Glen Dale’s Cockayne Farmstead Has New Marker, Executive Director
Glen Dale’s Cockayne Farmstead will soon receive additional recognition throughout Marshall County and the state.
According to Nila Chaddock, chairwoman of the Marshall County Historical Society, the site will unveil a new historical marker provided by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History later this month. The marker is currently standing outside the farmhouse covered with a cloth, which will be removed at a community celebration at 10 a.m. July 16.
A light breakfast, refreshments and music by the New Age Adenas will follow the unveiling. The Cockayne House will be open for tours and the community will be invited to meet the site’s new executive director, Janell Keyser, who began work at Cockayne this summer.
The Cockaynes came into the Upper Ohio River Valley in 1795, settling at the farmhouse in 1850. Chaddock said the historical marker, constructed by the West Virginia Division of Highways, will include various facts about the farmstead with a different message on each side.
“The marker brings attention to the historic nature of the farmstead and our presence in the community,” Chaddock said. “It primarily details the prominent nature of the wool-producing Cockayne family and indicates what the farm has meant to Glen Dale. … It has taken almost a year for approval, forging of the sign and getting it in the ground. We are very proud to display the marker at the farmstead, where it is richly deserved. Only markers that have undergone this process can carry the state seal.”
According to Jesse Mestrovic, executive director of the Greater Moundsville Convention and Visitors Bureau, the new fixture will be the 25th registered historic marker in Marshall County, joining sites such as Rosby’s Rock, the Cameron Pool, the Benwood mine disaster site, the former West Virginia Penitentiary, Baker’s Station, Lindy’s Landing, Grave Creek Mound and more.
“Much of the Glen Dale community rests on the former farm,” Mestrovic said. “This is another chance for more people to come and learn about the county.”
Keyser said the new sign will be a great addition to the site’s tourism efforts.
“This is a long process and all the information on the marker has to be verified and shown to be true,” Keyser said. “Everyone at the Cockayne has been working very hard for over 15 years and it’s nice for the site to get recognition and more attention.”
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