Fairmont State University’s Folklife Center Showcases 90 Years of Appalachian Weaving

The Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center will soon feature a new exhibition, Interwoven: The Fiber Arts Legacy of Arthurdale, in partnership with Arthurdale Heritage. 

The free exhibition opens with a public reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, at the Folklife Center. 

Interwoven showcases more than 80 textiles created by Arthurdale homesteaders in Preston County, some dating back to the 1930s. The exhibition also features modern works by local fiber artists, along with hands-on elements and demonstrations, including wool carding and spinning, weaving on a rigid-heddle loom, and tactile experiences with wool, silk and cotton fibers. 

For 90 years, generations of women across Appalachia have passed down weaving traditions through mentorship by teachers, relatives, friends and neighbors. Their legacy lives on in the woven pieces they left behind and in the skills practiced by their descendants. 

Fiber arts have been part of the Arthurdale community since its founding in 1933. Championed by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Arthurdale was the first New Deal homestead established during the Great Depression. The project emphasized subsistence agriculture and cooperative industry, with traditional Appalachian crafts such as weaving, furniture-making and blacksmithing playing key roles. 

“We are honored for the opportunity to feature so many historic textiles which have previously never been displayed,” said Elizabeth Satterfield, curator at Arthurdale Heritage. “The fiber arts are a perfect representation of Appalachian resourcefulness — creating something with your own hands that is both usable and beautiful.” 

The exhibition will remain open to the public through July 31, 2026. 

Funding is provided by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through the Central Appalachia Living Traditions program.