THE fascinating story of how a Teesdale village lent its name to a new town in the USA is set to be revealed.

That’s after members of the Evenwood, Ramshaw and District History Society discovered that their village of Evenwood had inspired the name of a settlement in West Virginia.

The search started after resident, Jackie Bayles, uncovered a tiny piece of information on the American settlement which she gave to the society to research.

Members Brian Carter, Brenda Robinson, Jackie Dodds and Kevin Richardson, initially thought the name was a coincidence but after they dug deeper, realised it was in fact named after their own village.

The settlement was built by two brothers Thomas and John Raine who established a lumber company in West Virginia’s Randolph County.

They named it after the birthplace of their mother, Ruth Raine, who emigrated to Ohio in 1849 with her husband Joseph.

Later the brothers also established another town called Rainelle.

Mrs Robsinon said she was "flabbergasted" when she realised the link between the two places and residents had shown a lot of interest while Mr Carter said he was "excited" to share the knowledge with the community.

The group are holding an exhibition in Evenwood Parish Hall today and tomorrow, between 11am and 3pm and on Sunday, between 2pm and 4pm. Entry is free and refreshments will be available.

The group will also be showing a display on the Firby family based around an autobiography of Stan Firby while a display will also be available showing the communtiy trips from Evenwood to the seaside and countryside.

The group meets at the Randolph Centre, every Monday, between 11am and 1pm and always welcomes new members.

More information on Evenwood can also be found in Saturday's memories section fo The Northern Echo.