Passport to Harrison County

Clarksburg Celebrates America 250

As part of the nationwide celebration of the United States Semiquincentennial, the Clarksburg History Museum has officially launched the Harrison County Passport, a community driven tourism initiative created under the America 250 banner - consider this your invitation to explore North Central West Virginia!

A Local Way to Celebrate America 250

In 2026, communities across the country will commemorate 250 years of American history. Here in Harrison County, we are telling that story our way. Through local landmarks, immigrant heritage, Civil War history, industry, faith communities, neighborhoods, and cultural traditions. Many of the stops feature an organization belonging to the Historic Preservation Alliance of Harrison County, West Virginia.

The Harrison County Passport guides visitors through time. Stops are organized by historical era, reminding participants that anything prior to 1863 took place in Virginia, before West Virginia became its own state during the Civil War.

Participants can visit sites connected to:

∙ Early frontier settlements
∙ The Civil War and the West Virginia statehood movement
∙ Late 1800s immigration and industry
∙ Mid 20th century veterans and civic growth
∙ Modern cultural landmarks

Tourism Starts at Home

This project is also an intentional in-house tourism effort.

While many tourism campaigns focus solely on out of state marketing, the museum believes tourism begins locally. When residents understand their own history, they become ambassadors for their community.

Through our growing tourism branch, Visit CKB, we are building a coordinated approach to heritage travel. Visit CKB works alongside the museum to promote local attractions, events, and historic destinations across Harrison County. The Passport becomes a tangible tool that connects storytelling to movement and exploration.

It encourages families to spend a Saturday afternoon discovering a monument they have never noticed. It invites visitors attending an event downtown to extend their stay. It provides teachers and parents with an educational roadmap. And it gives lifelong residents a new lens through which to see familiar streets.

Designed for Access and Engagement

Participants can follow along using printed passports or load a Google Map with all locations and driving directions. The format is flexible and welcoming.

The Passport includes key stops such as the Clarksburg History Museum, the Harrison County Historical Society, historic downtown landmarks, immigrant memorials, veterans sites, and community museums throughout the county.

As visitors complete stops, they build a deeper understanding of how Harrison County fits into the larger American story. The passport is geared for kids and families. We hope many new memories are built by spending a few days in a special part of West Virginia. The Clarksburg History Museum takes stewardship of educating people about history very seriously; we have found that