Editing Ceredo, West Virginia (section)

==History==
Ceredo was named by its founder for the bountiful harvest of corn upon the site. The name derives from [[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]], the goddess of corn and harvest.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n73 74]}}</ref>

New England Congregationalists under the American Emigrant Aid and Homestead Company founded Ceredo to demonstrate the superiority of an economic system not based on [[Slavery in the United States|slave]] labor. [[Eli Thayer]], an abolitionist congressman from [[Massachusetts]], believed that bringing abolitionists like himself into southern states could ultimately bring about the end of slavery. While some welcomed the newcomers, several area newspapers published opinions against this "invasion." The newspaper of nearby [[Ashland, Kentucky]], however, supported this move. By 1857, the city was fully established with a newspaper and several industries. Ceredo was the only town established by Thayer and the Homestead Company due to financial issues.

With [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown's]] raid at Harpers Ferry in 1859 and the outbreak of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] in 1861, the situation for this abolitionist colony appeared bleak. Its purpose to bring about the peaceful end of slavery over, several residents volunteered for pro-Union regiments. The town would become the station point for the Union [[5th West Virginia Infantry Regiment|5th West Virginia Infantry]], until they were stationed elsewhere and the town was devastated by guerilla raids. By the end of the war, much of the industry had been destroyed and a majority of the northern emigrants had fled. Thayer eventually transferred ownership of the town to Congressmen [[Charles B. Hoard]]. Hoard and his descendants rebuilt Ceredo into a small town, although the community never reached the original vision of Thayer and the Homestead Company.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Geiger Jr. |first=Joe |title=Disorder on the Border: Civil Warfare in Cabell and Wayne Counties, West Virginia, 1856 - 1870 |publisher=35th Star Publisher |year=2020 |isbn=9781735073941 |location=Charleston, West Virginia |pages=24–31, 50, 75–76, 351}}</ref>