The town of Beverly will bring its rich history to life with Beverly Heritage Days July 24 and 25. The bi-annual event celebrates the West Virginia town’s vibrant past with costumed interpreters, period demonstrations, music, food, crafts and other activities.

An added feature for this year’s celebration will be special performances of period music featuring the Blue and Gray Community Choir, musician-interpreter R.P. Hale and several local musicians, including Beverly flutist Richard Evans. “Before the invention of the phonograph, a person either had to play music himself or hire someone else to play it for him,” said Evans.

Dressed in 19th century attire, Evans and other local musicians will entertain visitors inside the Beverly Heritage Center with period chamber music. “This music was played by family members to entertain themselves and friends in their houses.” Evans said the flute was a very popular 19th century instrument for which composers wrote music in a variety of combinations. Visitors can hear some of those combinations as they tour the museum complex.

In the morning Evans and Morris Kittle will play original and arranged 19th century music for flute and clarinet. They will be followed by Linda Wolfersheim and Jessica Agnew, who will be accompanied by Pam Dodds. The three will perform popular 19th century songs arranged for flutes and organ. Later in the day Agnew will join Evans and Wolfersheim to play flute duets and trios. Dodds will also accompany Evans as he sings songs composed by America’s first popular song composer, Stephen Foster, along with war songs that rallied the nation’s soldiers, both Union and Confederate.

Music will also be performed throughout the day on Saturday in the Beverly Town Square. Area musicians joined by Hale of Concord, New Hampshire will play traditional folk music on fiddle, guitar, banjo and dulcimer in the Town Square. Recently cited by the Smithsonian Institution as one of the country’s premier harpsichord and dulcimer makers, Hale works with museums as a re-enactor. He is known to the area through his affiliation with the Augusta Heritage Center of Elkins.

Making its first Heritage Days appearance on Sunday July 25th at 3 pm, the Blue and Gray Community Choir will perform Civil War era songs including “Bonnie Blue Flag,” “Marching Through Georgia” and “The Vacant Chair.” African American Spirituals such as “This Old Hammer,” “If I have a Ticket,” “There’s Room for Many-a-more” and “Old Ship of Zion” will also be part of the program, as well as early American folk songs and patriotic songs.

The choir was founded in 1989 by Rev. John Tenney of Philippi’s Crim Memorial Methodist Church to sing Civil War era music. Its first concert, under the direction of Douglas Fisher, was such a success that the choir is now featured annually during Philippi’s Blue and Gray Reunion in early June. This year’s choir of over fifty members is directed by Dr. Judson Bracey, professor of music at Alderson-Broaddus College, with Michele Moore as accompanist. The concert is free of charge and will be held at the historic 1890 Beverly Methodist Church on North Main Street.

During the two-day event, musicians as well as crafts people, frontier period and Civil War era soldiers and civilians will recreate 18th and 19th century life for visitors. Many of the town’s older buildings will be open for tours. Two museums—the Randolph County Historical Society Museum and the new Beverly Heritage Center complex featuring the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike interpretive display—will also welcome visitors.

For more information on Beverly Heritage Days, call the visitor's center at 304-637-7424.

HART CEREMONY DURING BEVERLY HERITAGE DAYS

One hundred years after their deaths, two sons of the American Revolution will be remembered for their patriotism. Daniel and Edward Hart, sons of John Hart who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, were early settlers in Beverly, then Virginia. Daniel and Edward were patriots in their own right having served in the early colonial militias, and became important figures in the local history of the region.

These two sons will be remembered in a ceremony Saturday, July 24, 2010, during Beverly Heritage Days. Descendent Steve Hart of Charleston, WV, along with the local Sons of the America Revolution and Daughters of the American Revolution, the Hart family, and community of Beverly will join for a dedication ceremony recognizing these two patriots. The public ceremony will take place at the Beverly Cemetery, located along Main St/US Rt. 219/250 South in the town of Beverly. A commemorative ceremony and wreath laying, including a 21-gun volley and placement of monument markers, will complete the ceremony. Ceremony begins at 3pm.

This ceremony is a part of the Beverly Heritage Days Festival which starts with the historically focused Beverly Heritage Days July 24 & 25. Beverly Heritage Days will celebrate the town’s rich heritage and history, as the town’s historic district opens its doors for visitors to explore and learn about the role of Randolph County’s first county seat. Saturday activities from 10am-5 pm and Sunday from Noon-4 pm will feature Civil War and frontier period living history, craft demonstrations, kids heritage crafts, a Civil War skirmish and heritage music. A BBQ lunch is available on Saturday, and the event will conclude with a performance of the Blue and Gray Choir Sunday at 3 pm. Heritage Day is sponsored by Citizens Bank of West Virginia, Mike Ross, Inc., Freedom Bank, and All Seasons Real Estate.

July 25-31 is Beverly Firemen’s Festival, with activities throughout the week sponsored by the Beverly Volunteer Fire Department culminating on Sat July 31, with the annual firemen’s parade. Other activities include a cake walk, queen’s pageant, and dance.

For more information on activities or events for Beverly Heritage Days, call the Beverly Heritage Center at 304-637-7424.

