The West Virginia State Museum at The Culture Center

This exhibit describes the extreme poverty that devastated West Virginia during the Great Depression and the effects of President Franklin's New Deal programs. Topics include the work of Mary Behner, a Presbyterian missionary along Scotts Run near Morgantown; the town of Arthurdale, the first federal resettlement community in the nation; the benefits of rural electrification, which improved women's lives, in particular; and the work of the WPA (Works Progress Administration and Works Projects Administration) and the Civilian Conservation Corps, which constructed many of West Virginia's current state parks. Another exhibit discusses the nation's deadliest industrial disasters - the construction of Hawks Nest Tunnel. This room features an AV presentation. (AV - Running Time 4:19)

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Quick Links THE SHOWPATH BREAKDOWN DISCOVERY ROOM 1 AN ANCIENT LAND DISCOVERY ROOM 2 PREHISTORIC PEOPLE DISCOVERY ROOM 3 CONFLICT AND SETTLEMENT DISCOVERY ROOM 4 FRONTIER LIFE DISCOVERY ROOM 5 JOHN BROWN'S RAID DISCOVERY ROOM 6 THE WAR WITHIN A STATE DISCOVERY ROOM 7 THE CASE FOR STATEHOOD DISCOVERY ROOM 8 THE BIG CITY DISCOVERY ROOM 9 THE FAMILY FARM DISCOVERY ROOM 10 THE COMPANY STORE DISCOVERY ROOM 11 CHANGING ROLES OF WOMEN DISCOVERY ROOM 12 TRAINS AND RAILROADS DISCOVERY ROOM 13 BOATS AND RIVERS DISCOVERY ROOM 14 INDUSTRIALIZATION DISCOVERY ROOM 15 THE MINING LIFE DISCOVERY ROOM 16 THE STATE CAPITOL DISCOVERY ROOM 17 IT'S NOT ALL WORK DISCOVERY ROOM 18 THE GREAT DEPRESSION DISCOVERY ROOM 19 THE MINE WARS DISCOVERY ROOM 20 WEST VIRGINIANS AT WAR DISCOVERY ROOM 21 LATE 20th CENTURY DISCOVERY ROOM 22 CELEBRATING WEST VIRGINIA DISCOVERY ROOM 23 FROM HERE TO THERE DISCOVERY ROOM 24 PAINTING AND SCULPTURE DISCOVERY ROOM 25 A LEGACY OF CRAFTSMANSHIP DISCOVERY ROOM 26 TRADITIONS OF MUSIC