Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-06-29
WILL COLLECT HISTORY
State Historian Win Visit the
Eastern Panhandle.
STATES HISTORIC EXHIBIT
Will Soon 81 Placed In Flreprooi
Building at the jamestown
Exposition.
Editor Evening World

~~NfNSfHSRe
Editor Evening World.
desire the use OF your columns for
the purpose OF communicating with
the good people Of the Eastern Panhan-
die of West Virginia regarding a mat
ter Of mutual interest to them and to
me. Their section is the oldest part OF
West Virginia, one where white men
first made history on the soil Of our
state. and | am extremely anxious that
their history, together with that made
by their descendants. shall be part
OF our state exhibit at the jamestown
Exposition. We have made a good
James Rumsey Exhibit, one that win
attract much attention here; but | sus-
pect that Inquiry is being made as to
, why more attention has been given to
History collections In the eastern Pan.
Handle Let me answer briefly any
such inquiry by describing the condi-
lions relative to History at the James.
town Exposition A great fireprooi
Palace OF History building was to have
been completed IN April for history
collections TO be sent here for exhibit.
That building has been long under con.
tract and Is not yet complete. On the
/ first of the month the contractors
abandoned work on II and for fifteen
days no sound of saw or hammer was
heard West Virginia was the ouly
American state that had shipped an
History Exhibit to the Exposition.
About the goth of May | shipped from
| Charleston fifteen thousand pounds of
exhibits, collected from various parts
of the state and from the Department
of History Achives. On my arrival
! here | intended to go to the Eastern
! Panhandle to collect material prom
Used me there for the Exhibit. When
arrived here there was no fire-proot
building. | had to take our exhibit
! the car and store 1t In the West w.
ginia State Building, where it Is as yet
I the only part OF history exhibit on
the jamestown Exposition Grounds.
That of Pennsylvania lies boxed in
Harrisburg; that OF North Carolina
lies ready for shipment at Raleigh
| the Virginia collection Is held at Rich.
mond; that of New Jersey lies In the
State House at Trenton. while that OF
New York Is detained at Albany
awaiting orders from their represen
I tatiye OF that state. stationed here. Sc
1t is with the collections Of other
states. All are awaiting the compile
tion of the fire-proof building. indeed
so great has been the delay that as |
/ am informed. Massachusetts ana
Connecticut have declined to send any
History Exhibit at all. There Is hope
of this now, since the contractors re,
sumed work last Monday. and both
they and the Jamestown Exposition
! Company promise that the building
shall be ready in few days to re.
ceiye History Exhibits, and that It will
be fully completed by the tenth OF
Juy. Our Exhibit. that part of 1t here
lies in the West Virginia State Build
ing-not fire-proof building -but II
will be removed to the History Palace
at the earliest possible date.
AS quickly as this is done expect
to visit the Eastern Panhandle for
the purpose of bringing here the
( material to illustrate the nearly two
years of history made therein by five
generations OF history making people,
I may add that we have here com.
plete mode Of the James Rumsey
Steamboat, patterned after that In the
j Transportation Section of the National
Museum at Washington We have a
splendid large framed portrait OF
James Rumsey; another large framed
drawing of his dwelling In Shepherds.
town, as sketchsd by Henry Howe. tae
historian. in 1912; also a framed
picture Of his burial place Ia ST. Mar.
garet's Church in Westminster Abby
50 much other material have We relat-
ing to the Rumsey invention, that In
the language of the venerable Judge
Danial .. Lucus, we are prepared to
! say that il is as easy to prove that
James Rumsey invented the steamboat
as 1t is to prove that Columbus dis.
covered America"
With the expectation Of being in the
Eastern Panhandle in few days I
remain,
Most sincerely yours.
VIRGIL. A. LEWIS