This week’s piece is going to be relatively quick as I have been copying historic items from Summers County. Fellow Summers County historian Jimmy Costa, who is best known for, well I will let Ai explain it: “Jimmy Costa (often referred to as Jim Costa) is best known in Summers County, West Virginia, as an accomplished traditional old-time musician (playing fiddle and banjo), local historian, storyteller, and avid collector of 18th- and 19th-century Appalachian material culture and farm tools.”
Jimmy is in the process of going through his vast collection and donating many local historic papers to WVU Archives. I had found one of these rare Pence Springs Hotel letterhead online years ago, but it was a very poor copy. Jimmy copied this version of it for me for my collection.
This is a letter that was written to Judge Milller. Judge Miller is best known for the history of Summers County he wrote in 1908 titled: “History of Summers County: “From the Earliest Settlement to the Present”
Judge Miller was also a very active businessman throughout the county, having ties to large enterprises. He was one of the original shareholders in the Talcott Bank and Gratuity Company in Talcott, WV in 1906. He was also one of the investors who ventured to rebrand Barger Springs as “Greenbrier Springs”. The new business operated as the “Greenbrier Springs Co” for several years.
In copying his collection, I uncovered several variations of letterhead for the Greenbrier Springs Co., several businesses in Hinton and Talcott that I had never heard of, a campaign ribbon for Judge Miller, and several other interesting things throughout Summers County.
I already have several other Summers County businesses to write about on file. Another Pence Springs piece he copied for me was this 1910’s water bottle label. I do not have one of the water bottles but one of the ginger ale bottles. Its label is an identical design to this water label. I do have a shipping crate from this time period that Jimmy Johnson from Alderson gave me years ago.
