By Paula McGrew
Yes, you are pretty busy attending business sessions and worship this week, but you may find that there are lots of reasons to visit Buckhannon and the surrounding area during unscheduled moments. Or, maybe your family came with you and would prefer to go out and explore a bit.
What if you could just enter a zip code into your phone and find out what is around you? What if your phone could serve as a kind of tour guide? Hooray! Check out CLIO! Created by Marshall University Associate Professor of History David Trowbridge, you can now go to http://theclio.com (or download the APP) and magic will happen. Landmarks, museums, historic and cultural sites will appear.
You can choose to limit your results to 1 mile, or 5, 10, 15, 25, 50, or 100 miles. As of June 1, there were 31 entries within a one-mile radius of Zip Code 26201. You will find a photograph, information, maps and directions for each entry. A few miles further out, you might want to explore the Pringle Tree or Hacker’s Creek to find out about those who settled the area.
The Civil War definitely came through here — find out more about Jenkins raid at the Upshur County Courthouse by taking a look at the historical marker there.
Many of the buildings on West Virginia Wesleyan College’s campus are included, so even if you don’t want to lose your parking spot you can take a walk around campus and find out about the history of the buildings.
Best of all, you can check to see what is all around you wherever you may roam. Besides using it when you travel, you will find that there are interesting things near where you call home…whether you have lived there for years or whether you are heading to a new appointment.