BEVERLY TO RELIVE HEYDAY WITH BEVERLY HERITAGE DAYS

The town of Beverly will relive its heyday July 24-25 with the celebration of Beverly Heritage Days. The tiny West Virginia town will come to life with costumed interpreters, period demonstrations, music, food, crafts and other activities worthy of its colorful past.

“A lot of people contribute their time and expertise to this event, and we are always pleased with the quality and authenticity of the portrayal,” said Michelle Depp, executive director of Historic Beverly Preservation and the Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation. “The living history interpreters have researched period dress and customs and some even know details of their characters’ lives to share with visitors.”

Various commemorations of Beverly’s significant Civil War heritage are among the planned activities. Members of the West Virginia Reenactors Association will set up Union and Confederate camps at the Goff House and the 1841 Jailhouse on Main St. where they will engage in typical camp activities of the soldiers who occupied Beverly. “For the first time, Beverly Heritage Days will include a reenactment of a skirmish representing one of the four raids on Beverly,” said Tim Glaser of the WVRA. “A skirmish is a minor battle involving a few soldiers, rather than a large direct confrontation.” The planned skirmish will occur at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Beverly was significant to both sides during the war, initially as a Confederate staging and supply post. It was occupied by Union troops following the July 11, 1861 Battle of Rich Mountain. After this occupation, Confederates raided the town four times. Two of those raids were successful, driving off Union troops for a time. The South was unable to hold the town, however, and soon moved on. This conflict had significant impact on the citizens, whose sentiments were divided, and on the buildings, many of which were commandeered and some destroyed by the troops.

The first governor of the State of West Virginia, Francis Pierpont and his wife Julia, will make an official visit to Beverly on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Town Square. The first couple will be portrayed by Art and Pam Dodds of Belington. As telegrapher, Glaser will demonstrate the device in the back yard of the Goff House. Glaser will also explain the importance of the telegraph after the Battle of Rich Mountain. Townspeople in period dress will be working and demonstrating throughout the Historic District.

The Tygarts Valley Muzzleloaders will represent the earliest settlers of Beverly, the Tygart and Files families. In their camp on the grounds of the Collett House, visitors can see demonstrations of 18th century camp life, such as camp cooking, spinning and woodworking. Located on the corner of Main and Collett Sts., the Collett House is the oldest standing building in Beverly. It is currently undergoing restoration. Construction tours will be available showing the progress on the building.

A construction tour of the 1841 jail on Walnut St. will illustrate the beginning stages of restoration on that building. In addition to these tours, two of Beverly’s historic churches, the Beverly Presbyterian Church, built between 1869 and 1873, and the 1890 Beverly Methodist Church will be open all day to visitors.

Tours of the newly completed Beverly Heritage Center will show the extensive rehabilitation of the four buildings that comprise the center: The 1900 Beverly Bank, 1808 Randolph County Courthouse, Hill Building of 1912 and Bushrod Crawford house, circa 1845.

Craft demonstrations during Beverly Heritage Days will include blacksmithing in the town square, printing in the Hill building on North Main St., tape loom weaving at the Stalnaker Cabin, and basket weaving on the Goff House porch. Children and adults can try their hand at paper-marbling on the porch of the Crawford House at the Beverly Heritage Center, while period games will be offered in the Town Square.

The Randolph County Historical Society Museum, located in the 1827-8 Blackman-Bosworth Store on the corner of Main and Court Sts., will be open with its many original artifacts on display. The Subscription School and the original Stalnaker Cabin that once stood across from Armstrong Flooring on U.S. Rt. 250 are located behind the museum. Both buildings will be open for tours.

Visitors will find plenty to eat in Beverly and nearby. The Tygarts Valley Lions Club’s famous chicken or pork BBQ lunches will be sold behind the Beverly Heritage Center on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. until sold out. Pastry and cookie treats can be purchased at the newly opened Battlefield Bakery and Cafe on Main St. Mama’s Kitchen, just north of Beverly on U.S. Rt. 250, will offer delicious home-cooked meals throughout the day.

Antique shopping is available in three locations, including the restored Lemuel Chenoweth House on Bridge St. Beverly Books and Antiques and the Goff House Antique and Textile Studio, both on Main St., provide an eclectic mix of vintage and antiques items as well as textile arts. Other shopping opportunities include Cornucopia for gifts and home décor and Blossom Village for flower arrangements. Yarn and Company, just north of town on the Country Club Rd., is for those who like to “sit and knit.”

“We’d like to think that there is something for everyone,” said Depp. “Our goal is not only to entertain the whole family, but also to help educate residents and visitors on the history of our community. We’re very proud of our past.”

Beverly Heritage Days serves as the start for Beverly Days, which continue with Beverly Fireman’s Week activities, culminating with the parade on Saturday, July 31. Sponsors for Beverly Heritage Days include Citizens Bank of West Virginia, Freedom Bank, All Seasons Realty, Mike Ross, Inc. and Rich Mountain Electric. Held on even years since the early 1990s, Beverly Heritage Days alternates with reenactment of the Battle of Rich Mountain, which is held on odd years.

Beverly is located 6 miles south of Elkins on US Rt. 219/250. Activities at Beverly Heritage Days are free, and take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 24 and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 25. For more information call 304-637-7424 or visit www.historicbeverly.org.