In 1887, Enos Jones, William Bruce, Andrew Brooks, George Lovage and Solomon Peterson purchased land at Town Run Road and Allegheny Street for the first church for black people in Moorefield.

Breaking away from the Duffey United Methodist Church, where they worshiped in segregated pews in the gallery, the five men formed the Asbury United Methodist Episcopal Church. The first minister was Rev. Possey, a Methodist circuit rider who, according to church history, "traveled on horseback and often walked many miles."

Soon the congregation outgrew its small building. Rev. William E. Brooks, who had been sent in 1921 by the Methodist Washington Conference to serve congregations in Williamsport, Petersburg and Moorefield, began planning for a new church on the existing site. The current building was dedicated in 1926.

The Rev. Melvin Washington served as the church's last black minister. In the 1970s, jurisdictional responsibility transferred from the Washington Conference to the West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church. Since that time, the church has had white ministers, all of whom share their time with other small Methodist churches in the South Branch Valley.

Open courtesy of Asbury United Methodist Church

Location: Town Run Road and Allegheny Street

Just over the bridge on South Main Street, set back from the street by a lovely expanse of yard, is the now colorful Bean/Bowman House.

The house was built sometime between 1916 and 1920 by W. F. Friddle. He had purchased his one acre site from Mr. Frank Garret who owned three parcels along the south end of town.

What makes the story of this home interesting is that from 1928 to 2004 the house was occupied by Molly and Emory Bean and their descendants. When the elder Beans lived there, they filled the house to over flowing with nine children. Looking at the house now, one wonders how they managed. Tales are told that the house and yard was literally alive with youngsters as it became the place for all the neighborhood children to congregate as well.

When the Bean's passed on in 1950, the house was willed to all nine children, but it was son Harry and his wife Lula who made it their residence. It was purchased by their niece Mildred Bean who married John Bowman& thus the Bowman connection.

Their son, John lived in the house with his wife Lorraine from the 1970's until 2004 when the house was put on the market. In 2006 new owners restored the house and opened it as a home furnishing, antique and gift shop, "All Through the House."

Open Courtesy of Jill Funkhouser

Location: 330 South Main Street

Confederate Captain John J. Chipley came to the South Branch Valley at the end of the Civil War, opened a law practice, and began to build a home just east of the town of Moorefield. Using the natural resources of the land, yellow pine trees became the framework, floors and woodwork supporting the brick structure. Hillside clay became the bricks that were laid in a federal pattern.

Large foundation stones for the new home were taken from the quarry at Kessel, ferried on the South Branch River to a landing near Main Street and then hauled up the hill to the building site.

Captain Chipley finished his house in 1868. In the ensuing 142 years, the home has had three owners and two major upgrades: in 1930, when purchased by CC Wise and in 1999 when purchased by the present owners.

Captain Chipley was elected Mayor of Moorefield 12 times between 1877 and 1915. For six years he owned the local newspaper that eventually became The Moorefield Examiner. He died in 1920. His son, Ed, occupied the home until it was sold in 1930.

This 4-story Greek revival home retains all of the natural woodwork and flooring, and every window retains panes of original glass. Each wall is three-bricks thick - held together with lime mortar. Many of the supporting beams measure 12 inches wide and 18 feet long.

Windows are still raised using a weight and sash system. The house originally had eight fireplaces. A coal furnace was added in 1930. The hand-dug basement was used for cooling and aging meats and storing garden vegetables.

A two-story porch runs along the south side of the house. A narrow stairway on that porch allowed servant access from the downstairs to two upstairs rooms, making it unnecessary to enter the main part of the house!

The 1930 renovation that added the L-shaped porch on the north and west sides of the house, a second set of entry doors and two sets of outside stairs changed the appearance of the house. The porch reflects the Arts and Crafts Era in American architecture.

Each room displays lighting as it might have been from 1868 until 1906 when electricity illuminated the house. The original drop-style ceiling fixtures still function in the parlor and family room and two bedrooms.

Judy Burns Patterson attended elementary school in the old school building located across the street from the (then) Wise house. She dreamed of someday owning the big house on the hill. After Judy married Tom, he learned of her desire and arranged to give the house to her as a 40th wedding anniversary present.

The house sits on a hillside of land that played prominently in fighting during the Civil War. An artillery emplacement is still visible behind the house, as are remnants of the old South Fork Road.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans, Camp 582, McNeill's Rangers, will stage a Civil War Encampment on the grounds of Chipley Homeplace during Heritage Weekend. Learn how life was lived in a typical Civil War camp. Expect to see both young and old, men and women, dressed in authentic clothing of the period. Tents, cooking gear, and weapons will be in use and on display. Wander through the encampment both Saturday and Sunday.

PARKING: Guests should park in the Church of the Brethren parking lot located directly across Winchester Avenue, at Clay Street.

Open courtesy of Tom and Judy Burns Patterson

Location: 317 Winchester Avenue

Note: Not wheelchair accessible.

