Projects in 2022
RESTORATION OF THE STARING CEMETERY
The Martinsburg Historical Society has been involved with the restoration of the town's abandoned cemeteries. We want to thank the volunteers who have already completed the enormous task of clearing the site of the overgrown brush. The restoration was completed in the fall of 2022. Re-dedication and military honors will be done in this cemetery in the fall of 2023. Please visit the site this coming season.
The West Martinsburg Mercantile
The West Martinsburg Mercantile will be opening on April 1st for its' fourth season. Owner Kin Gracey has brought back the neighborhood store. It looks much like the old Warren Foote Store that was in the community for 45 years. She carries groceries, household items, and items made by local crafters from ground coffee to aprons, stationery, homemade baked goods, fresh fruits and vegetables- and a multitude of other items. You can spend an hour just browsing in this little store! Kim also carries books published by the Martinsburg Historical Society. (Listed below) Visit the West Martinsburg Mercantile. You will not be disappointed and you can not possibly come away without a purchase. It is a walk back in time.
Honoring Horatio Hough
Additional Information
Dr. Horatio Hough, MD (1778-1830) was the 1st doctor in Lewis County. He served as the physician for Lewis County regiments during the War of 1812. He married Martha Pitcher before settling in Martinsburg. Their daughters Almira, Martha, and Dema married and lived in the area; they also had two sons. Notable contributions to the community and the nation were made by these sons, Horatio Gates Hough (1809-1885) and Franklin Benjamin Hough (1822-1885).
Horatio Gates Hough married Lydia Calkins Crandall and lived his entire life on the family’s Martinsburg farm; they did not have children. After an unsuccessful effort in 1841 to convince his local church to state opposition to slavery in the United States, Horatio withdrew as a member, and the church expelled him. Horatio was the station master of Hough’s Cave, assisting enslaved people escape on the Underground Railroad to Canada.
In the fall of 2022, a descendant of Horation Hough came to Martinsburg to see the site of Hough's Cave. Mr. William Greer from Portland Oregon made the trip and was warmly greeted by Martinsburg. An open house was held on October 1st in the "Old Town Hall." It was a lovely event and Mr. Greer gave a wonderful take on Horatio and the Hough family. The local television station accompanied a group of our people to the site of the caves and we made television news!
