I’m starting a podcast about local Hampshire County, West Virginia, history, partly to educate myself about my new home region, but also with the goal of increasing historical consciousness for community building. I believe that awareness of history is central for overcoming problems of social alienation and disregard for the local environment.

Join me in Episode 1: as I head over to the ghost town of North River Mills to speak with Steve Bailes about the village, its history, and his experiences living and teaching in the area. We ponder historical and philosophical questions like “If a village is unincorporated, can we really determine how many people live within its’ limits?” Steve gives me a tour of the village, we look inside the main store in town, and we sit on the old porch to talk about the old days.

Steve Bailes in front of the circa 1790 store in North River Mills, WV

A few words of caution: The audio is a bit rough in the first twenty minutes of the recording, since we were walking through the leaves between the buildings of the village. I’ve only lightly edited the audio to remove some poorly recorded sections. I’ve learned that for future episodes, I should record in a closed room.  This was September 14, 2017. For some reason on the audio, it sounds like I said 2007.

Links related to topics mentioned in this podcast:

1. Old Photos of North River Mills, West Virginia.
2. Stephanie Bailes’ 1991 video of North River Mills History.
3. Maude Pugh’s Memories of North River Mills.
4. Recent photos of the village