Qualla: Spencer, West Virginia

Spencer, West Virginia: Introduction

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Richie Diesterheft, CC BY 2.0. Every October, the small West Virginia town of Spencer smells like pie - specifically, like black walnut pie. The West Virginia Black Walnut Festival, held annually since 1954, draws tens of thousands of visitors to a town of about 2,000 to eat pie, ice cream, fudge, and cake all made from the deeply flavored nutmeats of Juglans nigra. The festival is a serious affair. There are walnut-cracking contests. There are queens. There are parades. For four days in early October, Spencer becomes the unofficial capital of black walnut country, and the Roane County Courthouse square fills with people who came specifically to eat a nut that most of America has forgotten about.

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Image: Richie Diesterheft | CC BY 2.0

Spencer, West Virginia: Naming

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Richie Diesterheft, CC BY 2.0. Spencer was chartered in 1858, named for Spencer Roane, the Virginia jurist for whom the surrounding county was also named. Roane was a prominent figure of the early American republic - a Virginia state supreme court justice, an early advocate for states' rights, and a vigorous c...

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Image: Richie Diesterheft | CC BY 2.0

Spencer, West Virginia: The Walnut

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Richie Diesterheft, CC BY 2.0. Juglans nigra, the eastern black walnut, is native to the Ohio Valley and the Appalachian foothills. Its wood is prized for furniture - rich, dark, easily worked - and the trees are large and long-lived. The nuts are an entirely different proposition from the milder English walnu...

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Image: Richie Diesterheft | CC BY 2.0

Spencer, West Virginia: The Robey

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Richie Diesterheft from Chicago, IL, USA, CC BY 2.0. Two blocks from the courthouse, the Robey Theatre has been showing movies continuously since 1907. It claims, with backing from its National Register of Historic Places nomination, the title of oldest continuously operating movie theater in the United States. The marquee hangs by...

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Image: Richie Diesterheft from Chicago, IL, USA | CC BY 2.0

Spencer, West Virginia: The Asylum

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant), CC BY-SA 2.5. On the edge of town, the Spencer State Hospital - originally the Second Hospital for the Insane, opened in 1893 - was once one of the largest state institutions in West Virginia. The vast Kirkbride-style main building, with its symmetrical wings designed to provide natural light ...

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Image: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) | CC BY-SA 2.5

Spencer, West Virginia: Spring Creek

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Brian M. Powell (user Bitmapped on en.wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0. Spencer sits at the intersection of US-33 and US-119, in the rolling country between Charleston and Parkersburg. Spring Creek runs through the town. There is a Civil War park on a hill above the courthouse with a view of the surrounding hills - the war touched this country glanci...

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Image: Brian M. Powell (user Bitmapped on en.wikipedia) | CC BY-SA 3.0