Wetzel County Museum - Lewis and Clark Trail Experience

Information

Monday thru Saturday 10am - 4pm / Group tours by reservation @ 304-398-4910

304-398-4910

Free

lat: 39.6388331 long: -80.8662085

Located on the Ohio River at 136 Main Street in historic downtown New Martinsville, the Wetzel County Museum is located in the old Wells Hardware building which dates from the 1890’s. There is a ghost advertisement on the side of the building which was preserved when a mural was added to the north wall in 2016. In addition to historical motifs, the mural also depicts the winning moment for Coach Bill Stewart when he led the WVU Mountaineers to victory in the Fiesta Bowl, stunning the nation, and bringing much pride to his hometown of New Martinsville. Coach Stew was the first inductee into the Wetzel County Museum Hall of Fame in 2016 and the mural was unveiled at his induction ceremony.

Inside the museum you will find interesting bits and pieces of the history of Wetzel County dating all the way back to the Adena culture. Just north of the museum is the old ferry landing which dates to 1840. Near the ferry landing is a historical marker describing the Adena culture and one of their famous mounds which is now under water in the Ohio River.

Call to Arms

Wetzel County Museum Mural

Wetzel County Museum Mural

Museum Front

Nearby Attractions

Distance Unit:

Barista’s Cafe and Pub

Barista’s Cafe and Pub

Baristas, North Main Street, New Martinsville, WV, USA
Distance: 0.24 Away

Food and Drinks

View Listing

Wetzel County Wall of Honor

Wetzel County Wall of Honor

Wetzel County Wall of Honor, North Main Street, New Martinsville, WV, USA
Distance: 0.26 Away

View Listing

Dos Hermanos

Dos Hermanos

504 N Main St, New Martinsville, WV 26155, USA
Distance: 0.45 Away

Food and Drinks

View Listing

Captina Creek Birding Trail

Captina Creek Birding Trail

Captina Creek, Ohio, USA
Distance: 18.84 Away

Outdoor Experiences

View Listing

Moundsville, West Virginia

Moundsville, West Virginia

Moundsville, West Virginia, USA
Distance: 20.52 Away

Cultural Districts

View Listing

Mosser Glass

Mosser Glass

39702 Everett Turner Dory M Rd, Bethesda, OH 43719, USA
Distance: 26.05 Away

Galleries and Venues Guided Tours Shopping

View Listing

Great Stone Viaduct

Great Stone Viaduct

Great Stone Viaduct Historical Education Society, Union Street, Bellaire, OH, USA
Distance: 26.64 Away

View Listing

Imperial Glass Museum

Imperial Glass Museum

National Imperial Glass Museum, Belmont Street, Bellaire, OH, USA
Distance: 26.74 Away

Galleries and Venues Museums and Interpretive Centers

View Listing

Blaine S Bridge

Blaine S Bridge

Blaine Hill "S" Bridge, Bridgeport, OH, USA
Distance: 29.68 Away

View Listing

Centre Market

Centre Market

Centre Market, Wheeling WV, Market Street, Wheeling, WV, USA
Distance: 30.03 Away

Festivals and Events Food and Drinks Shopping

View Listing

Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling, West Virginia, USA
Distance: 30.37 Away

Cultural Districts

View Listing

West Virginia Independence Hall

West Virginia Independence Hall

West Virginia Independence Hall, Market Street, Wheeling, WV, USA
Distance: 30.37 Away

Museums and Interpretive Centers

View Listing

Sign Up for the Lewis & Clark Trail Experience Newsletter

By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive the Lewis and Clark Travel Experience newsletter provided by the Lewis & Clark Trail Alliance. You can revoke your consent at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact.

Instagram Feed

Check out our YouTube Channel! We have some great

Check out our YouTube Channel!

We have some great content being posted there every Saturday - you’ll see videos related to personal stories and adventures on the trail, special reports on various trail locations, and much more!

Be sure to subscribe and share with friends as well!

https://www.youtube.com/@lewisandclarktrailalliance

-----

Here’s a summary of the latest video you can find there, ‘The Legend of Big Bone Lick’:

“What’s a lick, and what do big bones have to do with it? A “lick” is a term for a natural occurrence of salt. They usually appear around sulfur springs, which are places where water and minerals bubble out of the ground. It often smells like rotten eggs.

People call these places “licks” because animals like to lick the salty deposits. The “big bone” part of its name came from huge bones in this bog. Indigenous oral tradition states that the bones were from the white buffalo, who died when they drank the salty water. Western scientists theorized that animals—including mammoths and mastodons—who came for a salty treat got trapped in the marshy areas around the springs.

This site was influential in the American development of paleontology and theories of animal extinction. Thomas Jefferson knew about this place and asked Meriwether Lewis to stop and collect some fossils and send them back.”

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLevOwbBZzs)

https://lewis-clark.org/the-trail/down-the-ohio/big-bone-lick/

The (Confluence Land Bridge in Vancouver, Washingt

The (Confluence Land Bridge in Vancouver, Washington) is a real link connecting back to the Klickitat Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the development of the Northwest. It completes a circle that’s been broken. -Johnpaul Jones

https://www.confluenceproject.org/

About Confluence:
Confluence connects you to the history, living cultures, and ecology of the Columbia River system through Indigenous voices. We are a community-supported nonprofit that works through six art landscapes, educational programs, and public gatherings in collaboration with northwest tribes, communities, and the celebrated artist Maya Lin.

