Submitted photo The above historic photo shows a group of writers and artists who were invited to take part in an 1859 artists excursion on the B&O Railroad. The journey took the group from Baltimore, Maryland to Wheeling. Don Teter, a local historian, will portray artist ‘Porte Crayon’, one of the riders on the train, during a presentation at the West Virginia Railroad Museum on Oct. 5.

ELKINS — Local historian Don Teter will present a lecture and portray iconic artist “Porte Crayon” at the West Virginia Railroad Museum.

The presentation will focus on an 1858 artists cxcursion along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will get underway at 7 p.m. Oct. 5 at the Darden Mill in Elkins, the site of the West Virginia Railroad Museum.

Teter, who is president of the Randolph County Historical Society, is actively involved in local historic groups and preservation efforts. He is a member of the West Virginia Railroad Museum and was on the History Alive! roster of the West Virginia Humanities Council.

Teter, who has done does portrayals of many historical characters, will be playing David Hunter Strother, also known as “Porte Crayon,” during the October event.

“The really cool thing about Don’s presentation is that he’s going to be doing the portrayal,” West Virginia Railroad Museum Executive Director Carrie Hinkle-Perry told The Inter-Mountain. “So he’s going to be dressed in character as he does his presentation.

“He’s going to also take questions in character right at the end, so it’s kind of like ‘Porte Crayon’ from the 1800s will be answering questions from the audience. I believe it will be comical.”

Strother was an artist and writer who published his work in popular journals such as Harper’s Magazine, where he used the name “Porte Crayon.”

Teter will portray the artist and reminisce about a 1858 Artists Excursion on the B&O Railroad. He will provide details about the characters and events that took place on that journey from Baltimore to Wheeling.

While in character, Teter will also relate other tales of the artist’s experiences and the characters encountered during his travels in Virginia during the 1850s. He will add a few anecdotes about his Civil War service. The lecture will be illustrated with the artist’s own sketches as published in Harper’s Magazine.

“Don does a great job and we are really looking forward to his presentation,” said Hinkle-Perry. “It’s a really great opportunity to bring a couple different audiences together and hopefully kind of create a curiosity of what we have going on at the museum as far as preservation of railroad history.” 

Teter is a native of Elkins and still resides in Randolph County. He earned a degree in history and political science from Davis & Elkins College and was self-employed for more than 35 years as a land surveyor.

Teter has been presenting professional continuing education seminars for surveyors for more than 20 years, and since 2018 has been assistant professor of surveying at Fairmont State University. 

The presentation will be offered during the same week the Mountain State Forest Festival is taking place in Elkins.

A train excursion will be offered the same day as the event.

“Our thinking on holding it the week of the festival was to give people an option. Not everyone wants to go to the carnival,” said Hinkle-Perry. “Plus we have a train excursion that day.

“So, this is going to be a great opportunity for us to reach out and let everybody have a chance to come in, have some fun, and tour the museum.”

For more information about the presentation or about the West Virginia Railroad Museum, call 304-637-4810 or email wvrailroadmuseum@gmail.com.