Osage in Monongalia County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)
Eleanor Roosevelt
1933
Photographed By Bradley Owen, June 14, 2021
1. Eleanor Roosevelt Marker
Inscription.
Eleanor Roosevelt. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited Scott's Run in 1933 in the height of the Great Depression when FDR was creating the New Deal. She visited households without fanfare (including Lou Birurakis' mother) and even went into the mines. Upon seeing the abject poverty conditions, she lobbied for residents of Scott's Run to be relocated to the first planned homestead community of Arthurdale. Though Eleanor wanted all to go, politics in Washington, DC and neighbors of the community in Preston County were not so willing. An 18-page test was devised that essentially screened out black and foreign-born families of Scott's Run. This disturbed the First Lady, who was a member of the NAACP and friends with Mary McLeod Bethune, one of FDR's "black cabinet” advisors. Though she couldn't bring all of those to Arthurdale that she wanted, she spent the rest of her life fighting for Civil Rights, which still endears her to the Scott's Run community.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited Scott's Run in 1933 in the height of the Great Depression when FDR was creating the New Deal. She visited households without fanfare (including Lou Birurakis' mother) and even went into the mines. Upon seeing the abject poverty conditions, she lobbied for residents of Scott's Run to be relocated to the first planned homestead community of Arthurdale. Though Eleanor wanted all to go, politics in Washington, DC and neighbors of the community in Preston County were not so willing. An 18-page test was devised that essentially screened out black and foreign-born families of Scott's Run. This disturbed the First Lady, who was a member of the NAACP and friends with Mary McLeod Bethune, one of FDR's "black cabinet” advisors. Though she couldn't bring
all of those to Arthurdale that she wanted, she spent the rest of her life fighting for Civil Rights, which still endears her to the Scott's Run community.
Location. 39° 39.537′ N, 80° 0.487′ W. Marker is in Osage, West Virginia, in Monongalia County. Marker is at the intersection of Scotts Run Road (County Road 19/25) and Number Three Hill Road (County Road 19/26), on the right when traveling south on Scotts Run Road. The marker is a short walk south of the Scott's Run Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 461 Scotts Run Road, Osage WV 26543, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 29, 2021. It was originally submitted on June 29, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. This page has been viewed 232 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on June 29, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
