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Those Markers We See So Often

They Sometimes Blend Into The Background

What are they all about, where are they located throughout our County, and what the heck do they say?
Shucks, you never have time to read them when you're driving by.

We reckon the best way to describe the the markers would be to borrow the wording from the
West Virginia Division of Culture and History's website:

Presenting
A Safe Harbor for Natural Beauty:


A visit in April of 2013 revealed a splendid destination for communing with nature, dabbing in the arts and learning about sustainability amidst our fast growing Baltimore/Washington Metro Area suburb.Craftworks is a multifaceted endeavor founded on a deep love of nature and the environment. Its WEBSITE relates the organization's mission eloquently:

Blue Ridge Primary School Partners
w/ Communitree April 2013

with a little help from your Blue Ridge Watershed Coalition

On April 15th trees were planted at the new primary school that was constructed last year. The project was part of the
West Virginia Project Communitree
whose mission is:

YAY!
The Spring festival held on Saturday, March 23, 2013 was a resounding success. We've put together an article

Mountain Community Center's Rain Garden 2012
A project by the
Blue Ridge Watershed Coalition(BRWC)

This project was made possible with a grant from the
West Virginia Stream Partners Program

The demonstration project was part of a larger effort designed to capture the first inch of rainfall and slow and filter as much of the water as possible from the land around the Mountain Community Center (MCC) by:

• Capturing rain from the rear roof and storing it in a cistern for irrigation and as an additional source of water for fire suppression
  
• Capturing water from the front roof in a series of rain barrels for irrigation of a garden and,
  
• Designing and constructing a drainage system to divert water from the driveway area and the hillside area into a rain garden. Water will also be "feathered" to spread it out and into an existing forested area.

Nat'l Headquarters ATC
Welcome to our presentation of Jefferson County's portion

Our County's Stories in 1000 minutes via YouTube

New Rt 9 @ Keyes Gap + Construction Photos

Click on the image above to see a larger version

Courtesy of Commissioner Lyn Widmyer

The Shannondale Iron Furnace
Near the Horseshoe Bend of the Shenandoah River

A Very Brief History

In the early 1700's, William Fairfax became the owner of 29,000 acres of the Virginia Colony. The land was referred to as Shannondale. Early in the area's history it became known that copious deposits of a superior grade of iron ore were present and readily available. That fact, in conjunction with the presence of the area's convenient proximity to two rivers made the area highly desirable for iron

From the Pages of History
A Short History of Blue Ridge Acres, West Virginia
by Ruby Browning
Reprinted with the Permission of the Author


The Former Sales Office (Now Clubhouse)

So,
I finally was able to coordinate with my friend and arrange a visit to the summit of Lover's Leap. The view was simply breathtaking. The first two images show the panorama of

Willis & Cpl Sell 10/7/2011 Ready to Hit the Road
click the pic

The Report



I arrived at the sheriff's office in Bardane a little before 3PM or 10 hour shift (3pm-1am) and was assigned to ride with Sergeant Sell, probably so they could keep me out of trouble.

We left the lot a little before 4PM after the Sgt. had checked logs and given me a short course on what to expect as a "ride-along" and I had staged the photo op above.

The Sergeant introduced me to the “cockpit" of the cruiser, packed with electronic equipment and pointed out how to “light up” the cruiser and activate the various

From the Jefferson County Sesquicentennial issue of the Jefferson Republican 9/20/1951


"The Bloomery" As Washington Saw It

The following material was originally contained in the Jefferson County School News Vol. 2, No. 7 dated April 1976 and graciously provided by its Editor, Mary Stocks.
In 1976 Jefferson County School News was a monthly publication sponsored by the Board of Education as a public service to Jefferson County residents.

Superintendent - Harold L. Pickens
President of the Board - Richard Neal
Editor - Mary Stocks
Special thanks to the following people who so willingly supplied information to the editor of this paper for this special publication:



Mrs. Beverly Huyett, Mrs. Norval Johnson, Mr. James Ernest Watson, Mr. and Mrs. James Grantham,
Mrs. Margaret Kilmer, Mrs. Caroline Wesco, Mrs. Virginia Burns, Mrs. Holmes White, Mrs. Nancy Sardone, Mr. Lyle Tabb, Mr. James Snyder, Miss Edna Farnsworth, Mrs. Gertrude Rowland, Mr. Charles Whittington, Miss Shirley Macoughtry, Mrs. Margaret Banks, Mrs. Georgia Timbers, Mrs. James Locke, Mrs. Louise Bradley, Mrs. James Strider, Mrs. Carrie Strider Lynn, Mrs. Marianna Smallwood, Mr. Howard Bush, Mrs. Doris Moten, Mrs. W. L. Barron, Mrs. C. H. Hamilton, Mrs. Edna Pifer.

Jefferson County Public Schools
Kabletown/Middleway District School History
1860's-1933

KABLETOWN SCHOOLS

Kabletown School - 1885

The following material was originally contained in the Jefferson County School News Vol. 2, No. 5 dated February 1976 and graciously provided by its Editor, Mary Stocks.
In 1976 Jefferson County School News was a monthly publication sponsored by the Board of Education as a public service to Jefferson County residents.

Superintendent - Harold L. Pickens
President of the Board - Richard Neal
Editor - Mary Stocks

Special thanks to the following people who so willingly supplied information to the editor of this paper for this special publication.
T. A. Lowery, Lewis Nichols, Betty Kidwiler, Edith Bragg, Mrs. W.P. Fleming, Mrs. Brian Houser, Mrs. Lester Moler, Mrs. William Hoak, Mrs Mae Ramey, 0scar Jones

Jefferson County Public Schools
Harpers Ferry District School History
1889-1933

Prior to 1889

The Jefferson County Health Department's Dif-Sip Program

The Jefferson County Health Department with input from the Water advisory committee has adopted a program, set to go into effect

Lake Shannondale's Construction 1964-1966
The photos below are part of a book dedicated to Charles M. Johnson, Shannondale's developer, by Granville (Pete) Cave. Pete devoted an extraordinary amount of time and energy to make a record that is both fascinating and historical. And he did it with a Kodak Instamatic camera and a pair of scissors. In this day of digital pix and photo shop his job would have been SO much easier.



When finished in 1966, it was the largest, privately owned lake in West Virginia. It was financed by Shannondale Inc., the developer of Shannondale, with proceeds earned from land sales. Enjoy the show.
(Note that much larger versions of the images can be seen by clicking on the pictures below-we don't want you all to strain your eyes)