With the growth of Methodism and movement of the population center from Old Fields, where the first church was constructed at Fort Pleasant, the first Methodist Church was built in Moorefield in 1850 on Elm Street.

The church had an auditorium that seated 200 and a gallery for slaves, who worshiped there until the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church was formed in 1887.

By 1915, according to a History of Methodism, South Branch Valley, by Daisy Sherman, the congregation had begun planning and raising money for a new church building. The first services were conducted in the new sanctuary in 1922.

Built at an estimated cost of $50,000, the large brick church features stained glass windows of "exquisite shades [that] add the ancient spiritual touch," as Halterman put it. The main auditorium and youth chapel were built so they could be "thrown together to accommodate more than 500 people."

It was dedicated in the name of Jeffrey Waite Duffey, the son of tavern owner John Duffey. A Confederate Civil War veteran with McNeill's Rangers, he was the first Moorefield man to enter the Methodist ministry.

On Sunday morning at 11 am a special Heritage Sunday worship service will be held including period dress, old style hymn singing and a dramatic presentation by Rev. Marvin Carr, from WV Wesleyan College, appearing as Bishop Francis Asbury, an early Methodist leader and circuit rider.

On Sunday at 6 pm all are invited to Old Fields Church for an old-fashioned hymn sing and prayer meeting to close out Heritage Weekend festivities.

Open courtesy of Duffey United Methodist Church

Location: Corner of Winchester Avenue and Elm Street

Episcopalians trace their presence here to 1753 when the Hampshire Parish of the Church of England in Virginia was established by the same legislative act that created Hampshire County, which then included Hardy County.

"The Revolution saw most Anglican clergy return to England and it was seventy years before Episcopalians again became active in Hardy County," according to a church history. "The Rev. Mr. Thralls of Cumberland, Maryland, by invitation held an Episcopal service in the Presbyterian Church in February of 1875 and in 1876 Emmanuel Parish was formed."

The church building owes its existence to Josiah Dent of Georgetown, D.C., who donated mountain land, a portion of which was traded for land and lumber to build the church in Moorefield. Construction began in 1876 and the building was consecrated in 1881.

Emmanuel is of the late Gothic Revival period "and, like many of its contemporaries, was built of wood rather than stone." Stucco was added to cover the original board and batten exterior in 1920.

Typical of "low churches" that characterized less emphasis on ceremony than "high churches," Emmanuel's stained glass windows have geometric designs rather than pictures of saints. The colored glass along sides of windows in the Nave is made from colored pot-metal glass. The center parts are enameled glass with designs painted on clear glass. The parish hall windows use opalescent glass of the La Fare and Tiffany styles. The church will have a collection of civil war era books to view both days.

Open courtesy of Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Location: Intersection of Winchester Avenue and South Fork Road

In the mid 19th century and particularly after the Civil War, the area experienced a strong religious revival. The Methodists were especially active, building substantial church structures in towns but also small chapels in the hollers and valleys to serve "family congregations" ministered by circuit-riding preachers, who traveled by horseback over rough terrain on their mission.

It was a hard life, and the average life span of circuit riders was 37 years. One young minister, the Rev. Washington Varner, reported that in 1875, he preached 79 sermons, 22 at Beans Settlement, 13 at Baker's Run, 20 at Lost River, six at Cove Gap, 12 at Barr's Store and six at Dolands. For residents unable to get to a church, he took the gospel to their homes. He reported marrying one couple for $1.50; a more generous couple gave him $5.

Three such family chapels - Oak Grove Methodist Chapel at Fisher, Bass Chapel at South Fork and Baker's Chapel at Durgon, all dating from the 1870s-1880s - will be open for Heritage Weekend for Sunday services.

Even today, the chapels are ministered to by a modern-day circuit-rider, the Rev. Judy Vetter, who divides her time between the Asbury United Methodist Church in Moorefield and the three smaller congregations.

While the three Methodist chapels are participating in Heritage Weekend, small chapels of various denominations throughout the county will be holding regular worship services Sunday morning and welcome visitors with unaffected country warmth.

One of the oldest extant structures in Moorefield, the Higgins House was built 1786-88 by Robert Higgins, a captain in the Revolutionary War.

In 1777, the Virginia General Assembly authorized creation of a town on the lands of Conrad Moore. Called Moorefield, the town's trustees sold half acre lots to settlers on condition that purchasers build a dwelling of at least 18 square feet, with a brick or stone chimney, within two years, a requirement first relaxed to five years and then later to nine years due to "the difficulty of procuring materials."

Robert Higgins purchased lot No. 33 from the trustees in 1786 and his deed became the 10th to be recorded by the town.

The structure was built of logs and covered, sometime later, with clapboard siding. Although it is two stories, it has only one room downstairs. Higgins sold the house to George Harness in 1792.

