Kanawha River

On September 29, 1861, one of the worst floods on record hit the Kanawha River watershed. The river crested nearly 17 feet above flood stage in Charleston and badly damaged the valley’s salt works.

On May 5, 1923, an accidental fire started by welders destroyed most of Luna Park on Charleston’s West Side. The seven-acre amusement park had been built…

On April 8, 1951, a C-47 transport plane crashed near Charleston’s Kanawha Airport, which is now Yeager Airport, killing 21 members of the Air National…

Legends and legacies meet where the Great Kanawha and the mighty Ohio rivers merge, on the land where history & agriculture combine in one of the nations…

On March 16, 1742, John Peter Salling and four others started out from Natural Bridge, Virginia, on a trip to explore the Mississippi River. Their goal…

On March 5, 1880, the James River and Kanawha Canal Company ceased operations. The original company had been formed by Virginia in 1785, at the urging of…

On September 13, 1862, Charleston residents awoke to the sound of artillery. It was part of a Confederate push to take control of the region after 5,000…

Eric Gardner has a different perspective than most about the rivers in central Appalachia. That’s because he spends most of his time in them. Gardner is a…

There was a time that life along the river revolved around riverboats. In the 19th century, the only way to get supplies or mail was the river. To keep…

Explorers Thomas Batts, Thomas Wood, and Robert Fallam set out on a momentous expedition westward from Petersburg, Virginia, on September 1, 1671. At the…