The vast rolling hills of West Virginia and their storied history come alive in the spirited sounds of Appalachian folk tunes.
The preserving role of music in the Mountain State’s logging communities will be showcased in a new traveling museum exhibit produced by students in West Virginia University’s Department of History.
The exhibit, “Timber/Timbre: Falling Trees and Rising Voices – Logging and Music in West Virginia, 1880-1930,” was first conceptualized by history doctoral student Danielle Petrak, director of WVU’s Watts Museum.
She worked with students from her Exhibition Development course to create content for the exhibit.
West Virginia and Regional History Collection,
West Virginia University Libraries
“I wanted to find an innovative approach to interpreting the history of the timber industry and a creative way of presenting that history to our audience — an approach that excited me and my students while also having a broad appeal for the general public,” Petrak said. “Our goal was to explore the timber industry from a nontraditional perspective and incorporate new research and interpretations into the exhibit.”
After learning about old-time music in Appalachia and hearing songs that referenced places and events in the Allegheny Highlands and Greenbrier Valley — areas of West Virginia that were hotspots for the timber industry in late 19th and early 20th centuries — Petrak set out to learn more.
“I was curious about these songs, their origins and the folks who performed and preserved them. I wanted to investigate connections between the strong musical heritage of the West Virginia hills and the imposing presence of the timber industry on the same mountainsides,” Petrak said. “A tradition of music-making once existed in logging camps. I had in my mind a stereotypical picture of big, burly men in flannel shirts with their beards and their beer, gathered around a fire and belting out ballads in the forests of Maine or Michigan. But what did this look like in West Virginia? I set out to examine the ways in which what we consider old-time or traditional Appalachian music intersected with the timber industry in West Virginia.”
The exhibit highlights the role music played in the state’s logging communities and the music’s origins and evolution over time, especially as industrialism arrived and transformed the region. It also reflects the industry’s effect on the communities through the musical expressions of the individuals who lived through the timber boom.
“While a few songs in the exhibit are logging tunes, many of the underlying themes of the music express the concerns, sentiments and values of people whose lives were impacted by the onset of the timber boom.”
– Danielle Petrak, Director of WVU’s Watts Museum
“While a few songs in the exhibit are logging tunes, many of the underlying themes of the music express the concerns, sentiments and values of people whose lives were impacted by the onset of the timber boom,” Petrak said. “By taking this approach to our music selections, our options for songs were greatly expanded.”
The exhibit is scheduled for installation at the Watts Museum later this month, and a virtual tour will premier in November 2020. While the museum’s collections and exhibits largely focus on mineral resource industries, namely coal and petroleum, the story of those industries in West Virginia cannot be told without addressing the history of related enterprises, Petrak explains.
Clarkson Collection, West Virginia and Regional History Collection,
West Virginia University Libraries
“Like coal, timber has left an indelible mark on our state’s economy, politics, environment and communities. These two extractive industries shared transportation routes, fuel and supplies, political networks and even workers. They have also shared similar life cycles in Appalachia, with the boom and bust nature of their business practices having a dramatic effect on the lives of West Virginians,” Petrak said. “It was important for this exhibit to explore the timber industry’s transformative impact on the state and show its connections to larger narrative of industrialization in West Virginia.”
After displaying at the Watts Museum through May 2021, the exhibit will travel to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, McClintic Public Library in Marlinton and Davis and Elkins College.
“I’m excited to tour this exhibit throughout Pocahontas and Randolph counties. By traveling the exhibit to several sites in the Allegheny Highlands after its installation at the Watts Museum, it will reach new and larger audiences,” Petrak said. “Our selection of tour sites will help us branch out and connect with more West Virginians, more tourists, more students and more diverse groups of visitors overall.”
The project is supported by a $5,000 award from the WVU Humanities Center. Through a project in her Historic Administration class, a graduate assistantship in the Department of History and internship with WVU’s Office of Graduate Education and Life, history doctoral student Kristen Bailey led the grant-writing efforts to secure funding. She is also collaborating with Petrak to finalize the exhibit content and design and develop outreach programs to engage the local community.
“Seeing the connections that can be made by examining a community’s songs and comparing those songs with actual events and known community shifts has been my favorite part of the project and will continue to influence my future research,” said Bailey, a Weston native. “I have long been committed to searching for unheard voices in the landscape of West Virginia history, and viewing communities through song offers exciting ways to pursue those lines of inquiry.”
Recent public history graduate Andrew Linderman (MA History, ’20) also supported the grant-writing efforts. He describes Pocahontas County’s timber history as a microcosm of the state.
Hauer Collection, West Virginia and Regional History Collection,
West Virginia University Libraries
“This work isn't just important for Pocahontas County but for the entire state of West Virginia. The timber industry predates the coal industry and, in many ways, foreshadows it. Labor disputes, mechanization and environmental hazards were all a feature of the logging industry and were later problems in West Virginia’s coalfields,” said Linderman, a Morgantown native.
“As for Pocahontas County, its economy is driven by tourism, and most of those tourists come to see its abundance of natural splendor. However, most of those tourists don't know that less than a century ago, those mountains were stripped bare of their trees, and that deforestation fueled the early 20th century growth of the U.S. while the individuals living there faced devastating floods and fires, killing hundreds.”
Even during the limiting pandemic circumstances, the students persevered to make the exhibit a reality.
“The students and I utilized the folksongs collections at the WVU Libraries West Virginia and Regional History Center before the campus shut down. We found and transcribed dozens of songs that we thought might be useful and relevant to our project,” Petrak said. “However, during the research and planning for the exhibit, the pandemic severely limited my ability to consult primary sources housed in archives, and I was unable to meet with artifact lenders. I had to work backwards in some ways – writing content using secondary sources and the materials we had gathered before the shutdown, and then weaving the artifacts, archival materials and additional photographs into the exhibit after the archives, libraries and museums reopened several months later. Thanks to everyone’s flexibility and willingness to adapt to the circumstances, it all worked out!”
When the pandemic concludes, the team also aspires to incorporate parts of the exhibit in a songwriting program for Pocahontas County 4-H students conducted by Associate Professor of Sustainable Design Chris Haddox. The exhibit will also be part of Pocahontas County’s bicentennial celebration in 2021.
“After speaking with several county commission members about their vision for the 200th anniversary, it was quickly apparent that they value its history...I was pleased that they wanted to present the entire history of the county, rather than focus solely on its founding. This broader approach will be more inclusive of all Pocahontas County residents, both past and present.”
– Melissa Bingmann, Director and Associate Professor of Public History
“After speaking with several county commission members about their vision for the 200th anniversary, it was quickly apparent that they value its history. The Convention and Visitors Bureau especially sees well-crafted heritage tourism programs as an important economic generator for the state,” said Melissa Bingmann, director and associate professor of public history. “I was pleased that they wanted to present the entire history of the county, rather than focus solely on its founding. This broader approach will be more inclusive of all Pocahontas County residents, both past and present.”
In addition to the exhibit, students in Bingmann’s Public History Methods and Museum Studies classes contributed archival research for the 200th anniversary of the county. They conducted research that will be used for historical markers, podcasts, a commemorative booklet, walking tours, plans for a bicentennial quilt and national register nominations.
“As future public historians, students were challenged to think about place, audience and the programs and venues best suited for communicating their research to a public audience in its bicentennial year,” Bingmann said. “Part of my job is to provide hands-on professional experience for public history graduate students. Everyone I have met in Pocahontas County has been receptive to working with the students and has valued their input. It has been extremely rewarding for me to see what students have learned throughout the process and to see this project evolve.”