In 1983 the Duffey United Methodist Church bought the property with the intent to tear down the house and use the land for a parking lot. A public outcry caused the church to preserve the original structure and only demolish an addition to the left. The structure is now owned by the Town of Moorefield.

Visitors can peruse an exhibit highlighting the contributions black residents made to Moorefield's development.

Open courtesy of the Town of Moorefield

Location: Corner of Elm Street and Winchester Avenue

For more than half a century, McCoy's Grand Theatre operated continuously as a show place for movies and live performances. Restored and modernized, the structure serves as a home to community theater productions and live musical performances. Just as Eunice McCoy wished.

James Curtis and Eunice McCoy built the theater in 1927 and opened it on February 16, 1928 with a showing of "Wife Savers," a slapstick comedy. From that opening day Eunice McCoy dedicated her life to keeping the McCoy alive. Declining health forced her to close the theater's doors in 1982, just a few months before her death at age 82.

Mrs. McCoy left the bulk of her estate to restore the theater. Additional financial assistance from the state and generous donations from private individuals restored the 248-seat theater's interior, replaced the seating and added a modern sound system. A dedication performance by Percussion 80 of West Virginia University brought the theater back to life on May 27, 1988. A new heating and cooling system completed the restoration in 2004.

On Saturday evening of Heritage Weekend the annual South Branch Fiddle, Banjo and Mandolin Contest takes over the stage. Three independent judges use Nashville rules for amateurs, handing out trophies and cash prizes to adult and youth contestants. Audience members will get to select the house favorite.

Open courtesy of the McCoy-McMechen Theatre and Museum Board of Directors

Location: 110 North Main Street

The history of the house revolves around wealthy landowner George Casey Harness and his stubborn disapproval of the marriage of one of his daughters, Mary Katherine, to John Francis Williams.

Harness forbade the marriage but the equally willful couple defied him and eloped. In retribution, Harness refused to build a house for Mary Katherine, as he had done for his other daughter, Anna Rebecca, whose brick home on Main Street is called Rosedale.

Five years after the marriage Harness died and Mary Katherine's mother built a house for the couple next door to Rosedale. Construction started in late 1853 or early 1854.

Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church South (now Duffey United Methodist Church) purchased the house Sept. 26, 1874. Thirty-seven ministers and their families used the home as a parsonage until the current owner purchased the property in 2004.

The house is a Greek Revival brick structure in a "T" design, probably built in two stages. The composition of the bricks led historians to believe the entire structure was finished before the Civil War.

The exterior and interior walls are of 14-inch brick construction covered with horse-hair plaster. Slave quarters once stood at the rear of the lot. The front staircase includes one of the more graceful banisters in the Valley, making for an impressive entrance hall.

Note the decorative Acantha leaf brackets that enrich the front porch. The south facing side porch is original while the north porch (now enclosed) was added around 1874.

Open courtesy of Yvonne Williams

Location: 208 North Main Street

This picture perfect house exemplifies a loving restoration achieved through tenacious research and professional craftsmanship. Local dentist and confederate veteran Levi Hockman started construction of Nine Gables shortly after marrying Sallie E. Lakin in December 1880. Sallie's brother, T.A. Lakin, built the house to Hockman's design.

Construction of the house commenced only after draining off a natural pond on the property. Even to this day, a submersible pump must remove water from the basement every spring.

Carpenter Gothic best describes the architectural style. The original color scheme, discovered while stripping the paint, was moss green with oxblood red trim. Colors were reversed several years later with the siding being red and the trim green.

The house, along with the nation, fell on hard times during the Depression. A flue fire caused damage to the first and second floors. Subsequent shoddy workmanship kept the house, vacant at times, in minimal repair. The owners removed gingerbread trim to save on maintenance. Damaged heart pine flooring was covered with red oak.

The current owners purchased the house in 1985 and commenced the process of restoring it to its original appearance. Most of the gingerbread was cut by hand and restored using an old photograph as a guide. The exterior paint was stripped and, to enhance the details, a new paint scheme of 12 earthen colors was chosen. Restoration included a new metal roof and replacement windows all around, except for the cathedral units.

Layers of paint came off the interior woodwork, which was either stained or repainted to allow the detail to show through. Similarly, many layers of wallpaper and paint were removed from walls and ceilings before they were recoated.

With the house in its original condition could Sallie's ghost have found a home? Lamps turn on mysteriously, thermostats reset to 56 degrees, clocks change, coffee machine cups appear stacked in pyramids. "Oh, wouldn't it be nice," say the owners, "if she would help clean!"

Open courtesy of Robert and Dora Fertig

Location: 304 Winchester Avenue

The Presbyterian Church congregation in Moorefield was organized with 31 members on the rolls in 1838 but traces its roots to itinerant preachers in the 1780s.

In 1846, several prominent families deeded Lot 18 in Moorefield to the trustees of the church for a new sanctuary that was begun in 1847 and completed in 1855. The church called the Rev. William V. Wilson as their pastor in the same year, and both church and pastor survived the Civil War.

