‘War Comes to Union’

Event Offers Unique Volunteer Opportunities

June 24, 2016. August 27th, 2016 is the date for the Monroe County Heritage Days Living History event: War Comes to Union! The organizers are looking for people interested in portraying local citizens of Union, West Virginia, during the 1860’s. The event seeks to recreate that time in 1864 when our town was visited by the Federal Army and occupied for five days. Citizens of the area were Southern Secessionist, Unionist and pacifist. Many were local farmers, laborers, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, teamsters, etc. We are seeking men, women, and children to bring that time ‘alive’. This unique volunteer opportunity is your chance to “step back in time” and live for a day as our ancestors did during that defining moment in American History. In May of 1864, Union General George Crook led his force through Union on a Sunday morning after his victory at Cloyd’s Mountain, VA. The 10,000 men, 200 wagons, 35 ambulances, 213 prisoners, and over 100 negroes of Crook’s army took six and a half hours to march through town and spread out for miles to camp and forage. The population of Monroe County was nearly doubled by the size of the army that occupied Union. The Monroe County Heritage Days organizers are seeking volunteers, reenactors, and living historians to bring this history alive. This living history event will attempt to portray the 1864 Federal occupation of Union’s historic district and surroundings. There will be an encampment in the fields surrounding the town’s Confederate Memorial. There will be drills, demonstrations throughout the encampment. In Union and the vicinity there are several historic structures (log cabins, homes, churches, and the stately Elmwood mansion), which will serve as scenes for scenarios of events that happened (documented, first person accounts). We would like to have civilian (local ‘southerners) impressions to portray the townsfolk and how they will be ‘dealing with the Yankee troop’s ‘foragers’ as they occupy the town. There will be an initial ‘skirmish’ with local Home Guard by the forward skirmishers of the Federal’s leading element. Friday will be arrivals and set-up of participants. Saturday, August 27th is the ‘main event’, that evening we will host a period dance. Sunday we are planning a period ‘church service’. Please join us!

For more information about the event and volunteering visit our web site:MCHDWV.COM and contact Chris Johnson at [email protected], or call (304)772-4712.

WBOY Channel 12 recently published a story about the WV Historic Theatre Trail expansion. It can be viewed here. To learn more about the trail, visit http://wvhistorictheaters.com/.

​“There is no other region in the country which contains such a wealth of original Washington family homes and history–and Happy Retreat is the crown jewel of them all,” said Robert Nieweg, Senior Field Director and Attorney of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “We couldn’t be happier to work with the Friends to create an experience at such an important site that will draw more people, ensure its story is more broadly told and its long term future secured.”

Located in the Eastern panhandle region of West Virginia, Happy Retreat is the principal estate of the Washington family. Built in 1780 by Charles Washington, George Washington’s youngest brother, Happy Retreat was the foundation for the surrounding city of Charles Town. It is here where George Washington and his lifelong friend Dr. James Craik started their 680-mile trek out to the American west. Joel Achenbach’s 2005 book, The Grand Idea: George Washington’s Potomac and the Race to the West, details this ambitious journey. Happy Retreat is currently one of 40 sites along the 132-mile Washington Heritage Trail, a designated National Scenic Byway which runs from the “Gateway to West Virginia” at Harpers Ferry to points west – all within the national capital region.

“Happy Retreat is a wonderful part of the nation’s history, where George Washington long ago came to launch his grand idea of exploration in a new America.  Today, the Friends of Happy Retreat seek to restore the Happy Retreat mansion and property so that it can be a vibrant center of cultural life and community gatherings linking history, neighborhoods, greenspace, downtown Charles Town, and the broader tourism region,” says Walter Washington, President of the Friends of Happy Retreat.  “We are confident that our partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation will help the national treasure of Happy Retreat again become a place for the grand idea of exploring creative opportunities.”

In 2015, the Friends of Happy Retreat successfully saved Happy Retreat from being divided into 25 residential lots for new construction, and together with the city of Charles Town raised $775,000 towards the acquisition of the property. Although the immediate threat of demolition was avoided, Happy Retreat remains threatened until a sustainable new use is established and underway. The National Trust’s involvement at Happy Retreat provides an opportunity to show how creative, multipurpose uses of historic sites can create a roadmap for the long-term sustainability of these significant places.

