Clio Logo

Harrison County Courthouse

You are vieweing item 2 of 5 in this tour.

This is a contributing entry for Harrison County Courthouse and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.
Clarksburg is a city of immigrants. Between 1910 and 1920, approximately five thousand to sixty-five hundred foreign-born people lived in Harrison county. As the population of the county was roughly fifty thousand people, immigrants composed a significant portion of the population. The immigrants hailed from Ireland, Eastern Europe, and Italy. They largely found work in coal mines and glass factories. Italian immigrants became particularly well-established in Harrison County. The West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival grew out of the Italian immigrant community and now attracts over one hundred thousand people to Clarksburg each Labor Day weekend. Honoring the Immigrants was installed in 1985, the bicentennial of Clarksburg’s official founding. The work depicts immigrants from a variety of backgrounds working together to build Clarksburg. The sculpture was created by W.D. Hopen, a West Virginia artist. A plaque at the base of the piece includes a quote from Theodore Roosevelt which reads, “So build your community that quickened conscience, larger vision, deeper devotion and equality of rights for all will resolve itself into an enthusiastic zeal for personal service in the community. All who give service are torch bearers.”

Honoring the Immigrants by W.D. Hopen.

Building, Plant, Window, Sculpture

Barrick, Michael M. A Tribute to Immigrants, Appalachian Chronicle. January 1st 2017. Accessed March 19th 2021. https://appalachianchronicle.com/2017/01/18/a-tribute-to-immigrants/.

Did You Know About West Virginia's Deep Italian Heritage?, WV Tourism. July 31st 2020. Accessed March 19th 2021. https://wvtourism.com/did-you-know-about-west-virginias-deep-italian-heritage/.

Immigrants, Harrison County Historical Society. Accessed March 19th 2021. http://www.harrisoncowvhistoricalsociety.org/immigrants.html.

Immigrants statue, erected outside the Harrison County Courthouse in Clarksburg, West Virginia, as part of the celebration of the city's bicentennial in 1985, Library of Congress. May 3rd 2015. Accessed March 19th 2021. https://www.loc.gov/item/2015631608/.

Morfe, Don. The Immigrants, The Historical Marker Database. June 6th 2016. Accessed March 19th 2021. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=73414.

Morfe, Don. The Immigrants, Waymarking. Accessed March 19th 2021. https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm12ZW8_The_Immigrants_Clarksburg_WV.

Mountaineer Country, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. Accessed March 19th 2021. http://www.wvculture.org/arts/ethnic/mountaineer.html.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Morfe, Don. “The Immigrants Marker.” 2014. The Historical Marker Database. Accessed March 19, 2021. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=73414.