Hidden History Highlights

Old moss covered railroad tracks can be found along the Southside Trail near Thurmond.

NPS photo, Dave Bieri

 

Hidden History Highlight videos feature some of the historic places and stories hidden within the rich cultural landscape of the New River Gorge region.

 

Ida McClure

 

Duration:

4 minutes, 48 seconds

Discover a story about Ida McClure from Thurmond, a community leader and restaurant owner during World War II. Hear how Ida supported the war effort in her community from 1941 to 1945, gaining the admiration of many soldiers.

 

Black Church near Thurmond

 

Duration:

3 minutes, 1 second

Discover the hidden history of the black church on the park's Church Loop Trail. Hear how African-Americans first found ways to worship together and support their community in the Thurmond area during the gorge's industrial boom of the early 1900s. As the congregation grew, they were and was finally able to build a permanent worship center that was used for services to 1979.

 

Red Ash Island

 

Duration:

2 minutes, 44 seconds

Discover the hidden history of Red Ash Island, a place that was once used to quarantine people during a smallpox epidemic. Gravestones of the people who died during the smallpox outbreak, along with victims from multiple mine disasters, can still be found on the island today.

 

Carter G. Woodson

 

Duration:

3 minutes, 1 second

Learn the history of Carter G. Woodson, often considered the founder of Black History Month, and the years he spent working as a coal miner here in the New River Gorge before becoming a famous historian.