Dorcas, West Virginia

Dorcas, West Virginia
Unincorporated community
Dorcas
Dorcas
Coordinates: 38°56′20″N 79°6′22″W / 38.93889°N 79.10611°W / 38.93889; -79.10611Coordinates: 38°56′20″N 79°6′22″W / 38.93889°N 79.10611°W / 38.93889; -79.10611
Country United States
State West Virginia
County Grant
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
GNIS feature ID 1538271[1]

Dorcas is an unincorporated community in Grant County, West Virginia, United States. Dorcas lies at the junction of County Routes 9 and 9/2. The name Dorcas is said to have been given to the community after the daughter of a former postmaster. The post office in Dorcas closed in the early 1980s or later 1970s and still sits along South Mill Creek Rd. All mail for the community's residents now comes through nearby Petersburg, the county seat, with which Dorcas shares a ZIP Code.

Across the road from the defunct post office sits Dorcas Elementary School, the smallest of the five schools in Grant County. This 1-6 school of approximately 115 students is a hub of the community serving as a practice facility for youth sports teams and a meeting location for local groups and charities. The school also makes and sells kettle-made applebutter every fall and hosts a homemade ice cream social each spring.

Dorcas is also the home of the Spring Run Trout Hatchery operated by the WV Department of Natural Resources. The hatchery stocks streams and lakes across the state with trout helping to fuel West Virginia's tourism and recreational fishing industries.

Dorcas is also home to one of West Virginia's Historical one room School House's (Crites School) built in 1914 on Jefferson and Mollie Crites farm. It served the community from 1914 until around 1956 from grades 1-8. The School House was restored by one of its students Pauline Crites Alt and is currently a private residence owned by a family member.

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Dorcas, West Virginia


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.