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Starting with it's name, for Frances Marion, the Swamp Fox, Marion County in it's location
is very rich in heritage. Some of the first settlers into Marion County were the Pricketts
and the Flemings and the Morgans. I think where we are situated in north central West
Virginia, the whole area opened up the entire entrance into what we call central Appalachia,
for that's what West Virginia is, and here in north central West Virginia, we're in the
heart of the heart of Appalachia. I think all of our small towns in our county, each
are so individual and so interesting, and many of them have come about through first
being little villages, and then being mining communities, we need to show what we did,
and what we have done for our nation through coal mining. It would be interesting to any
visitor and would be interesting to local people because we're starting to forget, even
our recent history. We're very fortunate that we have several locations where people who
are interested in early settlements, in the Civil War, in the Revolutionary War, can go
and see some of the relics from that past life. We have the Hamilton Round Barn in Mannington,
West Virginia, We also have the Wilson School Museum that is run by the West Augusta Historic
Society. There you will find relics from Frances Pierpont, the governor of West Virginia, all
the way to present day. We also have the Marion County Historic Society Museum and Jail where
visitors can go in and learn a little bit more about Fairmont area, Marion County, also
the Revolutionary War, the Civil War. They have relics there that include the compass
that George Washington would have used to survey what is now present-day West Virginia.
Schools are now starting to bring classes, to bring their students, and youth groups
such as scouts are starting to come, and we tell them the story. We do storytelling. We
encourage them to study the history of West Virginia. Get a pepperoni bun, we are the
pepperoni bun capitol you know, of America! And why is that? It's because of the Italian
immigrants who came and worked in these mines in Grantown and in Monogah. And it was a food
source, you see. So we study the Italian culture here because of that. A gentlemen would take
the pepperoni and wrap the bread around it, so then he had the idea, why not just go ahead
and bake the pepperoni in the bread. Well his fellow workers were so intrigued by that
idea that they would ask him to bring then pepperoni rolls as well. And before you knew
it, he quit the mines and opened up his own business. Today Country Club Bakery is still
in existence, selling pepperoni rolls by the dozens all over the state. It's just good,
the sticks of the pepperoni with the sauce, cheese, and peppers, it just has a unique
and different taste. It's really good. People just seem to really like it from all over,
and are willing to try it. When people travel they like to taste things that are unique
to the area. And you can't get it anywhere but in West Virginia. It's funny, when you
live in Marion County, you just assume everybody knows what a pepperoni roll is, but that is
something that's very unique to our area, and when people have moved away from the area,
one of the things they do when they come back to the area is to make sure they take pepperoni
rolls back with them. We've had so many different groupings of people who have come here, and
they have left a powerful layering of their stories, their beliefs, their attitudes, their
traditions. Go out to Pricketts Fort. You will understand the anglo-celtic people there,
and you will understand the Native American people. Pricketts Fort is an outdoor living
history-oriented museum. There's a lot of them in the country. There's only 2 forts
in the state of West Virginia that have been reconstructed, us and Fort Randolph, both
built for the bicentennial. People who come here have been to Williamsburg, they usually
go to historic sites, they do just like I do, they're tourists when they go places and
they want to see those things. We try to send them all away with having at least learned
something about the 18th century and get a better understanding of what an 18th century
interpreter is, and things like that. The Barrackville Covered Bridge of course is very
interesting to see. There are many people who have never seen a covered bridge. And,
better look fast, because the covered bridges are disappearing throughout our country, throughout
the whole United States. We're very fortunate to have the one, and ti's been loved and taken
care of by the people of the county and the people of Barrackville. There's so many things
to find here. I think maybe because of our Civil War history, perhaps because we're the
home of Frances Pierpont, who's considered the father of West Virginia. We don't have
his house to look at but we can visit his town and find out about him. He was quite
an interesting fellow. He was a very clever man. He and Watson and some of those coal
barons knew that after the Civil War this area would be opened up for coal and gas and
oil. What I think is, if you're interested in the beginning of West Virginia, and you're
interested in the history of West Virginia, you need to visit Fairmont. And that's particularly
important.