Written by Aaron-Michael Fox.

Huntington, West Virginia’s history has been pretty well documented on social media over the last couple decades, but there was a time before everybody had a camera in their pocket.

There are plenty of moments in Huntington’s past that have not been very well publicized. So, I thought I’d take some time to look some of the more authentic, everyday points for the Jewel City leading up to 2025.

Below are 22 of my favorite timeless photos of Huntington.

1. Ensign Manufacturing circa 1880s.

Ensign Manufacturing was the forerunner to American Car & Foundry, and later ACF in Huntington’s Highlawn Neighborhood. Ensign Manufacturing was founded by Ely Ensign in 1872 together with Collis P. Huntington, Delos W. Emmons (Huntington’s brother-in-law and co-founder of the City of Huntington), Ely Ensign, Henry M. Ensign, William Henry Barnum (a cousin of famed showman P.T. Barnum), and several other businessmen. Operations ceased around 2010.

2. Collis P. Huntington Statue at Heritage Station in the 1980s.

The Statue of Collis P. Huntington was created by Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore. The statue has since been moved to the CSX Headquarters at 7^th Avenue and 10^th Street.

3. Marshall College bus at the future site of the Huntington Museum of Art circa 1950s.

4. Actor Ian McShane on 4^th Avenue in downtown Huntington during the filming of the Warner Bros. motion picture “We Are Marshall” in 2006.

5. Marshall football’s “green and gold” uniforms circa 1981-1983.

6. Officers of Huntington’s former horse-mounted police patrol unit. The officer in the center is future Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe.

7. The original lobby of the Frederick Hotel circa 1906.

8. The entrance to Dreamland Pool circa 1980s.

9. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks inside the Memorial Student Center on the campus of Marshall University circa 1990s.

10. Huntington City Hall under construction at the corner of 5^th Avenue and 8^th Street in 1913.

11. The inside of Shawkey Student Union on the campus of Marshall University circa 1960s.

12. The program for the inaugural game at Joan C. Edwards Stadium from Sept. 7, 1991.

13. The first Huntington Police Motorcycle Unit circa 1917.

14. Marshall Thundering Herd football coach Sonny Randle circa early 1980s.

15. Actor Dustin Hoffman with Jim Tweel, founder of Jim’s Steak & Spaghetti, when Hoffman was in Huntington researching his role for the MGM motion picture “Rain Man” in 1988.

16. “Hanging out at the Fat Boy Drive-In in the early 1960s. Steve Goodman, Bill Wilcox, Joel Galperin, Harvey Taylor, Bob Starkey, Fuzzy Harrold, with Leonard Terlizzi standing at right.

17. Comedian Soupy Sales in Huntington in 1978.

18. President Ronald Reagan in Huntington in the early 1980s. “My grandfather Jack Craig (pictured on President Reagan’s right) was his guard while he was here on this visit.” -Ashley Nibert-Kerns

19. Young Men on bicycles on 3^rd Avenue in the early 1900s.

20. Comedian DL Hughley performs at the old Huntington Funny Bone Comedy Club & Restaurant in Pullman Square circa 2008.

21. Blenko Glass being made in the 1970s.

22. The inside of the old Tipton Theater on 4^th Avenue circa 1947. The theater was only open from 1947-1951 when it was destroyed by a fire.