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Welcome to the Jefferson County West Virgina History Site. 

This site is a combination of The West Virginia GeoHistory/Geo-Explorer and Jefferson County Government and is maintained by the County Archivist. 

This site is built on Joomla as a front facing website, Mediawiki as a search and media rich display layer and Resource Space as a repository for the data and search functionality. The basic setup has been finalized and both the wiki and ResourceSpace have the entire contents of the Geohistory database imported into them. Note that the links do not work at this time.

I am currently (7/6/25) running a script to identify all the files that the program zoomify created. To start there are close to 3 million files the scan has reached 2.5 million in 3 day and will hopefully be done today. then I need to make a copy of the original before we start deleting files. after that it is organizing and importing. 

The Script has finished and here are the results: 

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> # Output summary
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Write-Host "`n--- Summary ---"

--- Summary ---
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Write-Host "Total files scanned: $totalFiles"
Total files scanned: 2950008
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Write-Host "Zoomify tiles:       $zoomTiles"
Zoomify tiles:       2828235
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Write-Host "Zoomify metadata:    $imageProps"
Zoomify metadata:    15988
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Write-Host "Likely originals:    $largeImages"
Likely originals:    16888
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> # Save CSV log
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> $log | Export-Csv -Path $logFile -NoTypeInformation
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Write-Host "`nDetailed log saved to: $logFile"

Detailed log saved to: E:\GeoHisSource\zoomify_scan_report.csv

So that means there are 16888 files that need to be imported into the databases. and all the Zoomify images deleted. Currently I am making a copy of the data to work on and leave the original alone in case of a failure.   

Just to be completely transparent I do have assistance. I have enlisted the help of ChatGPT without whom I would not be to this point or even near it. It can be frustrating sometimes but when the magic happens and we click things get done quickly. So Credit to ChatGPT for its assistance. We also have a plan for the multi county census browser and Gazetteer.  

If anyone would like to assist please let me know. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

William David Theriault, 72, of Hagerstown, MD, passed away Saturday, January 12, 2019, at his home.

Born Thursday, May 30, 1946 in Waterville, ME, he was the son of the late John M. Theriault and the late Grace (McEachern) Theriault.

Bill received a Bachelor’s degree from Boston University, a Master’s degree from the University of Denver and his doctorate degree in American Literature from George Washington University. Throughout his career he was a technical writer and taught college level English. He was the first chairman of the Jefferson County Landmarks Commission in West Virginia and a founding member of the Peter Burr Bread Bakers Guild. Bill was also a member of the Friends of Peter Burr and helped bring artisan bread baking to Washington County through programs at the Rural Heritage Museum.

Bill spent the last forty years studying the history of Jefferson County, West Virginia. He developed a website for students and researchers about the history of Eastern West Virginia called the West Virginia GeoExplorer. As an author, Bill published The History of Eastern Jefferson County, How and Where to Look It Up Volumes 1 through 3, The Jefferson County History Calendar, A History of Shannondale Springs, Julia Davis: A Literary Biography; Volumes 1 and 2, Artisan Bread Baking for Living History Museums, Baking Heirloom Artisan Bread at Home, and The Fourth Estate - Volume One. Bill wrote a long-running column in the Spirit of Jefferson newspaper covering local history and topics. Bill received several awards for his contributions to local history including the Certificate of Commendation from the American Association for State and Local History in 1996 and the Distinguished Citizen of Jefferson County Award from the Spirit of Jefferson Farmers Advocate in 2001.

He is survived by his wife of fifty years Maureen P. Theriault; daughter, Amy E. Theriault; son-in-law Kevin Lee McIver; sister-in-law Esther Pierce; sister-in-law Janice L. Hunt; brother-in-law Charles Pheeney and wife Maria; sister-in-law Martha McNeil and husband Michael LeBlanc; and mother-in-law Pauline E. Pheeney. He also is survived by numerous cousins, nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his stepmother Marjorie Holland, brother John M. Theriault, Jr. and father-in-law Charles T. Pheeney.