alike to delve into this Statehood saga. Each library offers a chronological exhibit on a period of time or specific facet of the events leading up to West Virginia’s statehood, providing the opportunity to journey both through history and the late autumn forest and rural county countryside all in one day.
The timeline of the exhibit begins not long after the beginning of our country, from 1800 to 1860 and is captioned: ‘Slavery, Political Economy and the Seeds of Sectionalism.’ It elucidates the early tensions that led to the formation of West Virginia. However, the town in which the exhibit begins has always been in West Virginia. The Town of Durbin was founded in 1906, the northernmost incorporated town of Pocahontas County and forty-three years after West Virginia statehood. So begins the exhibit and the lead up to the American Civil War and conditions that created the 35th State.
With a caption of ‘Warfare and Statehood’, the second part of the exhibit is housed at the Green Bank Public Library and focuses on the battles that took place in what is now West Virginia during the entirety of the Civil War. This piece explores even interfamilial fault lines that formed the division of both geography and people in both National and State sympathies. One may even explore Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park during one’s visit to Pocahontas County, which took place on November 6th, 1863, to experience the exhibit by impacting with the location firsthand.
Hallie Herold, Director of Operations of the Pocahontas County Library System was present at Green Bank and had this to say about the exhibit. ‘I feel like I was taught a lot about the history of the Civil War in West Virginia- dates, generals, battles, June 20th, 1863! But I’d never really delved into the logistics of our statehood or thought about the personal experiences of the people who lived it. Visiting each piece of this exhibit has opened my eyes to the many complexities of the formation of West Virginia that I’d never considered.’
And indeed, consider budgeting an entire day for this eye-opening journey through the county to each library and exhibit. Each section is deceivingly captivating and the scenery between exhibits is autumnally enchanting. Should the exhibits be taken in following their timeline, from Durbin to Hillsboro, the distance is a solid sixty-two point seven miles and is estimated to take 1 hour and 35 minutes. The entire exhibit by library is as follows:
Durbin Community Library:
Section 1 – ‘We Will Know What War Is’
Slavery, Political Economy, and the Seeds of Sectionalism – 1800-1860
Green Bank Public Library:
Section 2 – ‘My Brother, My Brother, How Can I Give You Up?’
Warfare and Statehood – 1861-1865
Linwood Community Library at Snowshoe:
Section 3 – ‘Oh, What a Glorious Flag Is Ours’
The Politics of Statehood 1861-1863
McClintic Public Library in Marlinton:
Section 4 – ‘Free From the Claims of Any Person’
Black West Virginians and the Fight for Liberty
Section 5 – ‘If Only I Had the Power to Stop Them’
Mountain State Women in War and Politics
Hillsboro Public Library:
Section 6 – ‘I Wonder What Her Motto Will Be?
The Civil War and Statehood in Memory
If you haven’t yet visited the Pocahontas County Libraries, now is the perfect time to experience this unique exhibit. Engage with history and connect with nature along the way to discover the profound journey that led to the formation of West Virginia.
A “Born of Rebellion” Exhibit Open House will be held at Green Bank Public Library on Saturday, November 9th. Refreshments and showings of West Virginia Humanities Council Little Lecture Series, “Purify the Ballot Box: Election Unrest in West Virginia during the Civil War” will occur on the hour from 12:00-3:00pm