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‘Moundsville’ Documentary Scheduled to Air on PBS

MOUNDSVILLE – The story of Moundsville’s history and future will be told statewide on PBS this evening.

Moundsville represents the archetypal “post-industrial town,” according to co-director and journalist John Miller, who wrote about several such towns for the Wall Street Journal over his career. Miller co-directed the film along with David Bernabo.

“Moundsville” will air on West Virginia Public Broadcasting at 9 p.m. tonight.

Shot almost entirely within the city, “Moundsville,” a documentary on the town and its people as they grapple with the changing business landscape, was meant to break the public perception of Moundsville as a town past its prime, Miller had previously said. He described Moundsville’s story — and that of the film — as one of opportunity.

“It’s sort of the biography of the town, and it’s a story a lot of towns have gone through, including Wheeling,” Miller had said in 2018, when the film was completed. “You have settlement, the rise of industry in the 19th, 20th centuries, and then the factories leaving. Then, this new reality, which has gas and oil. … I think the void left by the factories closing can be filled by all kinds of things.”

In an interview Friday, Miller said the film explores the various aspects of the town’s economy over its history, from the divided city council vote that allowed Walmart to set up on the site where a coal mine once stood, and before that, the Native American presence, and before that, the Mound Builder cultures who inhabited the area.

“I think we did well with presenting the chronology in a way that gives context for the town,” he said. “Now, it focuses on gas and drilling, and it follows from its long history. It helps people think about where we are in the moment.”

“It’s not a promotional film — we’re not saying it’s perfect,” he added. “Like a lot of factory towns, it’s struggling to figure out its identity after the factories close. But there’s a lot of history there to reflect on.”

In the film, residents young and old reflect on what they’ve seen of their city over their lives. One resident, glassmaker Fred Wilkerson, Jr., is the son of a glassworker for Fostoria Glass, one of the town’s primary employers, which closed its doors in the 1980s.

Other featured stories of the town’s history include notorious cult leader and murderer Charles Manson, who grew up in McMechen and had once unsuccessfully asked to be transferred to the West Virginia State Penitentiary.

“Moundsville” began production in 2017, reaching completion the following year. The town’s Strand Theatre had been among the first venues to show the film.

More information on the film can be found at www.moundsville.org.

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