The Town of Alderson, affectionately known as the “Gem of the Hills” is tucked away in the lush Greenbrier Valley of southern West Virginia. It is situated along the beautiful Greenbrier River and includes both Greenbrier and Monroe Counties.

In 1763, the nearby Muddy Creek settlements were destroyed by Shawnee Indians under Chief Cornstalk and it wasn’t until 1777 that the town was settled by “Elder” John Alderson, a frontier missionary for whom the town was named. It was here he founded the first Baptist church in the Greenbrier Valley and later a Baptist seminary that was later moved north to become Alderson-Broaddus College at Philippi, WV.

The Federal Reformatory for Women, the first federal prison for women, was established here in 1927. The town is renowned for its annual Independence Day festival, which was acknowledged by West Virginia Living Magazine as the state’s “Best Independence Day Celebration” in 2012.

Alderson, WV, today is largely a residential community with retail establishments in its downtown historic district. These serve the many camps and vacation homes along the Greenbrier River and tourists visiting the surrounding countryside. Commerce and property values are increasing as a result of increased tourism and the sheer beauty of the river and surrounding farms. Alderson itself contains many fine homes from the turn of the 20th Century, many of which are in mint condition, never having been altered from their well-tended, original appearance.