The September 18th lecture in the Hancock County Museum’s 2022 Summer Lecture Series will be given by Paul Zuros, and will be based on his favorite newspaper articles in the series ”History in the Hills,” that he has written about the history of our area in the upper part of the WV Northern Panhandle and in the Steubenville, OH area. The lecture starts at 2:00, and tours are available before and after the lecture. Refreshments are served in the kitchen after the lecture, which is free and open to the public, although donations are always greatly appreciated. The Hancock County Museum is located at 1008 Ridge Avenue, New Cumberland, WV. Parking is in the grass in the back of the building or in the Catholic Church parking lot next door to the south of the Museum.
Paul (PJ) Zuros was born and raised in Weirton, West Virginia. Raised by parents who were interested in history, Paul developed his love for the past early on. His interest in local history started when he volunteered with the Hancock County Museum in New Cumberland and then later with the Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center.
He was graduated from Weir High School and went on to WVU to pursue a degree in History and minor in Public Relations and Italian Studies. While at WVU, he worked for the National Park Service in Richmond, Virginia at the city’s Civil War sites. Paul graduated from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh with a master’s degree in Public History with a concentration in Decorative Arts and Museum Studies. Over the years Paul has worked with the John Heinz History Center in their library and archive, the Fort Pitt Museum, and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. Before returning to the Ohio Valley to take the reins as Executive Director of Historic Fort Steuben, Paul was operations manager with the West Virginia Humanities Council and served as the Executive Director of the Historic Craik Patton House, a historic house museum in Charleston WV. For nearly two years, he has been writing a bi-weekly local history column in the Weirton Daily Times and the Steubenville Herald-Star entitled, “History in the Hills.” Paul currently resides in Weirton with his wife Abigail, and four beautiful children.