| |
 |
The Marion County Jail is another
site endangered by the abandonment of historic local jails for new
regional facilities. The Marion County Jail, designed in the Romanesque
Revival style by Edward John Wood, AIA, and built in 1912, is
architecturally significant as a part of the County Courthouse complex,
which includes the courthouse, the jail, and the sheriff's residence.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, the jail is
a contributing structure to Fairmont's Historic Downtown District. In
addition to the jail's architectural significance, the jail provides an
important link to the history of organized labor, including the 1915
Farmington coal strike and the 1919 national coal strike, when
approximately 100 strikers were incarcerated and held for two months
while awaiting trial. The Marion County jail also has significant links
to workers rights in the U.S. Postal Service; in 1915, twenty-five
letter carriers were incarcerated after labor disputes and one committed
suicide in the jail. |
The Marion County Commission had
announced plans and solicited bids to demolish the Jail in order to build a
new storage and parking facility. Local citizens led by the Fairmont
Historic Landmark Commission opposed the demolition, arguing the building's
historic significance and urging that it be rehabilitated to be functional
for the county. Their efforts have been successful for the moment, as the
county commissioners voted in November to hold off on demolition plans, in
part because the cost of demolition and building new was estimated to cost
$1 million dollars more than would restoration. An adaptive reuse
feasibility study is planned for the structure, supported in part by
Vandalia Heritage Foundation and the National Trust for Historic
Preservation.
Copyright © 2005 Preservation
Alliance of West Virginia
|
