A Civil War Trails marker on Fort Hill in Petersburg relates the history of Fort Mulligan, built by Union troops in 1863. Nearly 100 such markers could be placed across the state by the end of the year as part of a multi-state program to encourage heritage tourism.
Every school kid learns the story of John Brown, whose raid on the armory in Harper's Ferry is widely considered the first skirmish in the Civil War. And most West Virginians have probably heard of the battlefields at Droop Mountain and Carnifex Ferry.
Click here to view pdf version of rare photo of Confederate veterans.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Every school kid learns the story of John Brown, whose raid on the armory in Harper's Ferry is widely considered the first skirmish in the Civil War. And most West Virginians have probably heard of the battlefields at Droop Mountain and Carnifex Ferry.
Charleston's role in the War Between the States is less known, however, except to enthusiasts.
That could soon change, thanks to the efforts of Martha Ballman. And once eight Civil War Trail markers are installed along Kanawha Boulevard later this year, tourists are likely to follow, possibly by the busload.
That's the plan, anyway. And it's already happening in Virginia, Maryland and other states that have joined the Civil War Trails program.
Ballman, director of the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, said she checked out the website http://www.civilwartrails.org when she started planning the Charleston trail link last year.
"I clicked on 'Virginia' and I got a pile of stuff. They get nearly 4,000 hits a week, and that's doubled in the last year. So it will bring tourists."
Under the Civil War Trails program, volunteers in local communities research their war history and assemble photographs, maps and text that will be turned into 2-by-3-foot waist-high interpretive markers. The Virginia-based company behind the program manufactures each marker, and has final say on the content and layout. The cost: $2,700.
Local volunteers also have to find a sponsor -- typically a convention and visitors bureau or chamber of commerce -- to cover the $200 annual maintenance and marketing fee for each marker. That covers costs of printing brochures, running the website and insuring the marker against vandalism or other damage.
West Virginia joined the program three years ago, when the state Division of Tourism agreed to buy 150 markers, said Justin Gaull, a heritage tourism specialist.
"We see this as a great opportunity to gain market share from niche tourism," Gaull said. "To date, we have 45 markers in the ground. We have about 55 more in the works, in various stages of development."
The first marker, set in April 2008, honors the house of Dr. Robert B. McNutt in Princeton. The 1840 house, now home to the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce, served as temporary headquarters to Lt. Col. (and future president) Rutherford B. Hayes.
Other markers are scattered across the state -- Gauley Bridge, Sutton, Burnsville, Glenville -- with higher concentrations in war-rich areas like Moorefield and Shepherdstown.
"The original intent was about three markers per county -- 55 counties, 150 markers -- but some counties don't have a lot of Civil War history," Ballman said.
She learned about the trail program by attending statewide task force meetings while working under a Benedum grant to develop cultural heritage sites for tourism. When no one else volunteered to build a trail link through Charleston, Ballman stepped up.
"Part of the problem is it's nobody's job to do this," she said. "All the CVBs recognize it's a wonderful bargain. It's getting someone local to do the work."
To ensure accuracy, Ballman enlisted local historians like Richard Andre and Billy Joe Peyton, along with Stan Cohen, publisher of "Kanawha Valley Images."
"The Kanawha Valley Historical and Preservation Society has been involved, too," she said.
The team came up with material for eight markers. Rather than focusing on specific sites, the markers are tied more to themes -- Kanawha Riflemen, salt and Kanawha Salines (Malden), and military occupation.
"We tried to emphasize human interest," Ballman said, "not the generals and battles, but the human side."
Click here to view pdf version of rare photo of Confederate veterans.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Every school kid learns the story of John Brown, whose raid on the armory in Harper's Ferry is widely considered the first skirmish in the Civil War. And most West Virginians have probably heard of the battlefields at Droop Mountain and Carnifex Ferry.
Charleston's role in the War Between the States is less known, however, except to enthusiasts.
That could soon change, thanks to the efforts of Martha Ballman. And once eight Civil War Trail markers are installed along Kanawha Boulevard later this year, tourists are likely to follow, possibly by the busload.
That's the plan, anyway. And it's already happening in Virginia, Maryland and other states that have joined the Civil War Trails program.
Ballman, director of the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, said she checked out the website http://www.civilwartrails.org when she started planning the Charleston trail link last year.
"I clicked on 'Virginia' and I got a pile of stuff. They get nearly 4,000 hits a week, and that's doubled in the last year. So it will bring tourists."
Under the Civil War Trails program, volunteers in local communities research their war history and assemble photographs, maps and text that will be turned into 2-by-3-foot waist-high interpretive markers. The Virginia-based company behind the program manufactures each marker, and has final say on the content and layout. The cost: $2,700.
