Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Writers' Program in West Virginia, Records regarding Mineral and Hampshire Counties and Other Material, A&M 0183, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

The Writers Project was created in 1935 as part of the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). Its purpose was to provide employment for historians, teachers, librarians, writers, and others with qualified skills. The field of assignment for those hired was usually confined to the locality of a writer's residence, although some assignments were for statewide subjects.

The objective of the project was to produce a series of sectional guide books under the name "The American Guide" focusing on the history, geography, and cultural and economic resources of the United States. Other topics of interest developed, however, and were added to the Project, such as urban and rural folklore, first person narratives or life histories, studies of the cultures of ethnic groups, and authentic narratives of ex-slaves.

The Writers Project became a casualty of World War II. The monies needed to meet the demands for defense were drained from the Writers Project, ending the program in 1942.

Scope and Contents

The Writers' Program was a federal New Deal program (1935-1942) that employed jobless individuals with literary and writing skills for the purpose of researching and recording a broad assemblage of information regarding their states and local counties. This collection contains some of the records of the West Virginia division of the Program (the bulk of which are in A&M 454), including material regarding Mineral and Hamphshire Counties, as well as Berkeley, Grant, Hardy, and Pendleton Counties.

There are some original manuscripts, including militia commissions signed by the Governor of Virginia (1820s-1830s), and some land records (3 documents from the 1820s) (folders 1a and 1b).

Mostly, however, there are typescript narratives and transcriptions, and newspaper clippings, regarding the history of these counties (ca. 1820-1940). The range of topics is diverse, including:

listings of Mineral County residents who were draftees, casualties, or decorated in World War I (folder 2),

cemetery records for the Williams family (folder 2);

brief history of Capon Springs (folder 2);

marriage records (folder 2);

list of Revolutionary War soldiers (folder 3);

list of Confederate companies from Hampshire County (folder 3);

list of post-offices and postmasters of Hampshire County (1832) (folder 3);

list of Confederate veterans, Camp 1046 (folder 4);

roster of McNeill's Rangers, typescript (folder 12);

memorial address regarding Camp Chase, Ohio (1929) (folder 14);

and a historical narrative by Professor J.C. Sanders regarding the Whiskey Rebellion (folder 15).

There are a few biographies of prominent individuals scattered throughout.

There is also a photograph of the first train through Moorefield, Hardy County (1910 May 9) (folder 12); and a photograph of Howard's Lick Hotel (ca. 1900-1910) (folder 12).

Related Material

183, 454

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Hampshire County (W. Va.)
• Mineral County (W. Va.)
• World War, 1914-1918 -- Mineral County (W. Va.) -- Soldiers