New exhibit opens at Black Knight

Apr. 3—A traveling exhibit detailing West Virginia's journey to statehood will be on display at Beckley's Historic Black Knight municipal park until the end of April.

The exhibit, called "Born of Rebellion: West Virginia Statehood and the Civil War," was produced by the West Virginia Humanities Council, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the creators of the West Virginia Encyclopedia.

This modular exhibit covers a century of history, from the growing divide between eastern and western Virginia in the early 1800s, to the battlefields in these West Virginia hills and beyond.

The exhibit is divided into sections and details the lead-up to war, military actions in the future Mountain State, the political path to statehood, the experiences of women and Black West Virginians and postwar memory and memorialization.

There are also in-depth sidebars that expand into topics like John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, guerilla warfare and the Underground Railroad.

"This is a complete revitalization of an exhibit the council first released in 2005 and toured again during the Sesquicentennial," said Kyle Warmack, program officer for the West Virginia Humanities Council.

"The original was fantastic but focused narrowly on the legal question of statehood. This time, we widen the lens to include a kaleidoscope of West Virginia perspectives."

Warmack said the council was able to incorporate accounts from West Virginians living in the state in the 1800s.

In fact, Warmack said the exhibit's section titles are drawn from the diary of Upshur County teenager Sirene Bunten, who was 16 when West Virginia achieved statehood in 1863.

"The original diary is part of West Virginia Wesleyan College's collections," Warmack said. "Experiencing this history feels different when reading the inner observations of a young girl who loses two brothers to the war."

Other quotes and experiences were drawn from the recollections of soldiers and civilians across the state.

The exhibit is free and open to the public from Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Black Knight.

The "Born of Rebellion" exhibit will be on display right inside the main entrance of Black Knight until April 22.

The exhibit has previously traveled to Huntington, Clarksburg, Wheeling and Morgantown.

To see where the traveling exhibit will appear next in West Virginia, go to https://wvhumanities.org/programs/traveling-exhibits/bor.

Organizers of the new exhibit say it's meant to recognize the 50th anniversary of the founding of the West Virginia Humanities Council as well as draw attention to West Virginia's 250th birthday in 2026.

Leslie Gray Baker, director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Beckley, said this is the exhibit's only scheduled appearance in southern West Virginia.

"I hope it educates people about the founding of our state and also all the good works that the West Virginia Humanities Council does for West Virginia."

In honor of West Virginia Humanities Council's 50th anniversary, Baker, who is also a member of the council's board of directors, said Black Knight will host a reception on April 11.

"Born of Rebellion" was made possible with funding from American Water and the National Endowment for the Humanities "A More Perfect Union" initiative, as well as support from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.

Email: jmoore@register-herald.com