The Logan Banner, November 3, 1937 First Houses Were Loga Cabins Equipped With Handmade and Rude Furniture; Bushel of Salt Worth Cow and Calf By Frank Elwood Brazie It is not definitely known who the first settler into the Guyandotte Valley was, but most information points to Peter Dingess, who built a cabin at the […]
Early Life In The Guyan Valley Vividly Pictured Read More »
Logan Banner, Thursday, September 5, 1985 EDITOR’S NOTE: Today The Banner concludes Its long series about the 1932 murder case of Mamie Thurman. With today’s closing article, reporter Dwight Williamson recounts some of his personal experiences and’ observances during the three weeks he has been researching the case. BY DWIGHT WILLIAMSON If there is one
Since Mamie Thurman’s Day, Has Logan Changed? Read More »
Logan Banner, Wednesday, September 4, 1985 By Dwight Williamson The quest to locate the final resting place of Mamie Thurman has not been an easy one, and it is doubtful many will ever agree on where it is. But, there are those alive in Logan County today who remember her case, her funeral and her
Local Man Remembers Thurman’s Funeral, Burial Read More »
Logan Banner, Monday, September 2, 1985 By Dwight Williamson Part 15 of a Series It was early afternoon, Thursday, Oct. 14, 1932 when the prosecution started calling its last witnesses to the stand during the murder trial of black handyman Clarence Stephenson. He was accused of what could be the crime of the century in
IN 1932 THURMAN CASE…Trial Evidence Showed Tight Logan Community Read More »
Logan Banner Tuesday, September 3, 1985 By Dwight Williamson If you don’t have it on paper, you don’t have it. Just about any government bureaucrat will tell you that. You may be standing and breathing before one of ’em and if you don’t have a birth certificate, you aren’t officially alive and couldn’t prove it
Thurman’s Death Certificate Uncovered Read More »
By Dwight Williamson The original mountaineers of this part of what became West Virginia brought with them many skills; one of which was the art of making their own corn liquor known as moonshine. Even after the coal industry started booming in the county, there were many residents who made a decent living making the
Frank Hall was a legendary moonshiner Read More »
Few stories from American history have captured the imagination quite like the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. Part legend, part tragedy, and part frontier drama, this prolonged clash between two Appalachian families became a symbol of the dangers of personal vendetta—and a defining chapter in the mythology of the American South. Origins in
The Hatfield–McCoy Feud: America’s Most Famous Family Conflict Read More »
By Dwight Williamson Let’s just call this week’s splattering of words as “hit or miss” Wednesday because as I sit down to write, I have not decided what to write about, and that’s not because I don’t have enough material to choose from. Oh, well, let’s see… How about we start with an interesting letter
Random thoughts on Logan history and people Read More »
By Dwight Williamson At various points in my life, from childhood to adulthood, the phrase “the good old days” has been used by persons referring to various times in their pasts when things just seemed to be a little better than they were in actuality. Still, for those of us who are fortunate to be
Longing for the good old days Read More »
By Dwight Williamson A mere dot on the United States map is about all that Logan County represents to most people, but the fact is that it is eerily uncanny how much history has been made in the confines of this Appalachian region that – as of the 2010 census – shows a population of
Some early history of the Logan area Read More »