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Home > Libraries > Special Collections > Teaching and Learning Resources > Exhibits > Historic West Virginia Churches

Historic West Virginia Churches

For two centuries the peal of the church bell across the hills and hollows of what is today West Virginia, has summoned the faithful to worship. As the small towns sprang up along the forks in the river, or the dirt road/turnpike in western Virginia, usually the first non-dwelling building built was a church. The first churches west of the Blue Ridge Mountains are said to have been a Presbyterian and a Baptist church in Berkeley County in the eastern panhandle. It was common for the church to serve as the first school in the area, before a school building was built. In many cases, the church sponsored the school and provided the teachers. Prior to the Civil War, the major denominations in the rural south, including Virginia, were the Presbyterians, the Methodists, and the Baptists. The Methodist Church was instrumental in the founding and survival of Marshall Academy, now Marshall University in Huntington. The church has always been the anchor of the small towns and villages of West Virginia.
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  • First Methodist Episcopal Church, Huntington, Cabell County, W. Va. by C. E. Wheelock & Company

    First Methodist Episcopal Church, Huntington, Cabell County, W. Va.

  • First Presbyterian Church, Parkersburg, Wood County, W.Va. by Valentine & Sons Publishing Company

    First Presbyterian Church, Parkersburg, Wood County, W.Va.

  • Bland Street Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Bluefield, Mercer County, W.Va. by Art Stat. Company, Bluefield, WVa.

    Bland Street Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Bluefield, Mercer County, W.Va.

  • First Methodist Episcopal Church, Morgantown, Monongalia County, W.Va. by Marshall University

    First Methodist Episcopal Church, Morgantown, Monongalia County, W.Va.

  • St. George's Chapel, near Charles Town, Jefferson County, W.Va. by Marshall University

    St. George's Chapel, near Charles Town, Jefferson County, W.Va.

  • Methodist Episcopal Church, Mannington, Marion County, W. Va. by Mrs. S. Anderson

    Methodist Episcopal Church, Mannington, Marion County, W. Va.

  • St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Moundsville, Marshall County, WVa by T.R. Rogers & Son

    St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Moundsville, Marshall County, WVa

  • St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Gary, McDowell County, W.Va. by Marshall University

    St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Gary, McDowell County, W.Va.

  • Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Barboursville, Cabell County, W.Va. by Marshall University

    Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Barboursville, Cabell County, W.Va.

  • Central Christian Church, Huntington, Cabell County, W.Va. (Disciples of Christ.) by Marshall University

    Central Christian Church, Huntington, Cabell County, W.Va. (Disciples of Christ.)

  • Hebron Baptist Church Sunday School, Cabell County, W.Va. by Marshall University

    Hebron Baptist Church Sunday School, Cabell County, W.Va.

  • Johnson Memorial Methodist Church, Huntington, Cabell County, W.Va. by Marshall University

    Johnson Memorial Methodist Church, Huntington, Cabell County, W.Va.

  • (Old) Short Creek Methodist Church, Rte 1, Wheeling, W.Va. by Marshall University

    (Old) Short Creek Methodist Church, Rte 1, Wheeling, W.Va.

  • Trinity Episcopal Church, 5th Avenue and 11th Street, Huntington, Cabell County. by Marshall University

    Trinity Episcopal Church, 5th Avenue and 11th Street, Huntington, Cabell County.

  • Central Presbyterian Church, Clarksburg, Harrison County, W.Va. by The Albertype Company

    Central Presbyterian Church, Clarksburg, Harrison County, W.Va.

  • 1st Congregational Church, Huntington, Cabell County, W.Va. by Marshall University

    1st Congregational Church, Huntington, Cabell County, W.Va.

  • Union Baptist Church, Milton, Cabell County, W.Va. by Marshall University

    Union Baptist Church, Milton, Cabell County, W.Va.

 
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