During the war, the church was occupied at various times by Confederate and Union troops and both armies used it as a hospital. In 1914, the U.S. government paid the church $800 for damage done by Union troops, including burning pews and stabling horses inside the sanctuary.

The exterior reflects many characteristics of Greek Revival architecture. On the gabled roof, a bell tower houses a bell cast in Philadelphia in 1842 that was used as a fire alarm for the town until 1934. The belfry is topped with a weathervane in the shape of a fish and inscribed by its maker, Gottlieb Hutter.

A Civil War Trails marker in front of the church provides more information.

At the 11 am Sunday morning service, the Rev. Katherine C. Jackson will lead an authentic period worship.

On Sunday at 6 pm all are invited to Old Fields Church for an old-fashioned hymn sing and prayer meeting to close out Heritage Weekend festivities. See page 30 for directions.

Open courtesy of the Moorefield Presbyterian Church

Location: 109 South Main Street

This restoration-in-progress of a circa 1800 summer kitchen demonstrates contemporary techniques for saving a piece of local history. Originally built on Water Edge Farm near Fisher, WV, the one and a half story log kitchen provided countless meals for the Harness and Fisher families until around 1850. Afterwards the kitchen became a wash house, smoke house and storage shed. Moving the structure to Paskell Hill saves it from future flooding.

Up to the middle of the 19th century most plantation kitchens were located in a separate, detached building away from the main living quarters. The separation cut down on the noise, odors, smoke and, most important, the danger of fire to the main house. A kitchen could catch on fire at any time with cooking taking place on an open hearth and with a continually burning fire.

The second floor housed the cook and family. In later years, farm hands roomed upstairs. One farmhand, Harry Duffy, lived in the upstairs room for 35 years.

A February 2010 fire completely destroyed the main plantation house but spared the old kitchen. Mike Crites grew up near Water Edge Farm and held a fascination for the house and farm. With the main house reduced to cinders, Mr. Crites undertook the task of saving the kitchen. Workers tagged each pine log of the structure, took it apart and trucked it five miles across the South Branch River to Paskell Hill. When re-assembling the building, the first log put in place on the new block foundation and wooden sub floor was the last log removed from the original building.

Rebar inserted in the logs stabilize the structure. The kitchen reaches four inches taller than before since it no longer sags. "New" old windows and doors replace rotted ones. A new tin roof substitutes for the former leaky covering. Over all, the restoration saved about 95 percent of the original structure.

Yet to come: a new chimney constructed of stones and brick from the old chimney. At restoration's end the new kitchen will stand ready, once again, to serve up delicious meals.

Open courtesy of Mike Crites and Larry Curtis

Location: 114 Paskell Hill Drive, Moorefield

Directions: From South Fork Road, take Paskell Hill Drive which curves to the right.

Branson W. Chrisman started the process of building this house in the summer of 1904, but did not move into it until July 1906. Common for the times, bricks were first made on site. The remnants of one of kilns still sits on Chipley Lane.

Joseph Harper, Mr. Chrisman's brother-in-law, of Lost River designed the house patterned after his home in Lost River.

Eliza Chrisman Harper, Mr. Chrisman's sister, gave the house its name, noting how the sun penetrated every side. Due to the unique bays, even the northern side receives the sun in the morning and afternoon.

Sunnyside is a two story brick house in the late Queen Anne style. It is accented by a semi-hexagonal projecting bay beneath a heavily bracketed overhanging gable.

Brothers Claude and Tom Bergdoll were the original Sunnyside carpenters. Just a few years later, Tom built his own home down the street at 211 Winchester Avenue.

Running water from the town's works reached the house in 1910 and electricity lit up its rooms in 1914.

Miss Patti Chrisman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Branson Chrisman, lived in the house until she died at age 98. She was an only child and never married. She was 14 years old when the house was built.

The current owners purchased the house in 1990, restored every room and furnished them with treasured antiques. Highlights of the house include beautiful mantels and woodwork. A family room was added in the back keeping the hexagonal shape of the bays. It was designed by Stowell of Harper's Ferry.

Open courtesy of Tom and Peggy Hawse

Location: 307 Winchester Avenue

This early Victorian-inspired home was built between 1900 and 1906 by John J. Chipley, who sold it to the Union Tannery Company. Chipley lived two doors up the street (see pages 14 and 15).

The company operated nearby along South Fork Road and used the house as a residence for supervisors until 1950. Union Tannery Company operated out of New York City and owned the Moorefield facility, called the Potomac Tanning Company.

The house originally had eight rooms and two porches on the front and two porches on the back. Later, the back porches were enclosed to add indoor plumbing and bathrooms to the house.

The stairwell to the attic contains original wallpaper. The most noticeable change to the house's architecture, besides the addition of the bathrooms, was the sectioning of the third-floor attic. When the house was built, one could look down all three flights of stairs.

