Video Resources, Member Resources…

…YouTube resources for studing WV History

~the 4th in a series of articles~
Click here to start at the beginning of the series.

West Virginia History in 2 Minutes Or Less-A YouTube channel with over 50 short videos on West Virginia History.

WV History Documentary- This documentary follows a timeline of historical events, from the state’s first inhabitants to the present day, and follows the contributions of the men and women who shaped the state’s cultural, economic, and political landscapes.

Using paintings, still photographs, and motion picture clips, the series helps students explore what it means to be a West Virginian. Narrated by Richard Thomas.

West Virginia: The Road to Statehood– This documentary brings to life the issues, differences and disagreements that divided the Commonwealth of Virginia, turning families and neighbors against one another throughout what is now West Virginia.

Helvetia: The Swiss of West Virginia From the making of Helvetia cheese to Fasnacht and the burning of Old Man Winter….experience Old-World Swiss traditions as they thrive today in the remote mountain community of Helvetia, West Virginia. Descendants of nineteenth-century Swiss immigrants share and discuss their music, dance, yodeling, foodways, crafts, customs, and celebrations.

The Feud The most famous family conflict in American history, the Hatfield-McCoy feud evolved into a mythic American tale of jealousy, rage and revenge – and one which helped create the negative “hillbilly” stereotype that has shaped attitudes towards Appalachia for more than a century. Much more than a tale of two warring families, The Feud is the story of a region and its people forced into sudden change by Eastern capitalists, who transformed Appalachia from an agrarian mountain community into a coal and timber producing workplace owned and run primarily by outside interests.

The Mine Wars At the beginning of the 20th century, coal was the engine of American industrial progress. Nearly three quarters of a million men across the country spent ten or twelve hours a day underground in coal mines. The Mine Wars brings to life the struggle that turned the coalfields of southern West Virginia into a blood-soaked war zone where basic constitutional rights and freedoms were violently contested.

Read the 5th article in this series here.