Located in Courthouse Square in the center of Union, this marker points out the history of a local…read morewho is laid to rest nearby. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "In Green Hill Cemetery is the grave of William Porcher Miles, who was a Congressman from SC, a signer of the SC Ordinance of Secession and a member of the Confederate Congress. During the Civil War he served on the staff of General PGT Beauregard where he helped to negotiate surrender of Fort Sumter and was designer of the Confederate Battle Flag." Miles was mathematics professor at the College of Charleston, later elected mayor of Charleston, where he modernized the police force, and then a U.S. Congressman known for defending Southern rights. As a member of the Confederate Congress, he chaired the Military Affairs Committee and designed the battle flag that became the most enduring symbol of the Confederacy. After the war, Miles married into a wealthy Virginia family, managed plantations in Virginia and Louisiana, and briefly served as president of the University of South Carolina. He remained committed to the principles of secession throughout his life, dying in 1899 in Louisiana, with his legacy tied to both civic reform and Confederate identity. [Review 1457 of 2025 - 191 in West Virginia - 25010 overall]

This marker near the Monroe County Courthouse points out a Civil War hero who spent time nearby…read more West Virginia was a border state during the Civil War and Union was occupied by each side of the conflict at varying times. It's complicated. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Gen. Echols was born March 20, 1823 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He entered the Confederate Army from his home in Union. With rank of Lieut. Col., Echols commanded the 27th Virginia Brigade. Staunton Infantry, at Manassas and was severely wounded at Kernstown. He was commissioned Brig. Gen. on April 16, 1862. His later service was mostly in West Virginia. He died May 24, 1896 and was buried in Staunton." The marker has no number. It was erected in 1975 by the West Virginia Archives and History. There is street parking nearby. [Review 611 of 2025 - 186 in West Virginia - 24172 overall]

This little museum and historical church really brings you back in time. This is another location…read moreI'm proud to add to Yelp. We pulled up and it alsost seemed like it was closed, but the tourguide came out to welcome us and invited us in for our own little personal tour of the museum and church. She gave us a pretty detailed history of the church and it's beginnings in 1786. She was very knowledgeable and entertaining, I could tell she was in it for the love of it. The museum is full of period pieces, and although small, it is very interesting for anyone into history. The church itself is kept in remarkable condition, as is the little graveyard. Despite it's tumultous past, it is very serene and peaceful here. I enjoyed every minute.

A little broken down, but still an interesting local curiosity. If you like a little side of the…read moreroad fun, have a peek

This place is amazing, literally the best place to visit in Roanoke. Despite what some of the…read morereviews say, it is much bigger than expected. Neighborhood is beautiful, right next to the river. You are missing out if you don't make this a priority stop when passing by, near, around, or within a hour of Roanoke.

The cave tour experience was OK. It was my first experience in a cave so it was interesting…read more Basically they offer a general tour every hour on the hour during business hours. A person will lead a group of people (there was 4 in our group) inside the cave and act as a tour guide. This tour is a 2 part tour: one part is the Civil War aspect where soldiers were using the mine while the second part is historical (natural cave formations). Our tour lasted about an hour. I recommend that you wear tennis shoes or hiking shoes. The cave is slippery and your walking uphill and downhill in various parts of the cave. Also a light jacket or sweater comes in handy because the air has a chill in it especially early or late in the day. Another strong recommendation is bring your own flashlight. The flashlight provided by the tour was weak and usually the battery is almost drained by the time you get it. If you are not in decent shape or if you have difficulty bending over I recommend passing. Think of it as going up and down several flights of stairs in damp, dark conditions. If you want pictures then a camera with a flash is required. I have a Canon T3i with a flash and it took good pictures. The pictures taking with smartphones did not turn out very good. I heard they have a more involved cave tour where you can crawl through the mud and get more hands-on with the experience. I did not do this part of the tour but heard it was interesting.

