On July 6, 1853, West Virginia’s premier bridge builder Lemuel Chenoweth and his brother, Eli, contracted a bridge project with the Board of Public Works of Virginia. At the time, the Chenoweths, from Beverly, had just completed the highly successful Philippi Covered Bridge project.

According to the contract, the bridge was to be completed by December 1, 1853. Due to slow progress in preliminary work, which had been awarded to other craftsmen under separate contracts, the Chenoweths had only two months to complete the bridge’s superstructure.

Today, that bridge is known as the Barrackville Covered Bridge in Marion County, West Virginia. It crosses Buffalo Creek on Route 21 and intersects with Route 250 - the Old Fairmont and Wheeling Turnpike. It is 145 feet between abutments and 20 feet wide.

During the Civil War, Confederate General William E. Jones crossed the Barrackville Bridge during his raid of Northern Virginia and ordered the bridge to be burned. Fortunately, he was able to be dissuaded by a local couple, William and Dolly Ice of Ice’s Mill.

Because of its unique engineering and the important role it played in the Civil War, the Barrackville Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. restored in 1999 to preserve its beauty for future generations to enjoy. Care is being taken to ensure that all repairs correspond to the bridge’s original design. It is the second-oldest covered bridge in West Virginia.

West Virginia’s covered bridges are disappearing. In 1947, there were 89 covered bridges in the Mountain State. Today, less than 20 remain as picturesque reminders of our colorful history.

Perched on a small rise overlooking the confluence of Prickett's Creek and the Monongahela River, this rustic log fort is a re-creation of the original Prickett's Fort of 1774, which served as a refuge from Native American war parties on the western frontier of Colonial Virginia. Built in 1976 by the Prickett's Fort Memorial Foundation, the "new" fort serves as a living history site where interpreters recreate late 18th century lifestyle through period attire and demonstrations of a variety of colonial crafts. Throughout the season, visitors may find blacksmiths, spinners, weavers and other traditional artisans at work, and a gun shop which features the only public demonstrations of 18th century firearm manufacturing in the state.

The fort covers a 100 by 100 foot square, with 12-foot-high log walls and blockhouses at each corner. Lining the weathered stockade walls are 16 tiny cabins, some with earthen floors. A meetinghouse and a storehouse fill the common.

When the threat of Native American uprisings occurred, up to 80 families from the surrounding countryside would hurry to the fort. They would stay as long as the threat existed, from days to weeks.

"Forting up" was simply tolerated by settlers, as life in the cramped quarters could be unpleasant. Such sacrifices were necessary for survival on the dangerous frontier of the late 1700s. Today's fort, just north of Fairmont, still portrays that life and time.

Once the site of a lumber and grist mill community, the scenic treasure of Valley Falls State Park is located only a short drive from Fairmont and Grafton. This 1,145 acre day use park hosts a variety of outdoor recreation including fishing, picnicing, whitewater rafting, and 18 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails.

The beauty of the park is enhanced by the spectacular series of foaming falls which were created by the dark, rushing waters of the Tygart Valley River and provides a boundary between Marion and Taylor counties. The prevalent rock formation known as Connoquenessing Sandstone, forms the cap of the falls over which the river plunges and swirls and appears both as ledges and huge room size boulders for over a mile down the narrow canyon floor.

Before Valley Falls became a state park, this section of the Tygart Valley River in the 1800s was a thriving railroad community and a popular recreation area. During this "boom" period, Valley Falls had a B&O Railroad Depot Station, grist mill, post office, sawmills, shops and a ferry. Between 1886 and 1888, a fire and flood swept through the community. Some repairs were made but the town never fully recovered. In 1964, the state park system acquired the falls and the surrounding land. This picturesque river gorge became Valley Falls State Park.

Today Valley Falls State Park is a place of scenic beauty and historical significance and has continued to grow in popularity with both local and out of state visitors.

Unique architecture and engineering houses exhibits including old-fashioned tools and farming equipment dating to the early 1900's. Every Thurs from 9 to 1 visitors may watch or help the ladies quilt.

The Marion County Courthouse is a Beaux-Arts style building in Fairmont, West Virginia, in the United States. The courthouse was constructed from 1897 to 1900, and was designed by W. D. Priest of the architectural firm Yost & Packard of Columbus, Ohio. Its dome is topped by a figure carrying the scales of justice.

The courthouse, located at the intersection of Adams and Jefferson Streets in downtown Fairmont, and the adjacent American Foursquare-style sheriff's residence, were jointly added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 for their architectural, artistic and governmental significance.

The history of Fairmont State is part and parcel of the history of public education in West Virginia. Founded in 1865, two years after the state was admitted into the Union, the university was established as the West Virginia Normal School at Fairmont—a private institution dedicated to educating teachers.

Fiercely independent like the state in which it’s housed, the West Virginia Normal School at Fairmont was eventually purchased by the state to become the Fairmont State Normal School, which made this training more readily available to the public. In early 1917, the school moved from its location on Fairmont Avenue to its grand new hilltop location on Locust Avenue, the building we now call Hardway Hall.

The institution is known for a number of firsts—we established two theatre honoraries, Alpha Psi Omega and Delta Psi Omega, and founded the International Thespian Society. And we have long been a leader in the field of education and the study of folklore; ours was the third folklore center in the United States.

In the 1930s, the West Virginia Legislature changed the institution’s name once again to Fairmont State Teachers College, a title that would change once more in 1943-44 to Fairmont State College.

Fairmont State Community & Technical College was founded in 1974 and received independent accreditation in 2003.

Gov. Bob Wise signed a historic bill on April 7, 2004, that created two big changes. Fairmont State College’s name changed to Fairmont State University. And Blair Montgomery became FSC&TC’s first president.

The West Virginia Legislature approved a bill during the 2006 Regular Session to allow FSU and FSC&TC to once again share one accreditation. This merger means that more financial resources can be focused on service to students instead of incremental duplication of administrative overhead.

On July 1, 2006, FSC&TC became a Division of FSU and was renamed Pierpont Community & Technical College. The name “Pierpont” is historically and symbolically significant. Francis H. Pierpont, a Fairmont native, served as Governor of the Restored State of Virginia during the Civil War and played a key role in the birth of West Virginia. He also serves as an example of a successful “non-traditional” student, working his way through school as a tanner and brick layer. Interestingly, he also served on the Board of the institution that would one day become Fairmont State University.

Today, Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College, serve the Upper Monongahela Valley, the state of West Virginia and the larger mid-Atlantic region as a resource for lifelong learning and career enhancement.