Site Features:
European and Native American cultures once converged at this Columbia River site, where the Hudson’s Bay Company stood as the first European trading post in the Pacific Northwest. Lewis and Clark camped here, and Fort Vancouver was built here 20 years later. Today, the site features a 40-foot wide earth-covered pedestrian bridge that arcs over State Route 14, reconnecting historic Fort Vancouver with the Columbia River, which helped extend the fort’s influence from Mexico to Alaska and across the Pacific Ocean.

Directions to Vancouver Land Bridge
There are two entrances to the Land Bridge in Vancouver, WA. The south entrance is on Columbia Way Blvd. at Old Apple Tree Park. From I-5, take Highway 14 east and take Exit 1 for SE Columbia Way toward Vancouver National Historic Reserve. Keep right, follow signs for S/Southeast Columbia Way. Turn right and drive west to the sign for Old Apple Tree Park. Park and walk under the overpass to the welcome gate of the Land Bridge.

The north entrance to the Land Bridge is just west of Fort Vancouver. From I-5, take Mill Plain Blvd east. Turn right at Fort Vancouver Way. Stay on Fort Vancouver Way through the roundabout and turn left on East 5th Street. The path to the Land Bridge will be on your right.

Watch -- Virtual Tour of Vancouver Land Bridge on Confluence’s Digital Library (https://www.confluenceproject.org/library/).

Watch -- Tanna Engdahl: We Were Excellent Land Managers (http://xn--https-hw3b//www.confluenceproject.org/library-post/tanna-engdahl-we-were-excellent-land-managers/%22)

The Sunshine Mill has a long, colorful history. T

The Sunshine Mill has a long, colorful history.

The Sunshine Mill has milled wheat on this property for more than 130 years, and was the first building in The Dalles to have electricity, powered by a Thomas Edison Motor which can still be seen in The Mill. It is also the only designated skyscraper in The Columbia River Gorge. The Sunshine Biscuit Company once owned this property and the wheat milled here was used to make everyone’s favorite cracker, the Cheez-It!

The Sunshine Mill now houses Quenett and Copa Di Vino wineries owned and operated by James and Molli Martin, both from The Dalles. Quenett Winery released its first vintage in 2002 and burst onto the wine scene with its outstanding vintages of Sangiovese and Zinfandel. The word Quenett comes from the journals of Lewis and Clark, who camped along luscious and fruitful banks of the Columbia River and learned from the local Indians that the word Quenett meant “Steelhead.”

The story and inspiration for Copa Di Vino, or “Wine by the Glass”, takes us on a journey through Provence on a bullet train where James and Molli first saw the concept of ready to drink wine. They brought their idea back to the States and began re-habilitating the Sunshine Mill Campus to become the production site and tasting room for Copa Di Vino, which has been housed on site since 2009.

So take a walk through the grounds and discover The Sunshine Mill, the awe-inspiring property that James and Molli have hand crafted out of artifacts found here to share with you. Enjoy a tasting or have a glass of wine in our amphitheater. Order an Antipasto platter to enjoy in The Boiler House Bar and drink differently at The Sunshine Mill.

https://www.lewisandclark.travel/listing/sunshine-mill-winery/

Check out our YouTube Channel! We have some great

Check out our YouTube Channel!

We have some great content being posted there every Saturday - you’ll see videos related to personal stories and adventures on the trail, special reports on various trail locations, and much more!

Be sure to subscribe and share with friends as well!

https://www.youtube.com/@lewisandclarktrailalliance

-----
Here’s a summary of the latest video you can find there:

“Wilkinson (1757-1825) was one of the most duplicitous, avaricious, and altogether corrupt figures in the early history of the United States. Although he served in the Revolutionary War as adjutant general under General Horatio Gates, he took an oath of allegiance to Spain in 1787, and was paid by the Spanish government. In 1803, he was appointed governor of Louisiana Territory above the 33rd parallel—the northern boundary of the present state of Louisiana. —Joseph A. Mussulman

Jim Holmberg, Senior Curator at the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Kentucky tells us all about ‘Jimmy the Snake’ ”

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-hCZSsPORs)

Share your photos and stories from the Trail! Thi

Share your photos and stories from the Trail!

This photo was shared by Lexie B. about a week ago:

“The Meriwether Lewis monument under the aurora borealis on the 215th anniversary of the night he arrived at Grinder’s Stand.”

Thanks for sharing, Lexie! And thanks for sharing your stories of the trail with others 🙂

—----------

Some more information about Grinder’s Stand:

“Meriwether Lewis traveled the Natchez Trace during his final trip in 1809, when he was governor of the Louisiana Territory. Accompanying him were Major James Neelly, John Pernier, and Neelly's servant. When they reached the Chickasaw Agency, six miles north of the present location of Houston, Mississippi, Lewis asked Neelly that the trunks with the expedition journals would be sent to "the President" in the event that anything happened to him. Stephen Ambrose records in Undaunted Courage that "Neelly assumed Lewis meant Jefferson, not Madison," then the current President.

On October 11, at Grinder's Stand (also “Inn”), 72 miles short of Nashville, most historians believe that Lewis, suffering from depression and anxiety, shot himself in the head and died the following morning. Thomas Jefferson had much earlier noted Lewis's depressions, when he served as the President's secretary, and believed that they ran in the Lewis family."

https://www.nps.gov/articles/grinder-s-stand-tn.htm

—------

Do you have pictures or personal stories from your time along the Trail?! If you do, please message the group with them for a chance to be featured in future posts!