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Explore all of our posts and discover more about Berkeley County’s past, present and future! There’s always something new to learn!

The governing bodies of the City of Martinsburg an

The governing bodies of the City of Martinsburg and Berkeley County recently adopted proclamations in recognition of Founders Day/Martinsburg Heritage Fair & Festival on May 11-May 14, 2023 in historic Downtown Martinsburg.

Congratulations!

We are excited to announce the upcoming Founders D

We are excited to announce the upcoming Founders Day/Martinsburg Heritage Fair & Festival in Downtown Martinsburg as the 250th year of Berkeley County comes to an end!

P.S. Get ready for a BIG #BerkeleyWV250 Legacy Project announcement on our 251st birthday (May 15, 2023)!!

Born in Martinsburg: Garland Lorenzo Wilson (1909-

Born in Martinsburg: Garland Lorenzo Wilson (1909-1954), American #jazz pianist perhaps best known for his work with Nina Mae McKinney.

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAvx4c4hNP8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASlxXQV5Ybk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9H1HqxuIMs

#berkeleywv250

#onthisday in 1778, Virginia State Senate Presiden

#onthisday in 1778, Virginia State Senate President Archibald Cary signed the act to establish Martinsburg. It is unclear when final legislative action was taken by the House Speaker before the session ended on Dec. 19. Martinsburg's 250th birthday is only six years away!

#onthisday in 1791, the town of Darkesville was es

#onthisday in 1791, the town of Darkesville was established by the Virginia General Assembly. Andrew Waggener, James Strode, John Fryett, John Butler, John Chinworth, and Edward Fryett were named trustees of the town, which was formed from property of James Buckells.
Darkesville is named after Gen. William Darke, who served in the Revolutionary War and in conflicts with native Americans.

#onthisday in 1776, the town of Bath at the Warm S

#onthisday in 1776, the town of Bath at the Warm Springs, part of Berkeley County for 48 years, was created. The Virginia General Assembly's act also mandated "one large and convenient spring suitable for a bath, shall be . . . for the publick use and benefit, and for no other purpose whatsoever."
It was represented to lawmakers that the lay out of 50 acres for a town at the Warm Springs would be "of great utility, by encouraging the purchasers thereof to build convenient houses for accommodating numbers of infirm persons, who frequent those springs yearly, for the recovery of their health."
The town of Bath became the county seat for Morgan County when lawmakers created it from western Morgan County and eastern Hampshire County in 1820.

#berkeleywv250

Visit houses of worship that help define the skyli

Visit houses of worship that help define the skyline of historic Downtown Martinsburg!

#berkeleywv250

Main Street Martinsburg Martinsburg-Berkeley County CVB Martinsburg-Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce Martinsburg, West Virginia - City Hall Berkeley County Development Authority

Miss a 250th Commemoration post on our social medi

Miss a 250th Commemoration post on our social media pages this year? Go to http://berkeleywv250.com/explore/ to catch up!

#berkeleywv250

#OnThisDay in 1787: Middletown, renamed Gerrardsto

#OnThisDay in 1787: Middletown, renamed Gerrardstown, was created by act of the Virginia legislature. Founder David Gerrard represented to lawmakers that he had laid off 100 lots "with convenient streets" for creating the town in southern Berkeley County.

Notable Visitor? Davy Crockett came to work for one of the town's trustees, John Gray, a dozen years after the town's founding. At the age of 13, Crockett left home after blow-up with his father about dropping out of school. Read Crockett's biography and the account of his visit to "Gerardstown" 🔽 🔽 🔽
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37925/37925-h/37925-h.htm

Photo: Hays-Gerrard House where Gerrard resided.

#berkeleywv250 #wv #davycrockett #rememberthealamo HISTORY

#onthisday in 1922, Bessie D. Kilmer was elected S

#onthisday in 1922, Bessie D. Kilmer was elected Superintendent of Berkeley County school district in the 1922 General Election. Kilmer was among several women elected as County Superintendent of Schools in counties across West Virginia. West Virginia women voted in the 1920 General Election following the approval of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but it was too late for them to participate in the primary process or seek election that year.

Kilmer is believed to be the only female to ever serve as Superintendent of Berkeley County Schools. She was reelected in 1926 and 1930.
Superintendents were appointed by elected County Boards of Education beginning on July 1, 1935 with the appointment of G.W. Ropp, who was principal of Middletown (Va.) High School.

On August 20, 1935, Kilmer was appointed principal of the Fairview-Arden School.

#berkeleywv250

#onthisday in 1922, during Prohibition, the courth

#onthisday in 1922, during Prohibition, the courthouse was nearly lost by a fire. It was the Saturday before Election Day. It has been said the cause of the fire was linked to a whiskey still in the upper floor of the building, but those stories have not been verified.

Inside the dome of our county's historic courthouse remains the bell that was manufactured by Clampitt & Regester in Baltimore, Md., in 1855, the same year construction of the county's (second) courthouse began. Since its completion, the courthouse has been expanded and remodeled, most significantly in 1908, with the dome you see today being the crowning feature.

#berkeleywv250

There have been no shortage of candidates for U.S.

