WV Society
Since the founding of the West Virginia Society in 1900, an energetic and excited group of women has been engaged in a mission to preserve what is valuable in our nation’s history. These special ladies – Colonial Dames – believed in keeping history alive in West Virginia!
The West Virginia Colonial Dames created this website in 2012 to preserve the inspiring Dames legacy as we tell the story of the Colonial Dames in West Virginia. Through all of the Dames’ history, each era has a flavor of its own. Our society reflects both the treasured heritage of the past and the changes necessary to help the past endure and enrich the present. Over the years, the West Virginia Dames have graciously and audaciously reached out, just as our colonial leaders reached out, to preserve the unique American way of life in the Colonial and Federalist periods by preserving historical houses and artifacts. This website is also a popular history designed to teach our youth about pre-West Virginia days before statehood in 1856.
Why is it exciting to be a West Virginia Colonial Dame?
- We find it exciting to network with Dames all across West Virginia and the nation who believe in the patriotic ideals of our Founders.
- We believe that the discovery of our ancestors’ roles in the formation of the United States provides a deeper connection to the founding of our country – a connection still pertinent today.
- We believe that two of the greatest statements of human liberty ever written are The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.
- We believe our American heritage – THE COLONIAL PERIOD in AMERICA and THE FOUNDING of the NATION PERIOD in AMERICA – contain the seeds that spread democratic freedom around the world.
- We are involved in patriotic and historical service as we teach the responsibilities of citizenship to youth, new citizens and members.
- We believe in the American dream – a nation where government must be of the people, by the people and for the people.
Learn more about the FOUNDERS. View or download the .pdf file.
Read the full TELLING THE STORY OF THE WEST VIRGINIA DAMES. Download the .pdf file.
2019 HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE Craik-Patton House Director Nathan Jones created three exhibits for the Open House: 1) A PowerPoint presentation on the renovation of the early Craik house when the West Virginia Dames purchased the house for one dollar and saved it for posterity, 2) Early American exhibit on pressed glass, 3 ) Photo collage of the West Virginia Colonial Dames first three presidents.