Local volunteers also have to find a sponsor -- typically a convention and visitors bureau or chamber of commerce -- to cover the $200 annual maintenance and marketing fee for each marker. That covers costs of printing brochures, running the website and insuring the marker against vandalism or other damage.
West Virginia joined the program three years ago, when the state Division of Tourism agreed to buy 150 markers, said Justin Gaull, a heritage tourism specialist.
"We see this as a great opportunity to gain market share from niche tourism," Gaull said. "To date, we have 45 markers in the ground. We have about 55 more in the works, in various stages of development."
The first marker, set in April 2008, honors the house of Dr. Robert B. McNutt in Princeton. The 1840 house, now home to the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce, served as temporary headquarters to Lt. Col. (and future president) Rutherford B. Hayes.
Other markers are scattered across the state -- Gauley Bridge, Sutton, Burnsville, Glenville -- with higher concentrations in war-rich areas like Moorefield and Shepherdstown.
"The original intent was about three markers per county -- 55 counties, 150 markers -- but some counties don't have a lot of Civil War history," Ballman said.
She learned about the trail program by attending statewide task force meetings while working under a Benedum grant to develop cultural heritage sites for tourism. When no one else volunteered to build a trail link through Charleston, Ballman stepped up.
"Part of the problem is it's nobody's job to do this," she said. "All the CVBs recognize it's a wonderful bargain. It's getting someone local to do the work."
To ensure accuracy, Ballman enlisted local historians like Richard Andre and Billy Joe Peyton, along with Stan Cohen, publisher of "Kanawha Valley Images."
"The Kanawha Valley Historical and Preservation Society has been involved, too," she said.
The team came up with material for eight markers. Rather than focusing on specific sites, the markers are tied more to themes -- Kanawha Riflemen, salt and Kanawha Salines (Malden), and military occupation.
"We tried to emphasize human interest," Ballman said, "not the generals and battles, but the human side."
They have tentatively picked sites for the markers, along the river from the Capitol to the West Side, but are still in negotiations about rights of way.
"We tried to strategically place them along the Boulevard to maximize access and minimize disruption with having tourists go to actual sites," she said. "They can actually go to the sites; we've directed them to certain sites."
A marker targeted for Daniel Boone Park mentions the Craik-Patton House and Ruffner Log Cabin, and directs visitors to other antebellum sites like the McFarland-Hubbard House and Spring Hill Cemetery.
The Malden marker, however, will probably be located downriver from the tiny town.
"We either want it at Craik-Patton or across from the Capitol. We'd really like it at the Capitol because there are three or four statues at the Capitol, plus the museum. Malden's not real conducive to bus traffic."
And you won't find directions to perhaps the most significant site in Charleston, the only physical remnant of the war itself -- Fort Scammon. Neighbors of the Fort Hill namesake are known for discouraging visitors.
"We understand that, which is why we decided not to direct people there. You're not going to stop the rabid buff from going up there, but we're not going to encourage them. It doesn't do tourists good to be fussed at."
The westernmost marker, titled "Baptism by Fire," deals mostly with an event that took place 15 miles downriver -- the Battle of Scary Creek.
"We use the Battle of Scary to show tourists it involves the boys here," Ballman said. "They were coming to Charleston but got ambushed along the way. There's a lot of local connection in that battle."
The marker will feature a rare panoramic photograph -- the annual meeting of the Confederate Encampment of West Virginia -- taken by Proctor Photography in Huntington in October 1913. Among the dozens of participants are William A. MacCorkle, the state's ninth governor, and feud legend Devil Anse Hatfield.
Ballman found the photo while combing through the state archives a few weeks ago. It had just been donated to the state by a woman thought to be a distant relative of Devil Anse.
The Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau readily agreed to cover the annual maintenance fees for all eight markers, Ballman said, permanently.
"It's as perpetual as I can make it," CVB President Patty Bradley-Pitrolo said.
"Historic preservation and heritage traveling, that's a real significant segment of tourism," she said. "We're a natural partner, because we are the visitor center in town."
Tour buses -- or motor coaches, in Bradley-Pitrolo's world -- used to go only to big cities like New York and Atlantic City. "Now they're getting very specialized. This is a thing we can market with them. We've had great success marketing the new state museum. This is just another layer."
By year's end, Gaull thinks 110 trail markers will be installed in West Virginia. Their locations will be listed in brochures the Civil War Trails group will be printing, he said.
"The great thing is they'll be cross-promoted with trails in other states, because the Civil War doesn't know state boundaries. The brochures will be distributed through our welcome centers, through our CALLWVA hot line and our website [http://wvtourism.com]."
Reach Jim Balow at ba...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5102.
