6 Old-Time West Virginia Bakeries Where Locals Line Up Before The Cases Sell Out
A hot dog made of pastry and stuffed with buttercream. That treat has been coming out of one little bakeshop's ovens in this state since 1948, and I can't stop thinking about it.
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Twirling Signature Spaghetti And Meatballs At This Fairmont Italian Kitchen Feels Like Sunday At Grandma’s
The meatballs here carry the word signature, and the kitchen takes that label seriously. They come piled on spaghetti in red sauce, and the portions are known for being generous.
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Over 1,000 Pieces Of Marble Went Into Wheeling’s Oglebay Mansion Museum
A Pittsburgh businessman put marble mantels in this parlor back in 1856, long before the house was famous. Then a Cleveland industrialist came along and made the whole place even...
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Seven Old West Virginia Fish Hatcheries Still Raise Trout For Mountain Streams
A whole famous trout strain reportedly traces back to one odd yellow-spotted baby fish noticed in a hatchery pool in 1955. That speckled little oddball became the ancestor of the...
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Huntington’s Old Heritage Station Was A Busy B&O Depot Long Before It Sold Fudge
A real 19th-century steam engine sits parked beside a row of artisan shops, and nobody is asking it to move. Right next to it waits a vintage Pullman car that you can rent for...
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Long Before Movie Theaters Went Digital, Seven West Virginia Main Street Cinemas Opened Their Doors
One small-town theater in West Virginia has been showing movies since roughly 1907. That's older than sound in movies. Older...
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This Beloved West Virginia Drive-In Has Lit Up Summers For Decades And Now Shows Movies In Theater-Quality Picture
A small valley drive-in once faced closing, and a local community board reportedly stepped in to save it. Then it got a digital projector sharp enough to rival an indoor theater.
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Nobody Expects A 600-Foot Gorge Lookout From A Picnic Table, Yet Grandview Delivers One
A picnic table here sits just a few minutes' walk from a lookout perched 1,400 feet above a winding river. That's not a typo, and it's not a hike that requires boots and a granola-bar...
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Where West Virginia Quilters Actually Buy Their Fabric, And The Scrap Room Alone Is Worth The Trip
A quilt shop with a scrap room so good that shoppers call it worth the trip all by itself? Add chocolate-covered cherries to the counter, and I'm already reaching for my car keys.
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This 70-Year-Old West Virginia Drive-In Keeps Double Features Under The Stars Alive
The speakers still hook right onto your car window, just like they did when your grandparents were dating. Yes, the old-school metal kind, at a drive-in that has reportedly been...
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This West Virginia Restaurant Serves Hearty Soups And Southern Cooking With A Bakery Full Of Pies Waiting
Strawberry-rhubarb, butterscotch, lemon meringue, and peanut butter pies all get made from scratch here. Daily. That pie case...
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This West Virginia Cat Café Lets You Sip Chai While Adoptable Cats Pick Their New Families
An orange cat named Mr. Thumbs holds the title of Mayor of Cat Town at one little West Virginia coffee shop. He reportedly gives tours, greets newcomers, and tries to slip out...
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Nearly 500 Feet Of Glass Ran Through Weston’s Old Factory Floors Every Day
One central West Virginia glassmaker reportedly turned out 144,000 hand-blown pieces every 24 hours at his peak. That's not a typo, and it wasn't some giant faraway corporation...
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6 Huntington, West Virginia Restaurants Locals Keep Sending Their Out-Of-Town Family To
One drive-in on my list wears a giant root beer mug on its roof like a crown. That's the kind of landmark you can give as directions, and your relatives will still find it.
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West Virginia Has A Historic Covered Bridge Just Off I-77 That Still Carries Cars, And Its Old Wooden Floor Clacks Beneath Your Tires
A 101-foot wooden bridge from 1890 still lets you drive straight through it. Your tires hit the floor, and the whole thing answers back with a clackety rumble.
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Seven West Virginia Butcher Shops Where Folks Drive An Hour To Beat Grocery Store Prices
Two Mennonite brothers cut fresh meat by hand every day at one shop on this list, and their prices often go head to head with the big chain grocers. That detail stopped me cold.
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6 West Virginia Churches With Old-World Architecture That Feels Like A Trip To Europe
One church dome in West Virginia rises 148 feet, and a bishop reportedly wanted it to call to mind the great cathedral in Florence, Italy. I read that twice.
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8 West Virginia Churches And Shrines Where Stained Glass Stops Visitors In The Doorway
One West Virginia cathedral has a dome that rises 148 feet above its crossing, and the windows below it still steal the show. I love that a ceiling that tall can lose a staring...
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Some Folks Swear This West Virginia Fabric Shop Turns One Spool Of Thread Into A Whole Afternoon
Over 7,000 bolts of quilt fabric sit under one roof, and the building used to be a dairy. That alone made me stop and stare at my screen.
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Hundreds Of Patients Once Filled The Largest Hand-Cut Stone Building In America, Now Standing In West Virginia
Some buildings you drive past, and some stop you cold the moment they come into view. Tucked into a quiet river town in West Virginia stands a gray stone giant so long it seems...
