INDORE, W.Va. (WCHS) — I first learned of Orval Elijah Brown, aka The Wildman of Clay County, several years ago from the West Virginia Encyclopedia, a project of The West Virginia Humanities Council.

The one-page entry, and accompanying photograph made me laugh, but also intrigued me.

The basics were there, but I knew there had to be more to this long-haired, loincloth-wearing, muscular man posing for photographs with anyone with 50 cents to burn in the 1930's.

Brown lived to be 97 passing away in 2005. It took a while, but with the help of friends and contacts, I was able to track down some of his remaining relatives who knew him best.

Fortunately, they were willing to be interviewed and what stories they shared!

Orval Brown was a great deal more than simply The Wildman of Clay County.

Brown was born in 1908 and became the oldest of five siblings. Early on it became obvious he was different.

"In all those years he never had a job and never married," said John Brown, a nephew of Orval. "I think that's why he lived so long."

Beth Cercone, a niece of Orval, has fond memories of growing up around her uncle Orval.

"I was so fascinated with him,” she said. “He was very very intelligent."

A veracious reader, Orval read any and every book he could get his hands on. It was one particular series of books that had the most influence on him.

"He read those Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burroughs,” Brown said. “He was already strong as a bear. He headed for South America so he go to the jungle. He got as far as the Rio Grande and turned around and came back."

The Wildman returned to Clay County, but never lost the persona of the mythical Tarzan.

Already a physical specimen, he grew his hair and beard extra-long, wore nothing but a self-made loincloth most of the time and spent days at a time in the West Virginia woods sleeping in his cave high on a ridge above the family farm.

But even a Wildman needs some pocket money. That's when Orval decided to teach himself photography and devised a brilliant plan.

With a few signs along the road and by word of mouth, the Wildman offered anyone a photograph of himself for 25 cents. If you wanted to pose with him, the charge was 50 cents.

The idea was an instant success.

"People came and lined up on the weekends to get their picture taken with the Wildman," Brown recalled. "There were times when folks had to take a number."

Orval made more money in two days than a working man would make in five.

Orval's fame spread throughout the county, and he became the main attraction at the annual Clay County Fair.

Eventually he took his fame on the road to Chicago Worlds Fair, but was quickly thrown out for not going through the proper channels to register.

"He just did stuff, you know spur of the moment," Cercone explained. "It didn't matter he was just in his happy place."

"He was eccentric, but to say he had anything wrong with him...He just didn't." Brown added.

Next week I'll share the rest of Orval Elijah Brown's story. He was certainly much more than meets the eye, don't miss it!