Old barn in tiny Helvetia, once a Swiss colony in Randolph County, West Virginia. The woodsy community was settled by a group of Swiss and German immigrants who came to the rugged, remote hills of West Virginia in 1869. Their numbers, in addition to farmers, included many craftsmen -- stone masons, wagon and shoe makers, carpenters, as well as professionals such as a musician, a doctor, and a teacher. The isolated community is known today (in 2015) for maintaining Swiss traditions, food, and folkways.