MASON COUNTY HISTORICAL AND PRESERVATION SOCIETY

Our History

The Mason County Historical and Preservation Society begins in the spring of 2015 with the cleanup of Brown Cemetery in Hartford. While not quite up to national preservation standards, this project provided us with valuable insight that has allowed us to speed up every project since. For the next two years, our group consisted of volunteers dedicated to cleaning up the cemeteries of Mason County. However, we soon decided that more needed done. In May of 2017, we held our first meeting to begin the process of incorporating a traditional historical society with a preservation twist.

In July of the same year, our paperwork was approved by the State of West Virginia. We are currently working on an application to be recognized as a 501c3 non-profit by the IRS.

Our Mission

It is the mission of the Society to document, store, and preserve the history of Mason County, West Virginia for the enrichment of future generations. This includes providing the community with a place to research local history and genealogy, as well as equipping property owners with the knowledge to correctly preserve their historic structure or site.

Our Vision

For the community to recognize the importance of its history, for business owners to recognize the sustainability of historic preservation, and for the community to actively engage in preservation.

I'm frequently asked, "Why even bother? Eventually, the cemeteries will grow over again, bodies will turn to dust, and headstones will crumble. Buildings burn, they're demolished, or they simply rot. Why do you care so much about something that is temporary?"
My answer is simple. These are the last remnants of people who were once as real as you and I. Their headstone, their documents, their home. They're much more than that. It's how they lived and died, who they loved, and what they did. It's who took care of them as children, who they helped, and who saw to their needs as their time here came to an end. No matter their social status, they were important to the community during their lifetime, and they're important to the history of our community now.
The history of our community isn't a timeline of events. It is a web of lives and people's reactions to those events.
-Chris Rizer, President of the Society

Our Team

Christopher Rizer
President

Chris is an alumni of Wahama High School and is currently studying historic preservation at Shepherd University. After Shepherd, he is getting his Master's in Historic Preservation. As President, he is the designated leader of field projects.

In his free time at college, he volunteers at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and Gettysburg National Battlefield. He is also a member of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation.

It was his senior project that led to the cleanup of Brown Cemetery and later, the Society.

AJ Howard
Vice-President

AJ is an alumni of Wahama High School and is currently studying exercise science at Glenville State college in preparation for a Ph.D in physical therapy. As VP, AJ serves as 2nd-in-command during field projects, a position he has held since the cleanup at Brown Cemetery.

In his free time, he also volunteers with the Bend Area Food Pantry and the Heaven's Saints Motorcycle Ministry.

Catherine Hamm
Secretary

Catherine holds a Bachelor's in Communications from the University of Rio Grande and Master's of Arts in Teaching from Marshall University. She is currently a social studies teacher at Wahama High School, as well as an adjunct professor in history and geography at Marshall.

Along with our Society, she is also a member of the First Families of Gallia County and French Colony Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.