News…

WHEELING, W.Va. –  Families are invited to a special holiday celebration on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, at West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling.

Holidays at the Hall” is free and open to the public.

Historic characters will give special tours of the site at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m., followed at 2 p.m. with a holiday musical performance by the Thursday Music Club Chorus in the historic courtroom. A reception will follow.

For more information, contact Travis Henline, site manager at WVIH, at (304) 238-1300.

West Virginia Independence Hall, originally built as a federal custom house in 1859, served as the home of the pro-Union state conventions of Virginia during the spring and summer of 1861 and as the capitol of loyal Virginia from June 1861 to June 1863. It also was the site of the first constitutional convention for West Virginia. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1988, the museum is maintained and operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, with the cooperation and assistance of the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with the exception of major holidays. The museum is located on the corner of 16th and Market Streets in Wheeling.

The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts with Kay Goodwin, Cabinet Secretary. The Division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the Division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

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