The Mustering Ground is where patriots gathered September 24, 1780. Their goal was to hunt down British Major Patrick Ferguson and his 1,000 loyalist soldiers. Called to action by American Colonel William Campbell, 400 men from the surrounding area joined the patriots and began their march south from here. The patriots prevailed when they battled … Read more
After several months of working on the house, we decided to check out the neighborhood a bit more. During our research connections between the people who originally owned and built our house were made with people who lived a block or two north. Our house was built by George Washington Pridemore. He was a railroad … Read more
Tamarack in Beckley, West Virginia, is the oldest of three similar centers in Berea, Kentucky, and another in Abingdon, Virginia. All have a focus on fostering support for regional artists and crafters. One of the features that makes Tamarack unique is that there is dedicated studio space within the facility. Artisan at work in one … Read more
Just a few blocks away from the Capitol Market in Charleston is the East End Bazaar. While it doesn’t look like much, this market space serves a valuable function supporting farmers and makers. The low-cost and temporary looking structures here are the exact opposite of the Capitol Market. Both serve an important function contributing to … Read more
Charleston, West Virginia, is fortunate to have not one but two markets downtown. The traditional Capitol Market is an enclosed building with a long central hall and vendors to either side. Originally this was built after the Kanawha and Michigan Railroad built a rail yard on Smith Street. After falling into disrepair, the market was … Read more
During our Better Block Middlesborough event with Mike Lydon in October 2013, he suggested I look up Chuck Marohn with Strong Towns. I saw he was speaking in Huntington a few weeks later, so I took off on a 400 mile plus road trip to see him. My first stop in Huntington was with the … Read more
We set our navigation to take us to Huntington, West Virginia. Then we enjoyed the ride from Kentucky. Right away upon arriving we were greeted by the Foundation for the Tri-State Community. Their director and assistant were kind and generous to give us some time on very short notice. Then we headed to Jim’s Steak … Read more
To mark the tragic circumstances surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, we thought it fitting to highlight the story of an Underhill relative who had a brush with that sad chapter in our nation’s history. John Garrett Underhill, Jr. (1915-1964), was born August 7, 1915, the son of … Read more
Artist Candy Chang is associated with the “It’s Good to be Here” stencil. We first became familiar with the messaging around 2013. It has since been duplicated in numerous other towns.
Application in Kentucky Building on this model it was applied in Middlesboro, Kentucky during the Better Block event held there in 2013. Another stencil promoted the event “Build a Better Block Middlesboro.” Finally, the “Greater in the Crater” stencil expressed the fact that Middlesboro is a city that was built in a meteorite crater formed … Read more