Dr. William Fisher, a local dentist, bought the house in the 1950's and owned it until 2004.

The current owner has restored the home and furnished it with period and eclectic pieces.

Open courtesy of Kriston Strickler

Location: 311 Winchester Avenue

Generally recognized as the oldest extant structure in West Virginia, Stump Cabin is a must-see for anyone wondering what life was like in the untamed frontier of the mid-1700's.

Sometime around 1746, Michael Stump built a small cabin and moved his family to this rich farm land along the South Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac. Two or three years later Stump gained a deed to 366 acres from Lord Fairfax.

In October 1746 a survey crew which included Peter Jefferson, father of Thomas Jefferson, reached Stumps Run. Needing provisions, they found "but one family of poor Dutch people from whom we could have no Supply." Those  poor Dutch people" likely were the Stumps. And it was not the last visit of a historic figure from the colonial era.

George Washington recorded in his diary at age 16 that he spent several days with the Stumps in 1748 while a member of Lord Fairfax's survey team.

The cabin grew larger as the Stump family added members. Stump or his son added a second cabin joined to the first by a center front door. A massive central chimney expels smoke from hearths serving both cabins. The second story came later.

The property remained in the hands of the Stump family until 1973, when John Buhl purchased the property. Considering himself more of a caretaker than owner, Buhl has preserved the cabin as an important piece of local and state history. The cabin is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Open courtesy of John and Beverly Buhl

Directions: About 13 miles south of Moorefield on South Fork Road (Route 7). Watch for the green flag on the left. Turn in, cross the bridge and go one mile.

Also known as the Fort Pleasant Meeting House, the Old Fields Church holds special significance in the history of the South Branch Valley. It is the oldest church in West Virginia; and because it served, too, as a school house, it is believed to be the oldest extant school house in the state.

On Sunday evening at 6 pm all are invited to an old fashioned hymn sing and prayer meeting to close out Heritage Weekend festivities.

The church was built in 1812 on land donated by Isaac and Elizabeth VanMeter, early settlers in Old Fields who, in 1832, built Fort Pleasant, an 18-room mansion of mixed Georgian and Federal styles nearby. The original deed for the church stipulates that while the property was owned by the Methodist Church, it would be available for use by any denomination at any time.

Religious tolerance did not extend to racial equality. While black slaves were allowed to attend services, they were segregated in a balcony accessed from an outdoor staircase. "A contributor to the Moorefield Examiner in 1904 recalled 'Uncle' John and 'Aunt' Lydia Lowe and all the old servants in the gallery before the war," reports Richard MacMaster in The History of Hardy County, 1786-1986.

The meeting house had fallen into disrepair and was closed briefly in the late 1800s. According to MacMaster, Methodists from Old Fields and Moorefield raised enough money at an ice cream social in 1897 to repair the church and reopen it in 1898 with a service led by the Rev. S. G. Ferguson, who had served with Mosby's Raiders in the Civil War.

After the removal of the unsafe balcony pre-1900, the building has been maintained in excellent condition. Members of the VanMeter and other prominent local families continue to be buried in the church yard as their ancestors have been for the past seven or eight generations.

Open courtesy of the Duffey United Methodist Church of Moorefield

Directions: US 220 north from Moorefield for about 4 miles, turn left at grey barn (just north of Fish Pond Rd.) and at historic sign and farm gate. Watch for green flag, drive through field on left.

The chapel dates from 1916, when A. J. and Susan Heishman donated land for the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. Charles L. Combs, James Teets, William Miller and Philip Heishman were trustees. Their descendants still live in the area.

Construction of the chapel proceeded because, in part, times were good in the Lost River Valley. The faithful had the resources and the Valley's population was growing.

The tannery in Lost City employed hundreds and needed a constant supply of bark and cord wood. Expanding railroads required timber for railroad cross ties. High prices for cattle and corn sustained large families through the winter months. Roads improved, the telephone eased communications.

Goodwin Godlove and Lewis Mathias drove over to Maysville, WV and purchased the pews from an old church.

Once a month a circuit preacher visited and held church services. An early photograph shows about 80 men, women and children in attendance. All the women and young girls appear in white, head to toe.

For one woman who grew up while going to the Chapel, a particular memory stands out. After the Christmas program someone dressed up like Santa Claus would hand out an orange and a bag of hard candy to each child.

The deed stated that if the church ceased to be used for church services, the building would revert back to the Heishman heirs. Sometime in 1990 the church closed its doors. For seventeen years the chapel sat empty. Services started anew on a periodic basis in 2007.

Open courtesy of Janet Heishman Barrick

Directions: Three miles south of Baker on Route 259, on the right. Almost four miles north of Lost River on Route 259, on the left.

The Inn at Lost River sits on property originally owned by William (Billy) Harper, an early landowner in the Lost River Valley. Harper operated a Gristmill and General Store - commercial and social centers of activity for the Lost River Valley.

