Moundsville, Marshall County

Currently, there are no state or federal repositories in West Virginia suitable for storing archaeological materials. Lack of appropriate curation and storage facilities has resulted in many important collections being taken out of state and has hindered the study and interpretation of the state’s prehistoric past. It appears that the situation is about to change, as the West Virginia Division of Culture and History has announced plans to build a new facility to house the state’s archaeological collections. The project will be constructed over the next two years at Grave Creek Mound Archaeology Complex in Moundsville. A new one-story, 9,000-square-foot wing will be added to the northeast corner of the complex’s museum. In addition to a state-of-the-art collections storage area, the new facility will feature conservation labs for curators and a study area for researchers. The WV Legislature has allocated $2.1 million for the collections facility, which is slated for completion in 2006.

Huntington, Cabell County

Located at 1305 3rd Avenue, this National Register property is one of Huntington's loveliest and oldest structures. Built in 1874 by writer William “Coin” Harvey, at left (whose nickname came from his Free Silver stance in the 1890’s), this cement stucco house is designed along classical lines with Italianate detailing. Harvey was born in the town of Buffalo, in Putnam County, and studied at Marshall College.

His house has suffered extreme neglect in recent years; there were serious foundation and roofing problems with exterior plaster starting to fall from the building.

Since the property was left to a foundation for use as a historically preserved building, however, the future looks much brighter. An occupant provides on-site security against vandalism, and heat is in use to keep the house from further deterioration. An ambitious group of concerned Huntingtonians have engaged an architect to prepare a plan for development and estimates from a grant provided by the West Virginia State Historic Preservation office. Successful preservation is possible.