West Virginia Humanities Council Information

The West Virginia Humanities Council is the principal organization promoting the humanities in West Virginia. Founded in 1974, the West Virginia Humanities Council is a private 501(c)3 with most of its funding coming from public and private sources in West Virginia and is the West Virginia affiliate for the National Endowment for the Humanities. The cornerstone of the Council’s work is the grants it awards to educational institutions, museums, historical societies, and others. Direct programs undertaken by the council itself include traveling exhibits, the enactment of historic figures, and periodic lectures. The Council’s programs reflect the history, culture, and diversity of West Virginia through the many disciplines of the humanities. Since 2000, the Council has been headquartered at the historic MacFarland-Hubbard House in Charleston. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The Council is also the publisher of the West Virginia Encyclopedia, which has now been published in both print and an online version, www.wvencyclopedia.org.