2008 Official Visitors Guide to Greenbrier County, West Virginia - (Page 30) The Greenbrier Ghost Greenbrier County is home to a remarkable ghost story that resulted in the only instance in U.S. history where testimony from a ghost was accepted at a murder trial. The death of Zona Heaster Shue in 1897 was presumed natural until her spirit appeared on multiple occasions to her mother describing how she was murdered by her husband Erasmus Stribbling Trout Shue. The mother, determined to receive justice for her daughter’s death, demanded the body be exhumed. The resulting autopsy veri ed the ghost’s account. Trout Shue was then found guilty and sentenced to state prison. Visitors can tour the North House Museum in Lewisburg to see an original pencil drawing created by Trout Shue during his stay in prison. Several books, as well as a play, have been written to share the tale of the Greenbrier Ghost. The State of West Virginia placed a historical marker, located off Interstate-64 Exit 156, near the cemetery where Zona was buried. An Iron-Grey War Horse Named Traveller Few people know that Civil War general Robert E. Lee’s noble horse grew up in West Virginia on a Greenbrier County farm and was ‘gentled’ by a young local boy, Frank Page. Robert E. Lee fell in love with Traveller, an 1858 Blue Ribbon winner, upon seeing the colt for the rst time during the Western Virginia Campaign of 1862. Traveller experienced with Lee the beauty of the mountains of western Virginia, the elds of Antietam and Gettysburg, and the long ride to Appomattox Court House. He outlived his master and is buried today on the campus of Washington & Lee University – just down the road from his birthplace. A packsaddle and other memorabilia from Traveller’s earliest days are still on display at the North House Museum in Lewisburg. Golf ’s Early Beginnings Did you know that golf found its beginnings in the United States here in Greenbrier County? Oakhurst Links in White Sulphur Springs was founded in 1884 by the Montague Family after they relocated to America from Scotland. Often ignored in previous accounts of the early history of golf in the United States, Oakhurst Links predated the St. Andrews Golf Club of Yonkers by at least four years, making it America’s rst organized golf club. Today, visitors still play an invigorating round of nineholes using the traditional hickory sticks and gutta percha balls. The county’s rich golf heritage doesn’t stop there. The Greenbrier resort offers visitors three championship golf courses including The Greenbrier Course that is the only resort golf course in the world to have hosted both the Ryder Cup (1979) and the Solheim Cup (1994). The worldrenowned Old White Course underwent a four-year restoration, completed in 2006, to return the course’s original Scottish avor. Tee off in White Sulphur Springs and enjoy the rich history of the region’s favorite game. History Driving Tours Brochure Available Discover Greenbrier County from the comfort of your car or on your motorcycle with one of the driving tours available in the Driving Tours of Greenbrier County brochure. Featuring seven tours that explore various aspects of the county, from agriculture and history to scenic mountain views and rolling countryside, this is a fantastic way to experience the area. Pick up your copy of the brochure at the Greenbrier County Visitors Center in Lewisburg, located on Coleman Drive across from the Hampton Inn. Oakhurst Links 30 www.greenbrierwv.com http://www.greenbrierwv.com
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