CLARKSBURG W.Va. (WBOY) — For many, the holidays can be a nostalgic time. In that spirit, we looked for West Virginia’s oldest photos of Christmas from the state’s past.
The West Virginia and Regional History Center at WVU helped Nexstar’s 12 News find the photos below, some dating back to as early as the 19th century. Bridget Jamison, Instruction and Public Services Archivists at the West Virginia and Regional History Center explained that the collection includes material as old as Shakespeare’s First Folio, but that the collection focuses on the local area, and that they found some from the holiday time.
The Loar family gathered around the Christmas tree in the Robinson home on West Main Street, Grafton, WV, ca. 1893-1895.
The Shock Family gathered around the Christmas tree in Helvetia, WV, in 1907. Jamison noted the blur of the baby’s face in this photo as the family likely had trouble getting the child to sit still.
“It’s neat to see people having that same struggle in the early 1900s or in the 1890s,” Jamison said.
A decorated Christmas tree in Morgantown, ca. 1910. Jamison pointed out the imperfection of the trees in the photos; today, Christmas trees are bred to be symmetrical…