Came to visit these caverns on the way to visit another, but ended up here at the recommendation of…read morea local. The cave itself is miles long and the beginner tour is guided and runs about an hour or so long. The cave is very interesting as there is much civil war history, as well as of the course geological history and curiousity as well. Hard for me to gauge the experience compared to other caverns, since this was really my first time down in a real cave like this. I'd give the cave and guided tour 4 stars. Worth the money. What really turned me off, was the bible lesson that came with it. They make a point of mentioning at the commencement of the tour that they are bible believers and even put a copy of the bible in their exhibit with other pieces, petrified stone, and civil war era relics. Mind you, the bible didn't come out of the cave from the civil war era or anything... It's just a new bible they put there to talk about at the beginning of each tour. When I asked something about the giant sloth bone casting, part of the response was that they believe the "great flood" washed them in... Same with the shells and coral fragments... YIKES... Anyway, I'm not trying to be insensitive to religion, I just wasn't expecting a bible lesson during my cave tour and was a bit surprised to see the people actually hadn't heard of or believe in plate tectonics. Minus 2 stars for the whole religion thing... At the end of the day, it was a nice tour and it's a nice place, but the religion thing was a sour note for me and just wasn't really necessary or relevant to the attraction.

Tony Vanoy and I stopped at Tater Mountain Lookout in Mullens WV area. It's free to go to park no…read moreadmission fees and the Swing is free to Enjoy! It's located at the top of mountain up a narrow one lane dirt road! Be very careful!! Lisa Diane Boyce-Vanoy #wvswings #2025endofsummerroadtrip #AlmostHeaven

The Indian Creek Covered Bridge was constructed in 1898 by teenage brothers Oscar and Ray Weikel…read morewho were just 16 and 18 years old at the time. It is owned by the Monroe County Historical Society. The bridge is 49.25 feet long and 11.5 feet wide. It is closed to vehicular traffic for some time and was renovated in 2000 which included a new timber deck, roof, and siding. While you can't drive across it, you can walk it and picnic nearby. It's an amazing structure and thankfully should continue for some time. [Review 539 of 2025 - 129 in West Virginia - 24100 overall]

Saturday, June 15th, 2019, hubby Tony and I crossed the bridge over the New River on Rt 20 and…read moreentered this old town. There are so many empty houses and empty commercial buildings, so sad. The historical Train Depot is located down hill off the main drag towards the river and it is still in operation today. Hinton is an Amtrak station in Hinton, West Virginia, served by the Cardinal. The station is a former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway depot, and is located in the Hinton Historic District. Constructed in 1905, the brick building includes wood canopies supported by heavy brackets featuring a wood-fan pattern trim. Tony and I parked beside the building and got out to walk around and enjoy the beauty of this old building. The train tracks are active so keep that in mind when playing around it and checking things out. I was able to peer into the windows, because the place is closed only open hours when the train is suppose to stop. Some of my photos are of some old photos of the location. Very interesting history for this building. It was the hub of the hub-lub in the area back in the day.... .

I was able to go inside the waiting room of the depot last week because the Cardinal was scheduled…read morethat day. Clean and historic. I only wish the city or someone would be able to open the rest of the depot as a museum.

Looks like a house, acts as a hub for rotating art and history exhibits. This Queen Anne Victorian…read morehome used to belong to Alexander Black, a prominent figure in Blacksburg, but is now a cultural center for art, and also has a children's room, a small library and a genealogy center. I got to explore the space for a bit before they closed for the day. I was impressed with the children's area, which is fun and has quite a few things for kids to play with. Other than the children's area, everything else is mostly look-but-don't-touch. Art, historical objects and documents, maps, books, furniture and a few cozy places to sit are the rest of the cultural center. This is a nice place to stop into when you're in Blacksburg if you want to know more about the history of the city, but it's also a quick visit.

This house occupies a prominent spot in downtown Blacksburg. It is open for free visitation, but…read morethe hours are limited and it is not open on Sunday, which is a bit tough from a tourist perspective. When I visited, a weekend Street market was going on outside. It is a splendid looking structure outside and in, and had a variety of exhibitions on the history and natural environment of the area as well as some art on display. There was a gift shopped themed toward local history. One can also sit on the covered porch outside. Bathrooms and water fountains were available on the second floor, and it was a hot day.