Wandering Tucker County, West Virginia, is a portrait of people and place, a story of history and heritage, a memoir of kin and friends made and lost in one of West Virginia’s most stunning landscapes.

The 600 pages of this book explore the history of Tucker County from its formation in 1856 to the exploitation of its resources in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; from the years of decline to the decades of rebirth and re-invention.

A first-person history wrapped in a memoir, Wandering Tucker County includes interviews with those from the “old Thomas” who have passed from this earth, such as Johnny DePollo, Stuart Thayer, and Don Roth. Individuals who helped reinvent Thomas are interviewed as well, and include John Bright of the Purple Fiddle, Walt Ranalli of Sirianni’s Cafe, John Lutz and David Downs of Canaan Valley, and Priscilla Flanagan of St. George. Meet the shopkeepers of East Avenue in Thomas and William Avenue in Davis, spend a day getting to know Chip Chase at White Grass and discover the dancer and re-enactor who moves to the currents of history and the North Branch of the Potomac River. They and many other people who are re-making Tucker County into a vibrant community share their stories of determination and love for this special place.

Illustrated with hundreds of documentary photographs and historical images from several archives, this book explores an often-overlooked aspect of a county that hosts one million visitors to its national forest, canyon, waterfalls, ski slopes and hiking trails. That neglected aspect is the struggle and courage required to reinvent a town that many natives gave up on after the extractive industries had done their damage, secured their profits. It took the fresh vision of newcomers who saw the potential of this gem and then went to work polishing it.

Publication of this book marks the 170th anniversary of Tucker County’s founding. It also comes at a time when the county’s future as a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts is being threatened by a power plant/data center complex and the completion of Corridor H. Wandering Tucker County thus serves as a snapshot of the community as it is: authentic, a bit quirky at times and perfectly imperfect.

Below are a few spreads from the book, which is available to purchase in two versions.

The standard version is 550 pages, 8.5×8.5 inches. It is available from both our bookstore and amazon.com. Our bookstore offers better quality printing and more consistency in reproduction, thus we offer it from two different printers.

The expanded version is 600 pages, 8.5×8.5 inches. About half of those pages are devoted to text that could not be included in the standard version–amazon’s KDP limits books of this size to 550 pages. The other pages are a photo-essay of Tucker County in 2025.

Order the expanded version from our bookstore.

We will be selling a special imprint of the book in both soft and hard cover editions at ArtSpring Festival in Davis May 23 and 24, 2026, and at the Davis Farmer’s Artisan Market next to the Davis Town Park 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Fridays.