Although the Grist Mill no longer stands, the Lost River General Store, on the National Register of Historic Places, continues to provide a "sense of place" for residents, guests and travelers.

William Harper's Lost River General Store "Daybook" or "Ledger", circa 1870, will be on display at the Inn, courtesy of Gatha Souder.

In the late 1880's, James Garrett purchased the Harper Grist Mill and a portion of the Harper property. Garrett and his son, Ferg, constructed the wood frame lath and plaster home which later became the Inn. The Garretts operated the Mill and farmed the property for a number of years.

A major renovation and restoration of the Inn began in mid 1990 and concluded 20 months later.

Today, the 120-year-old soft pine floors, milled from local forests, still grace the center hall. With the removal of fourteen coats of multi-colored paint, the center hall banister once again shines as a woodworker's masterpiece in walnut.

Out buildings include an original smokehouse used for curing meats and a reconstructed springhouse once used for cooling milk and other perishables.

During Heritage Weekend, relax and enjoy afternoon tea and Heritage confectionaries in the Inn. Also enjoy the Lost River Artisans Cooperative and the Lost River Museum, a short walk away.

Open courtesy of Ted and Toni Mathias-Harvey

Location: On Route 259 at Mill Gap Road

The Lost River Artisans Cooperative is the eastern headquarters for Heritage Weekend. Visitors may purchase tickets, get information and hear about last minute changes in the Heritage Weekend schedule.

The Artisans Cooperative and Museum share the 163-year-old Harper Barn. Upstairs, the Artisans Cooperative offers for sale juried handcrafted furniture, pottery, glass, baskets, weaving and other crafts, plus paintings and photography, books, and music.

Downstairs, the Lost River Museum featuring special exhibits of antique spinning wheels, looms and the tools of other fiber arts that have been restored to working order.

This year visitors can view artifacts from Native Americans who lived in the Lost River Valley. Entitled "Those Who Came Before: 9,500 BC - 1650 AD," the exhibit is supported by the West Virginia Humanities Council.

Around 1847 Samuel Harper constructed the barn into an earthen bank so he could drive his wagon into the upper level to unload and then drive out the other side, unhitch his team and lead them into the stable on the lower level.

A cantilevered overhang juts the length of the barn to form a protected fore bay on the lower level and add space to the upper level. With its native stone foundation and huge hand-hewn beams, the barn is a magnificent example of Appalachian craftsmanship, durability and practicality.

During Heritage Weekend, there will be juried Appalachian craft demonstrations and artisan's crafts for sale on the lawn of the historic Harper Barn. Bids will be accepted during a silent auction of crafts donated by artisans. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Lost River Educational Foundation, which underwrites student field trips to the Museum and art scholarships.

Open courtesy of the Lost River Artisans Cooperative

Location: In Lost River at the corner of Route 259 and Mill Gap Road, next to the red brick Harper House

With the opening of a large tannery and several other enterprises in the 1890s, residents envisioned a city growing up along the banks of the Lost River. They named their community Lost City, and it indeed thrived for a time. A Presbyterian congregation was organized and the church was named for its first pastor, Ivanhoe Robertson.

The congregation grew through the heyday of Lost City, surviving the closing of the tannery in 1927, the Great Depression, the chestnut blight, the end of lumbering, terrible droughts, forest fires, depressed agriculture prices and World War II, which drew its young men from the valley. The church today continues to be an active center of worship.

The original church was a lovely building with gothic-style windows and carpenter gothic detailing outside and beautiful oak paneling inside. Over the years, the congregation has upgraded the facilities but maintained the historic sanctuary in its original form. The original pump organ still occupies a corner in the sanctuary, and sometimes it is played.

In the fellowship hall, the church displays historic photos and other memorabilia. During Heritage Weekend, a bake sale will take place on the grounds. The congregation welcomes visitors to its 11 am Sunday service and for a covered-dish supper following the service.

Open courtesy of the Ivanhoe Presbyterian Church congregation.

Directions: Route 259 to Lost City, turn onto Lower Cover Road at the Post Office, church is on the hill, to the left.

The Mathias Homestead has survived more than two centuries of wear and tear and some misfortune to remain standing as a monument to the homesteading families of the Lost River Valley and as a special tribute to the Mathias family that made it home for 165 years.

It hasn't been easy. During the Civil War, Union troops burned the floor of an upstairs room when a raging fire in a fireplace got out of control. The scar is still visible. Natural aging and harsh weather have taken their toll.

But nothing so threatened the cabin as the natural gas explosion at a garage across the road in December 2004. The rippling explosive impact and debris crashed into the front exterior. Repairs to the windows, doors, and roof have brought the cabin back to life.

The cabin was built as a single-family structure about 1797 by John and Barbara Mathias, who had moved here from Shenandoah County. It is believed the structure was constructed in two phases with the northernmost section being the original. At or around the time when the second part was built, porches and a breezeway were added to connect the halves.

