Clarksburg, West Virginia [ don't skip it ]

#westvirginia #travel #roadtrips

Today we will be visiting Clarksburg, WV. This amazing little town is full of history and charm. Don't miss it!

Clarksburg is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, which is located in the north-central region of the state. It was formed in 1785 and was named for general George
Rogers Clark who conducted many expeditions against the British and Indians during the Indian Wars and the American Revolution. There are many historical buildings with rich architecture that date back to before the civil war, be sure to take time to walk around the historic downtown on west main and pike street. In 1824 Thomas J Jackson, aka Stonewall Jackson was born in a house on the main street, just across from the courthouse. Stonewall Jackson's statue is located right in front of the courthouse along with the immigrant statue showing the diverse make-up of the population in the area and honoring the immigrants that helped to build the community. The city is extremely proud of it's Italian heritage. It hosts one of the largest Italian heritage festivals in the US.

Before driving to Jackson's Mill, we decided to stop at stonewall coffee house. It’s in the ally way right by the court house.
Jackson's mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's a well-preserved early grist(葛瑞st） mill, and is the boyhood home of Stonewall Jackson.

Colonel Edward Jackson, a Revolutionary War figure, originally settled the mill on the West Fork River in the 19th century. After Edward's death, his son, Cummins Jackson took over the mill.
After His brother Jonathan Jackson died from typhoid（它pho也德） fever in 1826, His widow struggled to provide for their two kids Thomas and Laura. In 1830, she arranged the young Thomas and Laura
to live with their uncle. Thomas lived here until leaving for West Point in 1842.

To get a better feel for the area we met up with Tina, the local tourism director for the city. Let’s ask her some questions

About 30 miles away from downtown Clarksburg, is the town of Weston, The West Virginia Museum of American Glass is located here.

The collection starts from the 19th century and goes all the way through to present time. It includes about 18,000 pieces of virtually every type of American glass. Be sure to check out the Lady Jane glass doll house ,they have on display as well.

Not far from the glass museum is the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. This will be our final stop. It was in operation from 1864 to 1994. It was made in the Gothic Revival (rei/vi wo)and Tudor Revival styles by the architect Richard Snowden Andrews. Construction lasted from 1858 to 1881. It was originally designed to hold 250 people, but became overcrowded by the 1950s with 2,400 patients. It was closed in 1994 due to changes in laws governing mental patient treatment. I can image the caged souls yelling in the chilled night and crawling through the thick walls. I can't help but shiver thinking of even one night in this dark prison of souls. I left with many feelings,  No matter if you love the architecture, or are scared to death of it, like the song by Kansas says, all we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see. We didn’t see anything too strange while visiting the asylum, but as we sat on the bench, we saw the lights flap on and off for hours into the night…