Dec. 26, 2018
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville will conclude its 2018 monthly lecture and film series with a documentary film titled “Davis Bottom: Rare History, Valuable Lives.” The program will take place on Thursday, Dec. 27, at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
The community of Davis Bottom was established after the Civil War near Lexington, Ky. It was a tight-knit, diverse working-class neighborhood whose story came to light when a highway project brought a team of historians and archaeologists to study and excavate the area prior to construction. This collaboration discovered stories, including those of the neighborhood’s founder, William “Willard” Davis, a lawyer, civil rights advocate and land speculator who purchased and developed the area.
Other stories include the Hathaway family. Robert Elijah Hathaway served as an American Union soldier, and his son, Isaac Scott Hathaway, became an influential sculptor and professor. Daughter Fannie was a highly-respected teacher and principal and daughter Eva was a nurse. The Davis Bottom community was ahead of its time in terms of racial integration until the highway project displaced many of its residents.
This one-hour program is a production of The Kentucky Archaeological Survey and The Kentucky Heritage Council and was made possible by The Federal Highway Administration and The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
Operated by the West Virginia Department of Arts, 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.
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.
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