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This Little West Virginia Mountain Town Packs A Whole Weekend Into One Short Main Street
A legendary princess may still be the most famous name in this tiny river town, and she reportedly lived here long before it had a courthouse. The town even carried her name for...
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Way Out In The West Virginia Hills, This Little Country Store Serves Brisket Worth The Drive
You almost drive right past it, and that would have been a real shame. Out on a quiet road in the West Virginia hills sits a small country store that looks like a spot for a soda...
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The Tiny West Virginia Town Where A Whole Weekend Disappears Inside Antique Shops
I only meant to stop for a quick stretch and a cup of coffee, maybe twenty minutes, tops. Somewhere in West Virginia, on a quiet little main street, one dusty shop window turned...
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Burning Springs Once Pumped Oil Before Pennsylvania Ever Struck A Drop, And This West Virginia Museum Tells How
Most of us learned in school that America's oil story started in Pennsylvania, and we never thought twice about it. Then you walk into an old brick building in West Virginia, expecting...
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Pocahontas County’s Mountain Railroad Town Of Durbin Still Runs A Steam Engine Nicknamed Old Dusty
Some of the best afternoons in West Virginia start with a wrong turn and a faint whistle drifting over the trees. I came looking for a quick lunch and a gas stop, and I left smelling...
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Hikers Come Down From Seneca Rocks And Head Straight For Pizza On This West Virginia Porch
Your legs are shaking, your water bottle is empty, and all you can think about is something hot and cheesy. That is how a lot of folks find this little upstairs spot in West Virginia,...
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A Retirement Check In West Virginia Covers A Brick Bungalow, A Strawberry Festival And Quiet Porch Evenings
Somewhere between a back road and a hungry stomach, I found a little West Virginia town I almost drove right past. It had brick sidewalks, porches with rocking chairs, and a bakery...
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Folks Come Back Morning After Morning For Coffee And Breakfast Sandwiches At This Cozy West Virginia Bakery
Some of the best mornings start with a screen door creaking open and the smell of fresh bread drifting out to the sidewalk. You walk in expecting a quick cup of coffee, and you...
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Inside This West Virginia City’s Basilica Is Stained Glass Some Visitors Call The Most Beautiful They’ve Ever Seen
Some of the best surprises in West Virginia hide behind plain city sidewalks and ordinary brick. You might be passing by on the way to lunch, thinking about nothing much, when...
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Retiring In West Virginia Means A Paid-Off House, A Lake View And A Town Of Neighbors
Some places do not shout for attention, and that is exactly why they stay with you. Picture a quiet mountain town in West Virginia where the mortgage is gone, the water glitters...
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You’d Drive Right Past This Plain West Virginia Roadside Grill, But Locals Line Up For Its Two-Handed Cheeseburgers
Some of the best meals in West Virginia hide behind the plainest front doors. You pass them on the way to somewhere else, never guessing that the folks inside are wrestling with...
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People Cross Half Of West Virginia Before Sunrise For The Donuts At This Little Bakery
Some of the best mornings in West Virginia start with a dark highway, a thermos of coffee, and a craving that will not quit. You pull up to a plain little building that looks like...
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Seven West Virginia Family Orchards Where A Bushel Of Apples Still Costs Less Than The Supermarket
The first time I bit into an apple bought straight off a West Virginia farm, I wondered why I had ever paid grocery store prices for fruit that tasted like cardboard. Out here,...
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Seven West Virginia Country Bakeries Where Saturday Morning Means Warm Cinnamon Rolls By The Dozen
Some of the best mornings in West Virginia start with a wrong turn and a little white sign that just says bakery. You pull over expecting a quick coffee, and suddenly you are holding...
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Before Interstates Existed, Travelers Rested At This 1700s West Virginia Inn Still Serving Supper
Some of the best suppers in West Virginia are hiding behind a white front porch you could easily drive right past. I almost did, until the smell of fresh biscuits and the glow...
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15 West Virginia Dairy Bars Locals Swear Taste Exactly The Way They Did In 1965
Some of the best afternoons in West Virginia start with a hand-painted sign on a two-lane road and a sudden craving you did not know you had. You pull into a gravel lot, order...
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This Unassuming West Virginia Hillside Is Where The Last Battle Of The Revolutionary War’s Frontier Was Fought
You could drive right past this little patch of green grass and never guess what happened there. It looks like a quiet riverside spot for a picnic, a stroll, and maybe a nap on...
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Every Autumn Weekend, This Vintage Train in West Virginia Rolls Through Golden Mountain Foliage
Some of the best memories in West Virginia start with a sound you hear before you see anything, a low whistle drifting over the hills on a cool fall morning. Follow it, and you...
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West Virginia’s Oldest Hardware Store Still Weighs Nails By The Pound In Shepherdstown
Some of the best places in West Virginia hide behind plain wooden doors you might walk right past. I went in expecting a quick look around and a cup of something warm, and I left...