Weatherboarding that had been added at some unknown time was removed to expose the log exterior as it appeared at the turn of the 19th Century.

For more than 165 years, the cabin was home to the Mathias family. Sadi, the widow of Philip S. Mathias, lived in the home until the mid 1960s, being the last family member to occupy it. The home place remained in the Mathias family until 1974 when it was deeded to the Mathias Civic Center Association by Wendall Mathias.

It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places Nov. 24, 1978. The Civil War Trails marker in the front yard provides more information.

Open courtesy of Mathias Homestead Inc.

Location: On Route 259 at Howards Lick Road

For years, this rustic cabin was believed to have been built by Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, the Revolutionary War hero and father of Confederate icon Robert E. Lee. But a study by Ellen Anderson for the WV Department of Parks documented that it more likely was Light Horse Harry's son. Charles Carter Lee, who built the two-story cabin in 1800.

According to Anderson, Light Horse Harry bought 17,000 acres along Howard's Lick and Cove Run Road in 1796 for speculative purposes but went into debt before he could develop the property. Rather than have it seized by creditors, he transferred the property to his four sons, including Robert and his elder brother Charles.

Charles is believed to have built the hand-hewn white oak cabin as a hunting-cabin but, sensing the opportunity presented by the existence of sulphur springs, built a two-story hotel and spa on the site. Lee ran the hotel until 1851 when it was acquired by entrepreneurs, who renamed it Hardy White Sulphur Springs. In the 1890s, H.S. Carr enlarged the hotel and called it Lee White Sulphur Springs. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1910, but the original cabin and pavilion at the spring survived.

In 1934, the State of West Virginia purchased the property, including the cabin, to create the 3,712-acre Lost River State Park.

The Lee Cabin was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 30, 1974.

Open courtesy the WV Department of Parks

Directions: Located on Lost River State Park Road, County Route 12 (Howard's Lick Road) four miles southwest of Mathias. Once in the park, follow signs for the swimming pool. Before the pool at a "Y" in the road, bear right up the hill. Parking is just beyond the cabin.

Used as a place of worship and community meeting place for many years, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, like many country churches, lost its congregation to larger consolidated churches in the 1950s, closed its doors in 1961 and became a hay barn.

The current owner purchased the church, farmhouse and property in 2000. The church is now a woodworking shop but the essential outlines of the old church interior are preserved.

The entire compound pays tribute to a compatible mixture of rural heritage and modern creativity.

The cornerstone for St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church was laid Sept. 1, 1901, but the congregation was active at least as early as 1894, serving the families that settled Cullers Run.

Founders included many family names still common today: Delawder, Dove, Fauley, Jenkins, Loury, May, Moyers, Sherman, Souder, Sours, Stultz, Ketterman, Loy, Strawderman and Wilkins. The first baptism was Jan. 17, 1903, for Virginia V. Smith. The first marriage united Noah Moyers and Emma Loury on Nov. 15, 1903, and a month later, on Christmas Eve, Perry L. Dove and Florence H. Loury were married.

Lewis Loury provided land for a cemetery on a hilltop just above St. John's. The earliest marker carries the date April 8, 1894, for Arthur Loury.

When cars became common, roads were improved and ministers became hard to find and keep; people left their home churches for large, consolidated congregations. St. John's, like so many country churches, closed its doors in 1961.

Open courtesy of Joshua and Gianna Miller

Directions: From Route 259, about 1.6 miles south of Mathias, take Crab Run Road. After 1.3 miles, turn right onto Cullers Run Road. St. John's is at 460 Cullers Run Road, on the right.

Cullers Run School is one of the most complete restorations of a one-room school in the nation. It is chock full of authentic memorabilia, including the original bell, pot-bellied stove, teacher's desk and student benches, lunch buckets, textbooks, papers and photographs.

Built at a cost of $137, it served as a school house for generations of children from 1898 to 1956. That the school survives in pristine condition is a credit to Ken and Anne Shifflet, who bought the 82 acre farm that included the school. Because the school was abandoned, the land - but not the building reverted to the Shifflets. A year later they bought the building for $500 at a school property auction.

With warm memories of the one-room school he attended in Pennsylvania, Ken Shifflet organized volunteers from among alumni of the school and other area residents to restore the building and acquire authentic memorabilia. His wife Anne did the research to document the school's history. By the fall of 1989, the school was ready to be opened to the public for Heritage Weekend, and it has been a tour attraction every year since.

On Aug. 5, 2004, the Shifflets donated the school and a half acre of land to the Cullers Run School Association on condition that the Association preserve and maintain the structure as it existed between 1898 and 1956 and that artifacts placed in the school be of that period and used in Hardy County schools.

Open courtesy of the Cullers Run School Association

Directions: From Route 259, about two miles south of Mathias, take Crab Run Road. Turn right onto Cullers Run Road. The school is four miles down the road on the left.

