Recent Publications

The following bibliography includes selected books, articles, dissertations, and theses about West Virginia’s history that were published during 2008 and 2009. My intent is to assemble a listing of readily available works that provide insights into the state’s past and expand the availability of documentation for the study of the heritage, culture, and lifeways of West Virginians. In addition to those listed here, additional writings on West Virginia history may be found in popular periodicals, genealogical and local history journals and books, and the increasing number of reprints of titles long out of print. A multitude of new articles and books and reprints of old ones were generated by the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of abolitionist John Brown’s attempt to trigger an uprising against slavery. That event served as a catalyst to civil war and the end of slavery in America; thus its importance continues to stimulate historians and writers.

If you are aware of any recent book or article on West Virginia’s history not listed here, I would appreciate your effort in bringing it to my attention.

Alvarez, Raymond. “La Familia Fernández: Recalling a Spanish Family in Clarksburg.” Goldenseal35 (Fall 2009): 19–23. Harrison County.

Anderson, Colleen. “Aurora: The Gift of Time and Space.” Wonderful West Virginia73 (June 2009): 10–14. Historic Preston County community.

Anderson, Richard G. The Charles Town West Virginia Confectioner: John Frederick Blessing, His Family, and His Descendants. Parsons: McClain, 2008. 52 pp. Innovative entrepreneur in Jefferson County, 1845 to 1869.

Archer, Bill. “Sharp’s Camp: Mercer County Poor Farm.” Goldenseal35 (Summer 2009): 34–37. Mercer County Commission operated abandoned lumber camp as a poor farm from about 1920 until the early 1950s.

Archer, William R. “Bill.” Bluefield in the 1940s. Images of America. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2009. 127 pp. Black and white photographs.

Argenta, Kregg. The Marshall Miracle: From Aviation Disaster to Gridiron Glory. Baltimore: PublishAmerica, 2008. 151 pp. Marshall University, its football program, and the Huntington community after the deaths in a 1970 plane crash of 75 players, coaches, staff, fans, and flight crew.

Argeo, Luis. “Asturian West Virginia.” Goldenseal35 (Fall 2009): 14–18. Spanish immigrants to Harrison County.

Bailey, Kenneth R. “The Other Brown v. Board of Education.” West Virginia History, n.s., 3 (Fall 2009): 53–73. Segregating Charleston’s new library when there had been no previous segregation triggered the suit Brown et al. v. Board of Educationagainst the Charleston Independent School District in 1928.

Bassitt, Helen Margaret. Tales from Coalsmouth. Charleston: Evergreen Syndicate, 2009. 220 pp. Settled in 1816, Coalsmouth was later known as Phillipi, Jefferson, and Kanawha City, then was named St. Albans in 1871.

Beanblossom, Robert. “The Big Burn of ’52.” Goldenseal35 (Fall 2009): 58–63. Forest fires burned over 600,000 acres of West Virginia in 1952.

Beck, Janet Kemper. Creating the John Brown Legend: Emerson, Thoreau, Douglass, Child and Higginson in Defense of the Raid on Harpers Ferry. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2009. 206 pp.

Bell, Gregory Jackson. “‘Advancing West Virginia’: Transforming the 1963 State Centennial Celebration into a ‘Big Sell.’” Ohio Valley History9 (Spring 2009): 40–64. West Virginia Governor W. W. Barron abandoned the egalitarian and historical centennial celebration agenda in an attempt to revive and advance the state’s economy.

Bensen, Clark H. Election History for West Virginia: Counties and Media Markets, 2009–2010 Edition.Polidata Election Yearbooks. [Lake Ridge, VA]: Polidata, 2010. 632 pp. Election results and analysis beginning with 1920 and including additional details from 1980 to 2008.

Bisson, Terry. “John Brown—150 Years after Harpers Ferry.” Monthly Review: An Independent Socialist Magazine61 (October 2009): 37–39.

Bond, Andrea B. “Pinnacle Rock State Park.” Wonderful West Virginia73 (December 2009): 10–12. Mercer County state park opened in 1938 and named for its sandstone rock tower.

Bordewich, Fergus M. “Day of Reckoning: One Hundred Fifty Years Ago, Abolitionist John Brown’s Raid on a Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry Propelled the Nation Closer to War.” Smithsonian40 (October 2009): 62–69.

Brill, James Samuel. The Store: Memories of the Peoples Store and Supply. Marlinton: Pocahontas County Historical Society...