The National Park Service announced a final decision on their December 2023 proposal to demolish 19 historic buildings in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia. PAWV placed these historic sites on the West Virginia Endangered Properties List in early 2024 and has served as a consulting party with many others to advocate for the saving of these irreplaceable historic sites. Many may remember that the Park proposed 3 options for how to handle these buildings:

• Alternative A: No Action
• Alternative B: Demolish All Proposed Excess Historic Structures (their preferred option)
• Alternative C: Retain Proposed Excess Historic Structures with High Potential for Reuse – this included 3 structures originally (the Marilyn Brown House, the Thurmond Ice House, and the Dun Glen Ark.)

On July 18th, the Park announced that it chose Alternative C with minor modifications to consider 3 other buildings for retention with the option to lease: the Tom Kelly House, the Dun Glen Boat Storage Rack, and the Dun Glen Mini Ark.

The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia is encouraged by the National Park Service’s decision to compromise on the proposed demolitions by retaining and offering leasing opportunities for several historic properties. While we remain disappointed that the Prince Brothers Store and Dun Glen Hotel site were not included in the leasing pool, this outcome represents a meaningful win for public advocacy and historic preservation. The door is now open to save and restore more irreplaceable sites for future generations. We are grateful for this progress and are now focusing our efforts on understanding the leasing process to support the public in developing strong proposals for the rehabilitation and reuse of these important buildings.

​You can read the full decision at the National Park Service's website. ​

​The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia announces three additions to the West Virginia Endangered Properties List for 2024: West Virginia’s Historic Cut Stone Walls, Charleston’s Municipal Auditorium, and the proposed demolition sites at the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
 
Since 1999, the West Virginia Endangered Properties List has become one of the organization's most useful tools, garnering interest in the preservation of threatened landmarks and landscapes across the state.
 
According to executive director Danielle Parker, “The Endangered Properties List is a public statement that these places matter, not only to the communities where they are located but to us all because of our shared heritage. The List is an opportunity for communities to come to us and request assistance to preserve places that are important to them.”

​Properties added to this year’s list are:

In 2019, the Davis Coal & Coke Company Administrative Building in Thomas was placed on PAWV’s West Virginia Endangered Properties List due to years of vacancy and deferred maintenance. 

The Vandalia Heritage Foundation and Friends of Blackwater have continued to work alongside the City of Thomas to rehabilitate the former headquarters of the company founded by coal magnate Senator Henry Gassaway Davis. Some promising progress has been made so far through funding from a 2019 West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office grant matched by the Vandalia Heritage Foundation. 

In 2020, significant repairs were made to the basement level of the building by Past Respects.  A failing foundation wall was replaced, the floor was leveled, the basement door was restored, and brick and stone were salvaged for use as a sidewalk. Some rotting flooring on the first level was removed, while other serviceable parts were left intact. 

An update from the Friends of Blackwater notes that the completion of initial repairs and stabilization work allows one to “see how the building – state of the art for the era – functioned as the command center of a huge workforce of laborers and craftspeople of every description – from miners to teamsters, from trackmen to engineers, from masons to clerks.” 

Judy Rodd, Director of Friends of Blackwater, is hopeful for the future of this historic Tucker County building, and notes that Friends of Blackwater, along with community partners, are currently searching for more funding to continue restoration efforts. To learn more, visit https://saveblackwater.org/?s=engineering+building​​

In 2002, PAWV added the Cass Historic District to one of its first ever West Virginia Endangered Properties List. When it was listed in 2002, it had been sitting unused and the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources had just taken ownership.

​PAWV recently caught up with the Superintendent of the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park to learn about the successes going on within the Cass Historic District, which is incorporated into the State Park. Watch this video to learn about the preservation, restoration, and recreation at the park over the last 20 years.

The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia has announced that the Davis Coal and Coke Company Administrative Building just south of the historic River Street District of Thomas has been recognized as a significant endangered historic building for 2019.

It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011 because of its importance as the Tucker County headquarters of the company founded by legendary railroad and coal magnate Senator Henry Gassaway Davis from 1900 until 1950. The Alliance is adding it to the West Virginia Endangered Properties List because it has been sitting vacant since the 1980s and is structurally failing.

In 1995, the City of Thomas assumed the building and has been able to maintain the exterior walls and roof but not the structural problems inside the building. The Friends of Blackwater took an interest in the building and has partnered with the City of Thomas and Vandalia Heritage Foundation to seek additional funding. The future is looking bright. In July 2019, the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office granted $29,100 to Vandalia Heritage to replace joists on the first floor and repair a structural wall in the building.

There are still many unknowns, and the Friends of Blackwater are looking to bring more attention to this important project by nominating it to the West Virginia Endangered Properties List. The current plan is for the City to enter into a long term lease with the Vandalia Heritage Foundation to redevelop the building, but no actuals plans are in place, making this project still unsecure. The Friends of Blackwater initiated this endangered properties recognition process on behalf of the City of Thomas and has solicited the assistance of the Preservation Alliance for historic preservation technical assistance, as well as applied for grant funding to develop an adaptive reuse plan for the building. The mostly likely redevelopment path for the building would be to have retail space on the main floor, with offices or residential space on the second floor and in the attic. You can donate to this project by visiting, https://saveblackwater.org/donate/.​

Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County
Date of Construction: 1884
Threat: Deterioration, Pests

March 2019 Update: The Harpers Ferry Foundation is looking forward to several hands-on projects in the spring and summer 2019 while fundraising for a new roof. In the past six months, the volunteer group have created a handsome new display case sign for the building and cleaned the sanctuary of biohazards (pigeon droppings).

2017: The First Zion Baptist Church is a contributing building in the Harpers Ferry Historic District.  It is located on West Ridge Street behind the Harpers Ferry Town Hall. The church’s African-American congregation built the church, which was a keystone meeting place for the community that developed around Strorer College (a historically black college). The church was not only used for worship but was also an educational facility and gathering place over the years.

After the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown v. The Board of Education, the West Virginia Legislature stopped funding Storer College and shifted state funds to other West Virginia historically black colleges and universities.  This defunding made it impossible for the college to stay open.  With the closure of Storer College in 1956, the black community in Harpers Ferry began to dwindle, as did the church congregation. 

The church held its last function in 2009 – an interfaith revival.  Since then it has sat abandoned, under-used, and neglected.  The building is structurally sound although it is increasingly exposed to the elements and continues to deteriorate. 

In February 2017, the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation purchased the building with hopes to preserve its historical significance while re-using the structure as a secular community cultural center that celebrates the African-American heritage of the area. The Town Foundation needs immediate help fundraising for the preservation of the structure.  If you are interested in donating to the cause, visit http://www.historicharpersferry.com/index_eecms.php/first-zion-baptist-church. 

Over the years, however, a building of this size has proven difficult to maintain, and the Cottles have inherited compromised bricks and mortar.  The Cottles are currently seeking funding resources and assistance in rehabilitating the exterior of the structure.