MARGARET BRENNAN

WHEELING — Local historian Margaret Brennan received an award from the West Virginia Historical Society during its recent annual meeting in Wheeling.

Brennan was honored with the Virgil A. Lewis Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the preservation and interpretation of West Virginia history.

The award was established in 1991, and since that time there had only been nine recipients.

Brennan is the 10th person to receive the award — and the first woman.

“I was surprised to learn I was the first woman since the 1990s to win the award,” she said. “That may say something that needs to be looked at.”

Brennan encouraged State Historical Society members present to make an effort to reach out to women and instill in them an appreciation of history.

Individuals and organizations submit nominations annually for the Virgil A. Lewis Award. Nominations are accepted annually, though the awards are not presented each year. Those receiving the honor are presented with a special piece of Hamon art glass, and their names are engraved on a plaque bearing the seal of the West Virginia Historical Society.

The plaque resides in the West Virginia State Archives Library within the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston.

When presenting Brennan the award, West Virginia Historical Society members who were present said she has been “a force in Wheeling history for decades.”

A former history teacher, she has served as archivist for the Diocese of Wheeling Charleston. She has worked on historical projects for the former Mt. deChantal Visitation Academy, the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra and the Celtic Cross.

The State Historical Society also noted her efforts to erect statues of former West Virginia governors Francis Pierpont and Arthur Boreman on the grounds at West Virginia Independence Hall.

In addition, Brennan led efforts to move the local Civil War Monument from Wheeling Park to Independence Hall.

The award’s namesake, Virgil A. Lewis, was born in 1846. An avid historian, Lewis published the Southern Historical Magazine, based in Charleston, West Virginia, in the 1890s. He was also the author of a popular textbook of the day, History of West Virginia

In 1893, Lewis became West Virginia’s 10th State Superintendent of Free Schools, and in 1905 he became this state’s first Director of Archives and History, serving in that capacity until his death in 1912. The award is intended to celebrate “the dedication and diligence with which our state’s historians have worked to preserve West Virginia’s proud heritage,” according to the West Virginia Historical Society.