Books About Tucker County WV

In this post you'll find a list of the books I like that have been published over the years about the history, events, exploration, and settlement of Tucker County West Virginia.

The first book on my list is The Blackwater Chronicle a book originally published in 1853 that follows the earliest explorations into Canaan Valley West Virginia. It's been a while since I've read this one but I remember passages about wolves, panthers, jungle like laurel, and sleeping under tree bark to keep warm at night. In modern day it's definitely a fun read to learn what some suffered making a journey we take for granted in our modern society.

Read it here for free or purchase by clicking the book to the right.

I love learning about our history from those who witnessed it and Hu Maxwell did an amazing job of telling the history of Tucker County from the earliest explorations up until his modern day. I stumbled upon this book many years ago by accident and had a blast reading about the Confederate retreat, the old river crossings, and landmarks around the county that history has long since forgotten. If you'd like to read this book for free click here or click the book to the right to purchase a copy.

If you've read the book above and still want to know more about our area you can't go wrong with History of Tucker County by Homer Floyd Fansler published in 1962 by McClain this book is another one that I have in my collection and refer to from time to time to look up family names, ghost towns, or landmarks that I need for research or just to kill some time. Since this is a newer book it's not available for free online as it's still under copyright if you'd like to own a copy click the book to the right to buy one.

Tucker County's history through the visual records of its communities, families, and industries. Carved out of Randolph County, Virginia, in 1856, Tucker County's early history played out in the farming communities of the Cheat River Valley. Beginning in 1884, the shrill whistle of industrialist Henry Gassaway Davis's railroad, the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg, woke the area to dramatic changes. New towns like Davis, Thomas, and Parsons grew up and prospered in response to the developing nation's demand for lumber and coal. The collection features the visual evidence of how the political, economic, and natural landscape of Tucker County changed from 1880 to 1960.

If you'd rather see history instead of reading about it this one is the book for you featuring a photographic history of Tucker County, West Virginia with over 1,600 photos and postcards.

This is another one that I've heard a lot about over the years. Goin' Up Gandy is a history of the Dry Fork Region of Randolph and Tucker counties in West Virginia that has numerous photos and a large folded map inserted in the back of the book. This second edition of Goin' Up Gandy is indexed.

This one I hadn't heard about until today as it was a suggestion while looking up the book above. Over 1,400 photos of the Dry Fork Railroad and surrounding areas including Jenningston, Stover, Hendricks, Laneville/Red Creek, Harman, Job, Whitmer, Horton, Osceola, Spruce Knob, Shaver's Mountain, Onego, Gladwin, Teterton, Riverton, Circleville, and Franklin.

As far as history books and early records go those pretty much fill in the historical events of the county and offer insights into a different simpler time. I've always been a history buff and enjoy learning lost facts about the towns I visit. I also possess several historical items that in the course of writing this blog will slowly be made public and cataloged here. If you want a look at the events surrounding the 85 flood there are also a few books out there detailing that awful event as well.

I get asked all the time for a link or copy of Killing Waters and have passed this link on many times. This book is a bit hard to find and when it does come up it's usually on the pricey side. If you want an inside look at the flood this book features a collection of news articles about the 85 flood. I've not personally owned this one however given the number of people who ask me about it it has to be good. If you'd like to buy this book click the cover to the right for purchase options.

The lesser known Killing Waters II is a follow up to the original focusing more on the post-flood recovery efforts in the state. I don't know a lot about this one as I've never owned or read it but I would imagine since it's the same author as the first that it's a good book.

Photos and memories of a $500,000,000 flood that devastated 29 counties in West Virginia and countless others in neighboring states. The efforts of one person, Connie Ware Jenkins, to help those in need is documented in this memoir of the response that went from her rallying cry. Photos that have not been seen of the November 4-5, 1985 flood are included along with stories of heroes and courage, the courage it took to recover from nature's wrath of Hurricane Juan those two fateful November days.

When copyrights permit there will always be links in these articles to read the books for free. I'm always researching other books about Tucker County so if you know of any that aren't featured on this list please let me know so I can look them up and ad them to my collection. I'm also debating doing a library/museum page for the site featuring a collection of links to articles, books, and other historical items that I've come across over the years so stay tuned and keep checking back as the site grows and the articles get more plentiful.