The West Virginia University Institute for the History of Technology and Industrial Archaeology (IHTIA) will host a Kanawha Valley Chemical Heritage Symposium May 2-3 at Institute. The event will feature scholarly examinations of the valley’s various industries, a river cruise and remarks from U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-WV, among others.

“This symposium is a wonderful opportunity for participants to explore the Kanawha Valley’s rich chemical heritage first-hand,”said Emory L. Kemp, the institute’s senior historian, founding director and WVU professor emeritus of history.

Friday morning begins with a virtual plant tour by company representatives of Dow Chemical, Bayer CropScience and DuPont, followed by an afternoon cruise down the Kanawha River from Charleston Landing to Institute. Jerry Sutphin, co-author of Sternwheelers on the Great Kanawha, will serve as cruise guide; the cost is $25 per person.

Lectures by Rockefeller and Mary Ellen Bowden, senior research historian at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, are scheduled for the evening. Rockefeller will address the prospects and future of West Virginia’s chemical industry, while Bowden’s lecture,”The American Chemical Industry and the Kanawha Valley,”will examine the place of the Kanawha chemical industry in a national context. The lectures will be held at the Charleston Embassy Suites and are free to the public.

Saturday’s schedule is dedicated to scholarly research on a wide variety of subjects, including the antebellum Kanawha salt industry, the early years of the Kanawha chemical industry, present day Kanawha Valley environmental issues and concerns, and prospects for the future of the Kanawha Valley chemical industry.

The day-long research symposium will be held on the campus of West Virginia State College. Lunch will be provided along with free parking. Fees for Saturday are $50 per person including lunch and one copy of the printed proceedings, or $25 for students and seniors, which includes lunch but no proceedings. Extra copies of the proceedings are $25.

The symposium is sponsored by WVU and IHTIA , West Virginia State College, the West Virginia Humanities Council, the National Park Service, Bayer CropScience and The Dow Chemical Company.

For more information, contact the IHTIA at (304) 293-2513 or visit www.as.wvu.edu/ihtia to download a symposium registration brochure. The IHTIA is a research unit of the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.