There have been no shortage of candidates for U.S. President to visit Berkeley County. Pictured: Hubert Humphrey (April 26, 1960), John F. Kennedy (April 27, 1960), Jesse Jackson (May 9, 1988); George W. Bush (August 17, 2004). Other notable presidential candidates who visited Berkeley County include; Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (April 5, 1912).
Traveling by train, President Harry Truman campaigned on September 2, 1952 in Martinsburg for Democratic president candidate, Adlai Stevenson. Listen to Truman's speech here: https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/soundrecording-records/sr60-65-president-trumans-rear-platform-remarks-martinsburg-wv

#berkeleywv250 #wv

#onthisday in 1801, Jefferson County was created f

#onthisday in 1801, Jefferson County was created from Berkeley County. The Act for dividing the County of Berkeley was passed by Virginia lawmakers on Jan. 8, 1801, but did not take effect for several months.
“Be it acted by the general assembly, that from and after the twenty-sixth day of October next, all that part of the county of Berkeley, lying eastwardly of a line beginning at Opeckon creek in the Frederick line, then with the said creek to the bend immediately below Wallingford’s tavern, thence running a direct line to Wyncoop’s spring on the public road leading from Martinsburg to Shepherdstown and thence with the meanders of the spring run to its confluence with the Potowmac, shall form one distinct county, and be called and known by the name of Jefferson county …”

#berkeleywv250

Jefferson County Commission, West Virginia Visit Jefferson County WV

#OnThisDay in 1862: W.C. Quincy wrote to B&O Railr

#OnThisDay in 1862: W.C. Quincy wrote to B&O Railroad Co. President Garrett about the destruction of the railroad by Confederate troops during the Civil War.
"On Saturday last eight-thousand men arrived in Martinsburg. They immediately commenced to destroy our (rail) road. The ties were taken up & set fire to and the iron thrown on the burning piles ... I am not easily alarmed by rumors but I fear Sir that our entire tracks, bridges, buildings & all our property between Opequon (perhaps Duffields) & Back Creek will be destroyed."

Confederate Captain Wingfield's diary account:
October 18, 1862. Leave Camp and march to Martinsburg. Camp some two miles above the town.
October 19, 1862. Move up towards Hedgesville and turn to B. & O. R.R. Our Brigade ordered to tear up the track. Our Regiment out on picket.
October 20, 1862. Leave picket post and cook up day's rations. Move to old camp near Martinsburg.
October 21, 1862. We were ordered to tear up railroad between Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry. Spent the night some two miles below Martinsburg. I take command of the Regt.

#berkeleywv250 #civilwar

#onthisday in 2018, the Martinsburg High School fo

#onthisday in 2018, the Martinsburg High School football team broke the state record for consecutive wins (36) before the streak ended at 57 wins on September 18, 2020. Ansted High School in Fayette County, had held the previous record since 1973. MHS has won 9 AAA state championships in football.

#onthisday in 1966, W.Va. Gov. Hulett Smith headli

#onthisday in 1966, W.Va. Gov. Hulett Smith headlined the ribbon-cutting for the opening of all 26 miles of I-81 in Berkeley County. Martinsburg, Musselman and Hedgesville high school bands also were on tap to participate in the ceremony.

#berkeleywv250

West Virginia Department of Transportation Berkeley County Schools

"We, the Subscribers do Enrole (sic) ourselves in

"We, the Subscribers do Enrole (sic) ourselves in a company to be known by the name of the Martinsburgh Fire Company and do bind ourselvves to obey such rules as may be adopted for the government of said Company." - "At a court held for Berkeley County the 12th day of March 1812. A list of the members ..."

#FirePreventionWeek #berkeleywv250

Completed in 1922, the clubhouse for the Opequon G

Completed in 1922, the clubhouse for the Opequon Golf Club, later known as the Stonebridge Golf Club, was the result of efforts by prominent community leaders, including U.S. Sen. Charles J. Faulkner, the only West Virginia U.S. Senator from Berkeley County (1877-1899). Faulkner served as the golf club’s first president.
Though the golf course has been closed for several years, the current owners have indicated they hope to bring the property back to life!

“A million bushels of apples at Martinsburg, Wes

“A million bushels of apples at Martinsburg, West Virginia, the apple center of the Eastern panhandle of West Virginia." The Mountain State produces more than 100 million pounds annually. Don't miss the Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival! Oct. 13-16 @WV_MSAHF
#berkeleywv250

Promoted as "A New Frontier in Shopping Value" in

Promoted as "A New Frontier in Shopping Value" in a Fall 1984 advertisement, the Blue Ridge Outlet Center attracted thousands of retail shoppers to Martinsburg for more than a decade. More than 50 retailers, including Anne Klein, Donna Karan, Jones New York, Nautica, Polo/Ralph Lauren and Woolrich filled three historic woolen mill buildings along West Stephen Street. The venture by Moncure Chatfield-Taylor was significantly impacted by the 1998 opening the Prime Retail outlets in Hagerstown, with only 17 stores remaining by July 1999. The complex, purchased by Berkeley County in December 2001, now is the current location of the County seat.

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