In the spring of 2004, the Webster County Economic Development Authority was awarded a mini-grant from the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area to design and create a website to promote the artists of Webster County, West Virginia. Webster County is in the heart of West Virginia, which is the heart of the Appalachian Mountains region. Picturesque Webster Springs is the county seat.

The WebsterArtists.com website gives our talented artists the opportunity to connect with a larger market. This web site is designed to stimulate interest in many of Webster County 's assets; particularly our artisans, their forest heritage, and the culture that helped develop many of their crafts.
[Photo by Tom Fletcher]

The Appalachian Forest Heritage Area (AFHA) is a regional, grassroots effort to integrate central Appalachian forest history, culture, natural history, products, and forestry management into a multi-state heritage tourism initiative to promote rural community development. The goal of this project is to create a sustainable Heritage Area based on the unified theme of forest heritage. Existing and potential forest-based historic sites, artisans, manufacturers, and working forests are being developed into a cohesive network of tourist destinations that provide high-quality products, programs, educational experiences, events, and visitor services.