April 20, 2017
WHEELING, W.Va. – West Virginia Independence Hall (WVIH) in Wheeling will host the fourth program of the Fort Henry Commemoration Speaker Series in the auditorium at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, April 27. The speaker series is observing the 240th anniversary year of the first siege of Fort Henry and the 235th anniversary of the second siege. The program is free and open to the public.
Earl Nicodemus, retired professor and historian, will present the lecture “The First County Seat at West Liberty.” Nicodemus spent 40 years as an educator at West Liberty University, where he became the institution’s longest tenured professor before retiring in 2016. A charter member and founding president of the West Liberty Historical Society, Nicodemus currently serves as vice president and treasurer. He has been a trustee of the old West Liberty Cemetery since 1985. The author of numerous articles on the history of West Liberty and the cemetery, Nicodemus also gives presentations on the town’s history to civic and social organizations.
The program is co-hosted by the Wheeling Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution and the Fort Henry Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, and sponsored by Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation.
For more information about WVIH, contact Debbie Jones, site manager, at (304) 238-1300 or Deborah.J.Jones@wv.gov.
West Virginia Independence Hall has been on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) since 1970. It was originally built as a federal custom house in 1859, served as the home of the pro-Union state conventions of Virginia during the spring and summer of 1861 and as the capitol of loyal Virginia from June 1861 to June 1863. It also was the site of the first constitutional convention for West Virginia.
Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1988, the museum is maintained and operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, with the cooperation and assistance of the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, except for major holidays. The museum is located on the corner of 16th and Market Streets in Wheeling.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the Office of Secretary of Education and the Arts with Gayle Manchin, cabinet secretary. The division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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