One site, two buildings
The county dates the first courthouse 1854–1898; the state nomination says 1851–1899. Either way, its successor was built on the same lots. A shared place does not mean it is the same structure.
UPSHUR COUNTY / ACTIVE CASE: THE COURTHOUSE
REPORTER · ROOKIE✦ 0 insightR
An interactive local-history investigation
THE BUCKHANNON CAPSTONE · 1894—1916The
The
Cornerstone File
A real courthouse. Two buildings. One timeline that doesn’t quite add up. Step into the archive and crack Buckhannon’s courthouse story.
The first courthouse, rarely seen up closeArchival photo · Thanks to the Upshur County Historical Society
ARCHIVE ASSIGNMENT · BUCKHANNON, 1894—1916
A town rebuilt—and still building.
You’re the newest reporter at the Chronicle, assigned a retrospective on Buckhannon’s courthouse district. Start with the first courthouse’s removal and its successor, then follow the fire maps, civic neighbors, campus and Main Street through 1916. Your job: reconstruct the timeline, separate evidence from inference, and file a story you can defend.
Fictional newspaper assignment; real local history. Choices are game scenarios, not historical testimony.
A PRODUCTION OFWV Edutainment™0/8
CAPSTONE FILES
7 field investigations + 1 front-page report · 35–60 min
THE CAPSTONE · 8 EVIDENCE FILES
Walk the town through time.
Seven field investigations, then one front-page report. Play in order or pause and resume—notes autosave where browser storage is available; your report is downloadable.
MAIN STREET THROUGH TIME · 1854—1916
Slide the years. Watch Main Street grow.
Real photographs where we have them; drawings are interpretive, not measured. Tap a building for its field note.Scroll the street sideways to see all nine buildings →
PHOTO ATLAS · THEN, NOW & AFTER
Buildings that make the town’s story.
Modern photographs help us recognize surviving places; the records establish when they were built.
Farnsworth block and Ladies Hall: Library of Congress photographs by Carol M. Highsmith, 2015 (“No known restrictions on publication”). Present-day courthouse: photo by WV Edutainment™.
BEFORE YOU FILE · LOCAL HISTORY FIELD NOTES
Five dates. One changing town.
Take the quick tour, then bring it with you through all eight evidence files. These notes stay here as a reference while you investigate.
1851Upshur County formed
→1854First courthouse done (county)
→1898Old courthouse removed (county)
→1899New build begins
→1901New courthouse complete
Read the building
Architectural reference sources identify Harrison Albright as the designer of the present courthouse and describe its Colonial Revival style. Design can tell us about a building—not what every resident thought of it.
A map is a set of clues
A 1900 bird’s-eye view labels a B. & O. Railroad station, mills, tannery, schools, and an electric light plant. It shows sites, not wages, working conditions, or who benefited.
HISTORIAN’S HABIT · Separate what a source shows from what you infer.
CASE FILE 01 · THE VISUAL CLUE
Two buildings. One courthouse site.
Compare the evidence before you write the headline.
FILE 01 / 08
IMAGE ANALYSIS0 / 8 FILES
NO SPEED BONUS · THINK LIKE A HISTORIAN
CAPSTONE FILED · BUCKHANNON, WEST VIRGINIA
✧
The edition is filed.
YOUR NEXT RESEARCH LEAD
Use the searchable district ledger to nominate the next landmark for a sourced episode. Your notes remain saved on this device.
Made in Buckhannon by WV Edutainment™Want a game like this for your business, school or organization? See what we build →