TRIP TO PICKENS, WV

Last summer when Bill and I visited Joe and Jean Radabaugh Meredith at their home in Masontown, WV, we started talking about where Bill & Joe’s mother was born. Margaret Pauline “Jane” Meredith (“MaMaw”) was born September 16, 1902 in Pickens, WV which is located in Randolph County. Joe asked if either of us had ever been to Pickens, WV. He thought we should see the town where MaMaw was born.

So off we went, winding around in the mountains of eastern WV for a couple of hours until we arrived on top of what I know must have been one of the highest mountains in WV. No one in their right mind would go there on purpose! I am sure most people have to just happen onto Pickens when they are lost! I can only imagine what Maggie Lee Meredith (Jane’s mother) must have thought when she first arrived in Pickens. If I remember the story correctly, Waitman T “Willie” Meredith had a job buying up timber for the railroad and they probably rode a train to Pickens. As twisty as the roads are now, the roads then could only have been a mule path through the woods.

There is now a small museum in Pickens that is in honor of Dr. James L. Cunningham (1863-1965), who was a physician in Pickens and probably delivered Jane. At the time of his death he was the eldest physician in the US. He was born in Pittsburgh, PA and grew up in Ohio, but at the age of 18 moved to Hacker Valley with his family and worked as a school teacher for seven years. In 1888 he decided that he wanted to be a Dr. It was reported that Dr. Cunningham never lost a mother in 3600 cases of delivering babies.

Joe asked the man at the local grocery store if the museum was open for us to visit. He handed Joe the key to the door and ask for it to be returned to him when we were through with our visit. We looked through nearly every book and everything else located there but saw no Meredith name that we could connect with our family.

Bill asked about the new school that was being built in Pickens (at a cost of over a million dollars federal money). The lady said there were 35 students from kindergarten through 12^th grade who attended the school. Bill wanted to know why the students weren't bused to Elkins. She told us that on a good day it takes a bus 1-1/2 hours to complete the trip from Pickens to Elkins (due to stops, etc.). So on a snowy winter day with the roads in bad shape who knew how long it would take.

On our trip walking down the main street of downtown Pickens (which by the way isn’t even half a block in length) we saw an old hotel which is I believe the only really old business building left standing. We also noticed a darling little building which had a sign on the front PICKENS POST OFFICE. I have included a picture of both.

So if you are ever in WV, are bored, want to see the little town on top of one of the highest points (due to my math) in WV where little Jane Meredith was born, take a day and travel up to Pickens, WV. You really have to know how to drive those WV twisty roads to accomplish this. Bill drove us for over 5 hours that day and I think we were really only a little more than 75 miles away from Masontown. If you get car sick, take your motion sickness pills before you start the trip!

See a full size photo of the old hotel by clicking here.

See a full size photo of the Pickens post office by clicking here.

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