The first Lutheran congregation in Wardensville was formed by Pastor John Hamilton on April 18, 1840. The early years of the church were difficult.

Most Hardy County residents were loyal to the Southern cause during the Civil War. When Union troops marched through town, the Rev. Peter Miller and members of the congregation gave themselves as hostages to insure the good conduct of the townspeople and prevent soldiers from burning the town, according to a church history.

Services were held in the Old Union Church until 1870 when a new brick church was built under the direction of of Rev. Miller. The church collapsed in 1934 due to the deterioration of the homemade bricks.

Rev. L.B. Williamson directed the construction of a new church of native sandstone obtained from the Winfred Tharp property. Church members contributed labor and materials, holding total costs to $8,000.

St. Peter congregation is part of the Capon North River Lutheran Parish, which consists of Hebron Church at Yellow Springs, Ebenezer Church at Rio and Fairview Lutheran Church at Gore, Va.

Enjoy the music of the church organist Saturday morning.

Open courtesy of St. Peter Lutheran congregation

Location: 60 West Main Street

Experience the ambiance of the Wardensville Jail, enjoyed by prisoners from 1930 through the 1950's. Not many towns could boast of a jail where families kept in touch with a captive relative during a leisurely stroll down Main Street.

Prior to its use as a jail, John Cline, Sr. and his son, C. H. Cline, used the building as a blacksmith shop from the 1830's until 1895.

Wardensville was founded in 1832. A map of that year listing ownership of town lots shows Lot 2, the location of the jail and the white house next to it, as having been owned by John Cline, Sr. The lot is still in the Cline family.

The original structure was built of hand dressed stone, held together with lime mortar. The rear section collapsed years ago but the front section remains secure enough for prisoners, even today.

Since the windows were handy for friends to pass a bottle, prisoners often came out drunker than when put in.

Open courtesy of Margaret Harrison

Location: On West Main Street, to the right of 164 West Main Street.

Brothers John and Wilbur Hahn started working together in 1939. Mostly they cut, milled and hauled timber. They transported axes, cross cut saws and a portable mill to where the trees stood, cut for weeks and then moved on to the next site.

Their last portable saw mill, The Double-O'Frick, sits now at the old Hahn homeplace. It hasn't moved for 25 years. A gasoline motor from a 1949 Buick Roadmaster powers the 52 inch blade. Even today, the mill operates much as it did 60 years ago.

On a good day the Hahn brothers could produce 3,000 board feet of lumber. When business prospered, they took on as many as seven employees. But competing against the big mills, producing millions of board feet of lumber each day, meant the Hahn brothers could not rest.

As recently as 2005, the mill produced railroad ties, furniture boards and flooring. The heavy snows in 2010 damaged the mill shelter.

The two-story clapboard house where the Hahn brothers grew up sits empty now. And yet, beyond the out buildings, past the family cemetery and above the fields once filled with vegetables and grains to sustain a family of ten, The Double-O'Frick rumbles to life: a historic country mill in a digital age.

Open courtesy of the Hahn Family

Location: The Hahn Homeplace, Dutch Hollow

Directions: From Corridor H between Baker and Wardensville: exit at Pinnacle Drive (to the right from Baker or to the left from Wardensville); turn right onto Route Old 55; turn right onto Sauerkraut Road; Hahn Homeplace is about four miles on the right. Follow signs to the mill.

The restoration of this one room school is so authentic that former student Austin Ludwig said: "The only things missing are the broken water cooler and the ink wells we used to dip the girls' hair in."

Dutch Hollow families sent their children to this school from 1904 to 1949. John Hahn, a veteran of the Confederate Army, donated the land for the school.

Carpenters used locally grown and milled chestnut lumber to enclose a space roughly 24 by 36 feet. Lighting came from a coal oil lantern hung in the center of the room. Students carried water from a well across the road. A large wood stove provided heat. Jake Hahn split wood and stacked logs under the front porch, charging the Board of Education $5 per year. An outhouse behind the school still stands.

A succession of teachers instructed first through eighth grades. During a typical day the dozen or so students rotated from front to back of the room, with instruction for 15 - 20 minutes per grade in the front and then work time in the back for the rest of the day. Subjects included reading, writing, math, history and penmanship, the latter practiced on small chalk boards.

The school year extended from mid September to mid April. Students enjoyed morning and afternoon fifteen minute recesses and one hour lunch breaks. Upon graduating the eighth grade, students who went on to high school enrolled in Wardensville or Romney.

Except for the winter months, it was not uncommon for students to walk barefoot to school and home again, sometimes miles.

Open courtesy of the Hahn Family

Location: On Sauerkraut Road, near the intersection with Dutch Hollow Road.

Directions: From Corridor H between Baker and Wardensville: exit at Pinnacle Drive (to the right from Baker or to the left from Wardensville); turn right onto Route Old 55; turn right onto Sauerkraut Road; school is about four miles on the left.