New West Virginia history exhibits on display at WVU Downtown Library

The West Virginia & Regional History Center has opened three new exhibits in the Downtown Library Atrium and John D. Rockefeller IV Gallery on the second floor.

The exhibit, "The National Science Foundation At 75: West Virginia Senator Harley Kilgore and the Creation of the NSF," is on display in the Gallery. Using former Sen. Kilgore’s archives, it explores the debate between Kilgore and prominent scientist Vannevar Bush over post-World War II science policy and the formation of a national science agency. 

This exhibit will be on display through the end of fall semester 2025.

In the Atrium, a small exhibit observes the 160-year anniversary of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, ending the American Civil War. It features telegrams sent to Governor Francis Pierpont, head of the Reorganized Government of Virginia, from President Lincoln's Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton.

Another small exhibit commemorates the 160-year anniversary of the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865, which ended slavery in the United States. The display includes a reproduction of the Resolution proposing the amendment, which was approved and sent to the states for ratification. It also features a first printing of West Virginia's 1863 amended state constitution, which allowed for the gradual emancipation of slaves within its borders, qualifying West Virginia for statehood.

These two exhibits will be on display now through June 30.