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Nobody Expects To Find A Real Gilded Age Mansion Hiding In A West Virginia Coal Town
You come up a quiet hill in West Virginia expecting maybe a sandwich and a nice view, and then a stone castle of a house rises out of the trees like something from an old storybook....
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Seven West Virginia Mom-And-Pop Butcher Shops Where A Week Of Meals Costs Under Fifty Dollars
Some of the best food memories in West Virginia start with a paper-wrapped package handed across a counter by someone who knows your name. I went looking for small, family-run...
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This West Virginia Heritage Festival Fills A Small Town With Fiddles, Crafts And Kettle-Cooked Food
Some of the best meals in West Virginia are not served in restaurants at all. They come off a hot griddle in a crowded hall, handed over by a volunteer who has been flipping cakes...
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Nearly A Thousand Feet Above The River, This West Virginia Overlook Makes Fall Leaves Look Endless
Some of the best places in West Virginia hide behind a plain road sign and a short walk through the trees. You park, stretch your legs, and figure you will glance at a view for...
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Seven West Virginia Waterfalls You Reach Without Hiking More Than A Few Minutes From The Car
Some of the prettiest water in West Virginia is hiding in plain sight, right beside roads many of us have driven for years. You do not need hiking boots, a trail map, or strong...
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7 West Virginia Country Stores Where Deli Meats Are Still Sliced At The Counter
You pull off a back road in West Virginia because you need gas or a quick bite, and you walk into a little store that smells like fresh bread and smoked ham. Behind a glass case,...
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Seven West Virginia Covered Bridges Old Enough To Remember Horse-And-Buggy Traffic
Some of the best memories in West Virginia are made on back roads, where you round a bend and spot a wooden bridge with a roof over its head. These old spans once echoed with hooves,...
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The Oldest Oil Well In The World Still Stands In A Quiet West Virginia Town
You could drive past it on a lazy afternoon and never guess that a small patch of riverside ground changed the whole world. Out in the rolling hills of West Virginia, a humble...
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This West Virginia Italian Festival Fills Downtown With Live Bands, A Parade And Italian Food
I expected a few food booths and a folding-chair crowd, but the smell of meatballs and warm bread reached me a full block before I saw a single tent. What I found was an entire...
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This Town in West Virginia Lets Retirees Trade High Rent For River Views And Porch Swings
Rent checks have a funny way of eating up a retirement dream one month at a time. I went looking for a spot in West Virginia where the money might stretch further, expecting a...
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Seven West Virginia Meat Markets Where Folks Stock Their Freezers Cheaper Than Any Chain Store
You can drive past a little West Virginia butcher shop a hundred times before you finally pull in and wonder why you waited so long. Inside, the counters are full, the butcher...
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Seven Old-Fashioned West Virginia Diners Where The Coffee Refills Never Stop Coming
Some of the best mornings in West Virginia start in a building you might drive past without a second look. There is a plain sign, a bell over the door, and then the smell of bacon...
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This Unassuming West Virginia Rock Is Where Union Troops Carved Their Names During The Civil War
I pulled off a quiet mountain road in West Virginia expecting a quick stretch of the legs and maybe a sandwich with a view. What I found instead was a hilltop where Civil War soldiers...
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Prohibition Bootleggers Once Ran Barrels Through The Tunnels Beneath This West Virginia Town
Some places in West Virginia hold secrets right under your feet, and you would never guess it walking down a quiet Main Street. Long ago, folks moved goods through hidden brick...
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Prohibition Bootleggers Once Ran Moonshine Through This Sleepy West Virginia Mountain Pass
Tucked into the folds of West Virginia's rolling hills sits a shady green hollow that feels a world away from the busy streets nearby. Long ago, resourceful mountain folk used...
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Seven West Virginia Pepperoni Roll Bakeries Locals Argue Over Like It’s A Family Feud
There's a certain kind of hunger that only warm dough wrapped around savory pepperoni can satisfy, and West Virginia knows this better than anywhere on earth. Chasing that smell...
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This West Virginia Fire Tower Opens Onto A View So Wide You Can See Into Four Counties At Once
Some places make you work a little before they reward you, and this one asks you to trade pavement for a slow climb up a mountain in West Virginia. At the end waits a wooden platform...
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Hidden Beneath A West Virginia Hillside Lies The Cold War Radio Bunker That Would Have Warned The Nation
Some places don't shout for attention. They sit quietly off a country road, waiting for curious folks to wander in and discover just how much history one patch of ground can hold.
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This Little West Virginia Spring Pours Free Mineral Water Folks Fill Their Jugs With To Take Home
Somewhere in the folds of West Virginia's rolling hills, there's a tap that flows all day long with clean mineral water, and it won't cost you a single penny. I'd driven past the...
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Retirees Stretch A Fixed Check Into Comfortable Living In Buckhannon, West Virginia’s Quiet College Town
Picture a place where your monthly check goes further than you thought possible, and the folks next door still wave from their porches. Somewhere in West Virginia, tucked into...
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