Local Author Pens New History Book on McDowell's Bests

Dec. 17, 2012 - PRLog -- The latest edition to Arcadia Publishing’s new Legendary Locals imprint is Legendary Locals of McDowell County by local author William R. “Bill” Archer. Filled with an average of 180 images and a new design, this people-centric imprint focuses on newsworthy and noteworthy individuals and groups who have built and shaped their communities.

West Virginia’s most impoverished county, McDowell County, is also its richest, with reserves of mineral wealth that continue to provide the framework for modern society from Panama and Toyko to New York and Chicago. With a history cratered by triumph and tragedy, the people of McDowell County have endured unspeakable hardships and near isolation but continue to excel in a myriad of unexpectedly surprising ways.

Robert Morris, “the financier of the American Revolution,” went to the poor house with the belief that McDowell’s mineral wealth could fuel a new nation. Jedediah Hotchkiss, the mapmaker who charted the course for Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s valley campaign, resurrected Morris’s dream to rebuild the South into an industrial giant on local coal.

Men of vision and means like Frederick Kimball and J.P. Morgan built fortunes on McDowell County’s mineral wealth. The musical Womack family, baseball manager Charlie Manuel, comedic genius Steve Harvey, writers Kermit Hunter and Jeannette Walls, and thousands who served in all ranks of the military, many making the supreme sacrifice, are among those who have made their mark on McDowell County.

Local writer William R. “Bill” Archer worked with historians, archivists, and families to assemble the material and stories for Legendary Locals of McDowell County.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or at www.LegendaryLocals.com or (888)-313-2665.  

Each book in Arcadia Publishing’s Legendary Locals imprint delves into the history of some of the unique individuals and groups, past and present, who have made a memorable impact on their community throughout its history.