June 7, 2017
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. —Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville will feature activities for the whole family during June, including a film, storytelling, photo exhibit and the celebration of West Virginia’s birthday. All programs are free and open to the public.
On Saturday, June 10, the museum’s Second Saturday film series will feature “The Mine Wars,” a 120-minute documentary that brings to life the decades-long struggle for the miner’s right to organize and join a union, and turned the coalfields of southern West Virginia into a war zone. In the beginning of the 20th century, coal fueled industrial progress and employed nearly 750,000 men across the United States. This documentary film was produced by Film Posse, Inc. for the American Experience series aired on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The first showing will begin at noon followed by an encore at 2:30 p.m.
Storyteller Judi Tarowsky will present “Burning Springs – The Forgotten Story” from 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 17. The program runs 30 minutes and is followed by a question and answer session. On May 9, 1863, Confederate troops under General William (Grumble) Jones marched on Burning Springs, located in what is now Wirt County. They set fire to the oil field and the town. The raid was considered so sensitive to the Union that no newspapers reported the story and no federal record exists of it.
The museum’s “Featured Artist” of the month is Anita J. Luellen, an award-winning photographer from Shadyside, Ohio. Her photographs capture images as varied as a morning launch at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, N.M. to a view of a lighthouse on a foggy morning in Maine. Images of the Mountain State include a crypt in Wheeling’s Greenwood Cemetery, the Cheat River near Elkins and Blackwater Falls State Park.
The celebration of West Virginia Day will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20 with family-oriented crafts and showing of “West Virginia: A Film History,” a documentary series produced by the West Virginia History Film Project and the West Virginia Humanities Council. Visitors are invited to celebrate the day by making a gold and blue West Virginia necklace and a “West Virginia Scavenger Hunt in a Bottle.” The scavenger hunt also will be available at the museum’s Discovery Table throughout the month of June. For more information about activities and programs at Grave Creek Mound, contact Andrea Keller, cultural program coordinator, at (304) 843-4128 or andrea.k.keller@wv.gov or visit www.facebook.com/gravecreekmound and www.twitter.com/gravecreekmound.
Operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex features one of the largest conical burial mounds built by the Adena people between 250 - 150 B.C. and ranks as one of the largest earthen mortuary mounds anywhere in the world. Exhibits and displays in the Delf Norona Museum interpret what is known about the lives of these prehistoric people and the construction of the mound. The complex also houses the West Virginia Archaeological Research and Collections Management Facility.
Admission to Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex is free. The Delf Norona Museum, located at 801 Jefferson Avenue, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday. Outdoor access closes at 4:30 p.m.
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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