It's September 28, 2023 start now and make plans to see Arthurdale today!
About Arthurdale
Arthurdale, WV, was first known as ?The Reedsville Project? by the government employees who were sent here to establish the first New Deal community under the first of three Franklin Delano Roosevelt administrations.
Prior to FDR?s election in 1933, Eleanor became interested in the work of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization which had begun a child feeding program in Pennsylvania and West Virginia at President Hoover?s request. Clarence Pickett, secretary of the AFSC, was invited to Hyde Park, NY, FDR?s home, to discuss the AFSC?s efforts at vocational reeducation and subsistence living projects. FDR, after his 1933 inauguration, promoted a bevy of bills to address the problems of the Depression. One of these was a bill to establish a subsistence homestead fund. This bill interested First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and she, along with Clarence Pickett, who by then had been appointed chief of the Stranded Mining and Industrial Populations Section of the Department of the Interior, became involved with The Reedsville Project.
The Reedsville Project, later named Arthurdale after Richard Arthur, from whom the land was purchased, was begun in 1934 as a homestead community. Land was purchased, residents were selected, homes were constructed, more residents were selected, more homes constructed? until there were 165 homes and several community buildings including a school complex, built on approximately 1200 acres in rural Preston County, WV. Today, most of the community buildings still stand and most are part of the New Deal Homestead Museum.
Many of the new residents were displaced miners from the Scott?s Run area near Morgantown, WV, but some moved here from other areas of Preston County and WV. Some of the homes housed the government employees who were assigned jobs here such as teachers, physicians, surveyors, engineers, secretaries, etc.
The homesteaders themselves were responsible for paying rent, working and farming their allotted acreage, and some were employed to build new homes and the administration building, forge, gas station, cooperative store, craft shop, center hall, and school buildings. Some found work in the schools, post office, barber shop, and the Mountaineer Craftsmen?s Association. Some were hired to work in the numerous business ventures which were enticed to the area.
The federal government liquidated its holdings in Arthurdale in 1947; all homes and community buildings were sold to private ownership. In 1984, the community celebrated the 50th Anniversary of its homesteading. This celebration resulted in the establishment of Arthurdale Heritage, Inc., whose mission is to preserve the historic community of Arthurdale.
- Posted on Thursday September 14, 2023
We are honored to receive the 2023 Spirit of West Virginia Award from the WV Department of Tourism at the Stars of Almost Heaven awards banquet in Canaan Valley earlier…
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Continue Reading » - Posted on Monday May 01, 2023
It is with a very heavy heart that we share with you the news of Delores Wolfe Hartsell’s passing. Delores was an active member of Arthurdale Heritage, Inc. until dementia…
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Continue Reading » - Posted on Thursday March 30, 2023
Donate now to help save our roofs! Historic roofing over the garage bays has begun to leak, and we are urgently working to fix this issue! Your donation will go…
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Continue Reading » - Posted on Monday March 20, 2023Choosing the people who would become the Arthurdale Homesteaders was a difficult task. There were many people who needed help during the Great Depression, especially in impoverished areas like Scotts… The post The Arthurdale Homesteader Application appeared first on Arthurdale, WV. Continue Reading »
- Posted on Wednesday March 15, 2023
Sadly, the vandalism, destruction and theft in our former school buildings has not stopped. We are at our wit’s end trying to keep thieves, drug users and others off our…
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Continue Reading » - Posted on Tuesday February 21, 2023
We are excited to now offer advanced ticket sales online! You can choose the time and date of your museum tour and reserve tickets in advance here: https://arthurdaleheritage.org/product/museum-tour/ If you…
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Continue Reading » - Posted on Monday February 06, 2023Download our annual report to learn about our tour and financial numbers from the year: https://arthurdaleheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/AHI-2022-Annual-Report-2.pdf The post 2022 Annual Report appeared first on Arthurdale, WV. Continue Reading »
- Posted on Tuesday January 10, 2023See everything we have planned for the spring on the calendar below! We are excited for more fun here in Arthurdale and hope to see you here! You can download… The post Events Calendar (January-April) appeared first on Arthurdale, WV. Continue Reading »
- Posted on Wednesday November 30, 2022
We are excited to present a new temporary exhibit at Arthurdale Heritage, which will open to the public on Monday, December 5 and run through Friday, January 13. Treasured: Contemporary…
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Continue Reading » - Posted on Tuesday November 29, 2022
EXCITING news! A generous donor has offered to match all donations from now until the end of the year up to $25,000! With your help, $25,000 will become $50,000 !!…
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