​Community-Based Leadership

Your friends and neighbors represent the community through regular meetings and other volunteer service to provide local history activities that meet the needs and interests of the community.

Please feel free to contact  Crystal or  members of the Board of Directors listed below to share your ideas and questions.

Board Members 

Robert Davis –President 
Clarksburg, WV

Karen Henderson – ​Vice President
Meadowbrook, WV
Kbev1954@aol.com

Sherri Heavner – Treasurer
Flemington, WV
srheavner@aol.com

Carol Schweiker - Board Member 
Bridgeport, WV
carol@aagg.com
Lori Hostuttler - Board Member 
Clarksburg, WV
Lori.hostuttler@gmail.com

Laura Goff Davis - Board Member 
Clarksburg, WV
oakmoundhouse@aol.com

David Houchin - Board Member 
Clarksburg, WV

James Crim - Board Member 
Clarksburg, WV
Jcrim834@aol.com
​

Staff

 Crystal Wimer 
Executive Director 
hcwvhs@gmail.com

AmeriCorps Volunteers 

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Sydney Stapleton

Hi all! My name is Sydney Stapleton, I am from Oak Hill, Ohio and I am the full time Preserve West Virginia AmeriCorps member at the Harrison County Historical Society. I graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology with a focus in archaeology from Ohio University in August of 2016. I also have a minor in History and certificates in both Museum and European Studies.
I was able to have many opportunities at Ohio University.  I worked archaeological dig in Wayne National Forest near Athens, Ohio.  My final spring semester I also was able to create an exhibit at the Kennedy Art Museum at Ohio University, along with the rest of my Museum Studies class. Depending on each student’s interests, we selected to participate in a specialist group correlating with museum departments and staff positions. These included education, design, and registration/installation. I was a part of the registration/installation group where I worked hands on with the objects for the exhibit and the installation process. It was a great experience where I was able to really learn all that goes into getting an exhibit completed from start to finish. I also worked in the Digital Archives at Alden Library at Ohio University where I gained experience with photo digitization, working with online archives, and using social media for historically organizations. Lastly, I held a semester long internship at the Athens County Historical Society and Museum in Athens, Ohio. There I had hands on training with historical objects, including textile, photos, and paper documents.
When I decided on an anthropology major I was planning on doing something more directly related to the anthropology field, such as a field archaeologist or a professor. However, working at the historical society and gaining experience within a museum cemented my plans to work in the museum field, specifically history or anthropology museums. Museums are a perfect mix of research, hands on work, and educating the public about the importance of history.
When I discovered AmeriCorps and specifically the positions with the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia I knew it was something that I would be very interested in. Being from Appalachia myself I feel that the history of this area is not always treated with the respect that it deserves and that its cultural importance is often overlooked. When I learned of the work that Preserve West Virginia was doing to persevere this history, I knew that it would be a perfect place to spend my time before graduate school, while also helping the area that I have grown up loving.
I believe that small, local history organizations are a great resource for communities and are often undervalued. I hope that I can use my skills and knowledge to help ensure that the community is aware of the wonderful resource they have in the historical society. I will be working to help gain new volunteers for the organization, working to accession and preserve objects from their collection, as well as working in the Stealey-Goff-Vance House. I aim to use my experiences to help grow the Harrison County Historical Society while also developing more skills to help with my future within the history and museum fields. 
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Charlotte Riestenberg

My name is Charlotte Riestenberg, and I am the half-time Preserve WV AmeriCorps Member for the Harrison County WV Historical Society. I am from Clarksburg, WV but was born in West Palm Beach, FL. I graduated from Robert C. Byrd High School in 2015. During my time in high school I was a member of the Robert C. Byrd show choir Vocal Intensity, a member of the theater department, president of the RCB FFA Chapter, and co-captain for the colorguard. In the fall of 2015, I started my college career at Fairmont State University. For my first semester I was an Undeclared Major. I was struggling to find a major that I was interested in. I did not want to be one of those students who constantly changed their major. While I decided on a major, I decided to join the Collegiate Singers and Fairmont State Marching Band as a color-guard member because these were things I knew and loved. This made my first semester easier. Finally, by spring of 2016, I decided on majoring in history with minors in folklore studies, outdoor recreation leadership, and museum studies. I started getting more involved in the activities at the Frank and Jane Gabor Folk Life Center at Fairmont State. I and other students collected and edited stories for the Traditions Magazine that the Folk Life Center produces every year. We gathered stories from the Ruth Ann Musick collection. I started gaining interest in archival work and preservation. In the summer of 2016 I was an AmeriCorps Member for Energy Express. I very much enjoyed that program. I connected with the community that I really knew nothing about, and with what AmeriCorps was doing to better the community. In the middle of July, I received an email from the Appalachian Studies Association about PAWV AmeriCorps needing members for local sites all over West Virginia. I noticed that my local historical society was looking for a half time AmeriCorps member. When looking through the description of the position I immediately applied. I am so glad that the Harrison County WV Historical Society and PAWV chose me for the position. I believe that being a part of the PAWV will not only teach me to be a better historian, preservationist, and student, but also teach me to help members of the community and teach them how important preservation is. As I start this year long journey at the historical society, I hope to gain a better understanding of how the leaders in the community come together to get things done. I hope to expand my archival and preservation skills as well as learn new skills such as accessioning, cataloging, and some grant writing. I am excited to be a part of this great group of people at the historical society, as well as the PAWV members who are also out there doing great things for West Virginia.

​Neff-Hardesty Memorial Archives 
215 South 3rd Street
8th Floor, Suite 801
Clarksburg, WV  26301

Stealey-Goff-Vance House 
123 West Main St
Clarksburg, WV 

hcwvhs@gmail.com
​304-709-4902
Open M-F 9-5
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