The nature center area at Tygart Lake State Park is the place to be July 23, 2022. Reenactor and historian Doug Wood portrays Gabriel Arthur at 7:00 p.m. and following the program answers questions about the individual and the era.

Arthur is believed to be the first white man to see the Kanawha Valley while traveling with a band of Indians in 1674. He was sent with a partner and others from Fort Henry (present Petersburg, Virginia) to explore western lands and trade with the Indians. His partner was killed and Arthur traveled widely with the natives, apparently participating in raids in the Ohio Valley and elsewhere. During this time, he followed the Big Coal River to its mouth at the Kanawha River. Arthur and the southern Indians with whom he traveled were welcomed at the large Moneton Indian village (present St. Albans) before returning to Fort Henry with a load of furs.

This evening program is made possible by the West Virginia Humanities Council, History Alive! programming. The presentation is open to the public without charge.

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