Local History

It’s here. This brand new pictorial history book documents, both in pictures and in words, the rich history of the Triadelphia District of Logan County, West Virginia, covering the era from the late-1800s through the 1950s.

Over 300 vintage photographs and images!

VERY LIMITED QUANTITY.
Personally autographed by the author.

An Appalachian bestseller, this is the true account of a prominent, Depression-era woman from Southern West Virginia, who was found brutally murdered. Mamie Thurman was a member of the tight-lipped, local aristocracy that frequented a private club in downtown Logan, West Virginia, where locals gambled, drank illegally, swapped wives and the like. A handyman was likely framed for her murder and spent the rest of his life in prison. However, new evidence points to several groups—from the mob to the KKK and rumrunners and local merchants—as having a part in this gruesome account.

Prickett’s Fort is the story of the struggles of Ethan LeMaster and Alexander Braxton as they wrestle with danger, intrigue, and love. The account is based on actual events in the frontier of Virginia (now West Virginia), and the volume revolves around the inner warfare raging inside these men and those connected with them and exposes the harsh realities of the frontier while coating the senses with an aura of romance.

Take a fascinating trip back through time. Memories of Tug Valley celebrates and captures the colorful and proud history of Mingo County and the Tug River Valley. Using vintage photographs and rare images, along with historical narrative, this book vividly illustrates, page-by-page, the county’s past, and depicts many of the people who have shaped the future of this rugged portion of the Mountain State. It’s the land of the Hatfields and McCoys, the Matewan Massacre, the Glen Alum train payroll robbery, catastrophic floods, and more.

At the time this original manuscript was penned in 1927, Swain was a reporter for the county newspaper, The Logan County Banner, in Logan, WV. Here Swain paints a vivid picture, in his most unique style, of West Virginia in bygone days. Granted, Swain was a staunch supporter of the controversial Logan County Sheriff Don Chafin, so his particular take on the mine war is from a Chafin perspective. When he describes Logan County miners in this manuscript, he portrays them as being largely content and well-treated by mine operators.

Upon the tragic death of Chief Cornstalk in 1774, the Shawnees followed Cornstalk’s daughter, Princess Aracoma, into present-day Midelburg Island in Logan County. This book aptly describes the settling of the Mountain State and explains how Princess Aracoma resolved a difficult conflict between the American Indian population and the region’s earliest settlers.

A state bestseller is now available in a handsome softcover format, and includes additional research, interviews and photographs. Entirely revised and re-edited, West Virginia Tough Boys remains a historically significant literary work about mountain politics and the 1960 presidential primary campaign. Rich and straightforward stories of political tomfoolery, vote-buying and eventual victory for Senator John Kennedy Kennedy in the Mountain State's primary are documented here. The West Virginia is often sited as the most important and vital win in Kennedy's bid for the White House.

Televisions heated up during the summer of 2012 when The History Channel aired a three-part miniseries based on the real-life story of William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield and his friend turned enemy, Randall McCoy. You've watched the miniseries. Now own a piece of the feud. Featured as resource material in the 2012 History Channel companion documentary, "America's Greatest Feud: Hatfields & McCoys," narrated by Kevin Costner, this book is penned by the late Dr. Coleman C. Hatfield, great-grandson of Devil Anse and grandson of Cap Hatfield. The book reflects Dr.