This program centers on Howard Kester who was born and raised near Martinsville in the early twentieth century and later moved with his family to Beckley, West Virginia as a teenager. Those early years in and around Henry County, followed by his experiences in West Virginia coal country, were formative. Seeing firsthand the exploitation of […]

Park Ranger Danny Martin tells the story of how a land grant from the King of England led to the transformation of a wooded wilderness to a thriving mining boom-town. Discover the secrets, hear about the violence, and learn about a little-known contribution to the Civil War that changed naval warfare forever. Find out what […]

A Wild West Town in Virginia’s Blue Ridge… During the 1880’s, the new city of Roanoke attracted a large and diverse workforce and a multitude of merchants and investors. But like the western cow towns and mining camps of the same period, the city also attracted prostitutes, professional gamblers, charlatans, and common thieves. By the […]