Historic Shepherdstown Commission Museum Committee Chairman John Kavaliunas was named a 2023 West Virginia History Hero in Charleston last month. Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Last month, one of the Historic Shepherdstown Commission’s members was recognized for his contributions to preserving and disseminating West Virginia history, by being named a 2023 West Virginia History Hero.

Presented by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, the award was given to John Kavaliunas in Charleston on Feb. 23. Kavaliunas was nominated for the recognition by the Historic Shepherdstown Commission (HSC) because of his many contributions to the Historic Shepherdstown Museum, according to HSC Board of Directors President Donna Bertazzoni.

“John Kavaliunas is a leading proponent of and expert on the contents of the Historic Shepherdstown Museum,” Bertazzoni said of the nominee, noting he is the HSC Museum Committee chairman. “He scours auction listing for items that might be appropriate for the museum, and it has resulted in the acquisition of several pieces, including a silhouette of Rezin Davis Shepherd, the grandson of the founder of Shepherdstown, and a sword that belonged to Colonel John Francis Hamtramck, a Mexican-American War hero who eventually moved to and became mayor of Shepherdstown.”

According to Bertazzoni, Kavaliunas actively writes blog posts about the Historic Shepherdstown Museum for publication on the HSC’s website and acts as the HSC’s contact person with descendants of Shepherdstown residents. Next month, Kavaliunas’ dedication to highlighting local history will be further reflected with the opening of a new exhibit in the museum.

“He has been the driving force behind a new exhibit in the museum entitled, ‘Great Dreams: Maps of Shepherdstown and Jefferson County from the 17th through the 21st Century.’ The 19-map exhibit features five maps already owned by the museum, including what is believed to be the earliest plat map of Mecklenburg (now Shepherdstown), which dates to the 1760s,” Bertazzoni said. “John Kavaliunas researched which maps would best represent the history of the area, showing the evolution of Shepherdstown and Jefferson County, as well as how West Virginia developed from Virginia. He wrote descriptions of the maps and their mapmakers and then organized the display. It will officially open on April 15, when the museum reopens for the 2023 season.”

Over the past decade, Kavaliunas has been a dedicated docent at the museum, becoming widely known for his ghost tours of the space around Halloween.

“He is the resident expert on ghosts in the Historic Entler Hotel complex,” Bertazzoni said. “He appears in a season four episode of Road Trip Masters, an online travel program about places to visit in Small Town America. The show was filmed in Shepherdstown during the summer of 2021. Kavaliunas conducted a tour of the museum for the hosts, and as part of the tour, recounted the ghost story of Peyton Bull Smith, who died in the Entler Hotel from wounds suffered in a duel.”

Kavaliunas joined the HSC Board of Directors in 2014, and is currently serving his third three-year term on the board. In addition to chairing the Museum Committee, the Chevy Chase, Md. resident is a member of the board’s Executive Committee.