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WVU will automatically admit some high school seniors in two West Virginia counties

https://wvexplorer.com/wvu-express-automatic-admission/

Published: September 14, 2026 03:16

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University will automatically admit qualifying high school seniors in two West Virginia counties under a new program that eliminates the traditional college application and application fee. This year, the offer is limited…

These Appalachian pioneers came from wealth and privilege

https://wvexplorer.com/appalachian-pioneers-wealth-privilege-west-virginia/

Published: September 13, 2026 22:25

BEAVER, W.Va. — Gary Morefield was cleaning an old gravestone in a small cemetery in an Appalachian valley when he reflected on what such places can reveal. “Cemeteries are like libraries,” he said. “You can learn the history of a place just strolling…

New plan imagines a different future for communities of the New River Gorge

https://wvexplorer.com/new-river-gorge-nrg-towns-artisan-corridor/

Published: September 12, 2026 14:38

PRINCE, W.Va. —  A sweeping new proposal would link communities throughout the New River Gorge region through arts, outdoor recreation, historic preservation, and small-business development, aiming to keep more of the economic benefits the gorge and its…

Family gives 47 acres to expand scenic West Virginia state park

https://wvexplorer.com/family-donates-47-acres-to-audra-state-park/

Published: September 11, 2026 21:09

AUDRA, W.Va. — A West Virginia family with roots in the mountains surrounding Audra State Park stretching back 175 years has donated 47 acres to the park, a substantial addition that officials say will provide space for future trail development. The family…

First Oktoberfest coming to West Virginia gorge as fall color peaks

https://wvexplorer.com/pipestem-oktoberfest-west-virginia-fall-color/

Published: September 11, 2026 20:32

PIPESTEM, W.Va. — A West Virginia mountain resort overlooking a federally protected river gorge will host its first Oktoberfest in October, when fall color typically peaks along the Bluestone River. Pipestem Resort State Park has scheduled its inaugural…

39 Appalachian films coming to West Virginia festival, and admission is free

https://wvexplorer.com/appalachian-film-festival-clarksburg-wv-2026/

Published: September 11, 2026 18:29

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Thirty-nine short films from across Appalachia will be screened free in a historic West Virginia theater in October as a growing regional film festival opens its doors to audiences without an admission charge. The Mtn Craft Film…

Filmmaker got lost looking for Virginia location and found his movie in West Virginia

https://wvexplorer.com/adams-fire-west-virginia-movie-lost-creek/

Published: September 11, 2026 16:50

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Filmmaker Bob Ahmed was scouting the mountains of Virginia for a place to shoot his new movie when he got lost, his phone died, and he kept driving. Then he found the farm he had been looking for in West Virginia. That unexpected…

West Virginia city eyes 40-mile trail network near New River Gorge

https://wvexplorer.com/beckley-west-virginia-40-mile-trail-network/

Published: September 10, 2026 21:51

BECKLEY, W.Va. — A West Virginia city near the nation’s newest national park is developing a recreational trail system that could exceed 40 miles—part of an effort to transform it from a transportation center into an outdoor destination. About 14 miles of…

West Virginia eliminates minimum age for youth hunting seasons

https://wvexplorer.com/west-virginia-eliminates-minimum-age-youth-hunting/

Published: September 10, 2026 06:06

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia no longer requires children to be at least eight years old to participate in the state’s special youth hunting seasons, a change taking on new relevance as the first youth black bear season of the fall opens Saturday. The…

Long a West Virginia rite of passage, squirrel hunting returns Saturday

https://wvexplorer.com/west-virginia-squirrel-hunting-season-tradition/

Published: September 10, 2026 05:19

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A hunting tradition that has introduced generations of West Virginians to the woods returns Saturday when the state’s regular squirrel season opens for nearly six months. The statewide season opens Sept. 12 and runs through Feb.…

Where are the autumns of yesterday? A West Virginia writer remembered a different fall

https://wvexplorer.com/autumn-indian-summer-west-virginia-history/

Published: September 10, 2026 03:58

CEDAR GROVE, W.Va. — Forrest Hull remembered autumn before foliage forecasts, scenic-drive maps, and photos of mountainsides ablaze with color became common ways to mark the season in West Virginia. “Where are the autumns of yesterday?” Hull asked in a…

West Virginia power plant rules headed for public hearing

https://wvexplorer.com/west-virginia-power-plant-rules-public-hearing/

Published: September 9, 2026 02:28

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia regulators are inviting the public to comment this month on rules proposed to govern how electric utilities maintain and use generating plants under a law approved by the Legislature in 2025. The Public Service Commission…

You can now spend the night 80 feet up in a West Virginia fire tower

https://wvexplorer.com/west-virginia-fire-tower-overnight-rental/

Published: September 8, 2026 23:31

COWEN, W.Va. — Travelers can now spend the night 80 feet above a remote West Virginia forest, sleeping in a restored fire lookout for as little as $100 a night. The Red Oak Fire Lookout opened Tuesday for overnight stays in the Monongahela National Forest.…

The James Gang supposedly robbed this West Virginia bank, though records are less certain

https://wvexplorer.com/james-gang-huntington-west-virginia-bank-robbery/

Published: September 8, 2026 04:42

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — One of West Virginia’s most famous outlaw stories holds that members of the James Gang rode into Huntington in 1875, robbed a bank in broad daylight, and fled toward the mountains with thousands of dollars. The robbery certainly…

Daniel Boone lived in West Virginia for years; this document survives in his own hand

https://wvexplorer.com/daniel-boone-west-virginia-kanawha-valley/

Published: September 7, 2026 20:24

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Daniel Boone is remembered as a great figure of the Kentucky frontier, but a surviving document in his own hand illuminates a lesser-known chapter of his life. The famed frontiersman spent years in what’s now West Virginia, where he…

This West Virginia town once made the bricks that paved American cities

https://wvexplorer.com/new-cumberland-west-virginia-brick-capital/

Published: September 6, 2026 03:58

NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. — More than 20 brick plants once crowded what’s now a scenic stretch of the Ohio River, producing millions of bricks shipped to Pittsburgh and to cities hundreds of miles away, transforming a small West Virginia community into a…