History A Patch of Earth to Call Home: A Winter’s Promise from 1889 M Gwinn, December 27, 2025February 2, 2026 “asking you to Save the Place for me as I cannot move until the 1st of February dont let no one have it” Pull up a chair, friends, and let’s take a look at a little treasure I’ve got here on my desk. It’s a single sheet of paper, lined… Continue Reading
History A Brother’s Honor and a Winter Chill: A Letter from Elton, 1888 M Gwinn, December 27, 2025January 18, 2026 “i lifted the tecked and pledge my honor he should have it agaist Febuary coart” Pull up a chair, friends, because I have something truly special to share with you today from our local archives. It is a humble, single sheet of lined paper, yellowed by over a century of… Continue Reading
History A Warm Message Through the Winter Snow M Gwinn, December 27, 2025December 27, 2025 “I think we are all right now.” Pull up a chair and let me share a little piece of our local history with you. It is a humble letter dated back to December 9, 1886, sent from right here in Fayetteville. The paper itself is a beautiful cream color, aged… Continue Reading
History A Bit of Mail for Mr. Quinn M Gwinn, December 27, 2025December 27, 2025 “Mr. Labin. Quinn. Quinnimont Fayette. Co. W. V.” Well, hello there, neighbors! I’ve just come across something truly special in the archives that I couldn’t wait to show you. It’s just a small scrap of paper, really—a fragment of a letter or perhaps an envelope addressed to a neighbor from… Continue Reading
History A Handshake from Hinton: A 137-Year-Old Promise M Gwinn, December 27, 2025December 27, 2025 “Have it properly signed up and notify me and I will bring you down the money and take up the deed -“ Gather ’round, neighbors! I’ve stumbled upon a real treasure from our local past—a handwritten note from a cold January day back in 1887. In this little piece of… Continue Reading
History A Little Bit of Lumber and a Lot of Law in Old Sewell M Gwinn, December 27, 2025January 22, 2026 “Under Chapt 119 Acts 1882 property adrift must be posted and sold.” Imagine sitting on a porch in 1887, watching the river go by. That’s the feeling you get when you look at this old letter from W. G. Hanagan to Mr. G. L. Guinn. It is written on off-white,… Continue Reading
History A Touch of the Mountains in a Yellowed Letter M Gwinn, December 27, 2025January 18, 2026 “I purpose selling nursery improved fruits in your Country for fall delivery also to get orders here for Shrubs of the Mountains” Hello there, neighbors. I was rummaging through our archives today and came across a piece of paper that just feels like a handshake from the past. It is… Continue Reading
History A Brotherly Debt from the Winter of 1886 M Gwinn, December 27, 2025 “Your Brother Breckenridge Gwinn has paid me 1/2 ($3.72) of the fee bill of $7.45 which I hold against you – He says you must pay the other half -“ Come on in and sit a spell, because I have a little treasure to show you. It is a letter… Continue Reading
History A Five-Dollar Dream for the Schoolhouse M Gwinn, December 27, 2025January 20, 2026 “We will give $5.00 for it will you take it.” Well hello there, neighbor! Step on into the archives for a moment; I have got something truly special to show you. It is a letter from way back in January of 1886, sent by a fellow named William F. Lowry… Continue Reading
History A Friendly Request from the Winter of 1886 M Gwinn, December 27, 2025January 11, 2026 “I want to see you on Business if you dont come to Day come in the Morning” Hello there, neighbors! I was tucking away some files in the archive today when I stumbled upon a little slip of history that felt just like a warm handshake from the past. It… Continue Reading