As a National Treasure, Happy Retreat will join the ranks of other shared use concepts such as National Trust historic site, Cooper-Molera Adobe in Monterey, California, which is currently being converted to accommodate a museum, a restaurant, and event facilities. In an effort to mitigate the pitfalls of traditional house museums, the National Trust and Friends of Happy Retreat intend for the property to be used continuously by the public as a center for community events, heritage tourism, arts, culture, and scholarship, ultimately becoming a centerpiece for the newly founded Washington Heritage & Cultural District.
To learn more about the Happy Retreat National Treasure, visit www.savingplaces.org/happy-retreat

About the National Treasures Program
The National Trust for Historic Preservation mobilizes its more than 65 years of expertise and resources to protect a growing portfolio of over 80 National Treasures. Among them are threatened buildings; neighborhoods, communities, and landscapes that stand at risk across the country. Our National Treasures program demonstrates the value of preservation by taking direct action to protect cherished places and promote their history and significance. For more information, visit: savingplaces.org/treasures or follow @SavingPlaces and #SavingPlaces for updates.

About the National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded nonprofit organization that works to save America’s historic places. For more information, visit www.preservationnation.org

About the Friends of Happy Retreat
The Friends of Happy Retreat is a nonprofit organization seeking to transform Charles Washington’s home, Happy Retreat, into a vibrant center of community and cultural life, linking neighborhoods, greenspace, and West Virginia’s broader tourism region. For more information, visit www.happyretreat.org

​Tickets are on sale at the Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/this-place-matters-connecting-with-historic-places-tickets-26139243180

PAWV is excited to announce three featured speakers for the up-coming historic preservation conference, “This Place Matters”. Tom Mayes (National Trust for Historic Preservation), Daniel Carey (Historic Savannah Foundation), and Dr. John Ochsendorf(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) will be the plenary and keynotes presenters over the three-day period.  Each speaker will present on a different topic focused on why historic places are important and how to save them.

Tom Mayes, the Vice President and Senior Counsel for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, will be the opening plenary speaker on Friday, September 23.  He will speak immediately following lunch and will kick off the main educational concurrent sessions of the conference by presenting on “Why Old Places Matter”.  Mr. Mayes will answer the questions: Why do old places matter?  What difference does it make if we do – or do not – save old places?  What difference does it make in people’s lives? He will explore some of the many reasons that old places matter to people, including Continuity, Memory, Individual and Civic Identity, Beauty, History, Architecture, Sacredness, Creativity, Sustainability, Community and Economics.  Old places matter – perhaps for more reasons – and more fundamentally — than we think.

Daniel Carey, the President & CEO of the Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF), will be the keynote speaker at the 8th Annual Historic Preservation Awards at Halliehurst Mansion in Elkins.  Mr. Carey’s presentation is entitled “Secrets of Preserving a City” and will be based on his experiences with HSF over the last 7 years.  He will convey the need for balance between tourism and preservation while touching upon the value of heritage tourism, the competitiveness of historic buildings in terms of energy efficiency, and collaborations HSF enjoys with non-traditional partners in Savannah – arguably the largest urban National Historic Landmark district in the United States.

Dr. John Ochsendorf is Professor of Civil Engineering and Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he directs a research program in historic masonry structures.  Dr. Ochsendorf will be the keynote speaker for the luncheon on Saturday, September 24, to be held in Beverly’s historic I.O.O.F. building.  His presentation is entitled “Preserving Historic Structures: Challenges and Opportunities” in which he will discuss how the preservation of the cultural heritage of West Virginia is vital for the future. Within his presentation he will explain how the field of preservation straddles the “two cultures” of the sciences and the humanities and therefore demands a deep engagement with both the technical and the cultural aspects of the built environment.

We are very honored to have all three presenters speak at the conference this year.

For more information about the conference, check out the event page: 
http://pawv.org/2016-conference.htm
​
Plan your trip to the conference, September 22-24, 2016. Reserve your room in the conference room block at the Iron Road Inn – a locally-owned hotel in Elkins. The rate is $75.00/night+tax, and the room block is available beginning September 21 through September 23. Be sure to state you are with the group “Preservation Alliance of West Virginia.”

The phone number for the Iron Road Inn is 304-637-1888. The website is ironroadinn.com

This conference is being financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Regulations of the U.S. Department of the Interior strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination in departmental Federally Assisted Programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, age or handicap. Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility operated by a recipient of Federal assistance should write to:

Chief, Office of Equal Opportunity Programs
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
1201 Eye Street, NW (2740)
Washington, DC 20005

PAWV is pleased to announce that it is expanding its heritage tourism initiative, the West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail.  In addition to having just added 6 significant theaters to the Trail, PAWV’s recent receipt of a $1000 mini-grant from the West Virginia Humanities Council will allow the organization to further promote the Trail.

The West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail is a statewide thematic tour of operational, historic theaters, encompassing both cinemas and live performance venues.  All of the Trail’s theaters are listed in, or have been officially determined eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places – the official list of the nation’s historic places deemed worthy of preservation by the National Park Service. The Trail promotes the rehabilitation and sustainable operation of our state’s historic theaters for the enjoyment of the public.

The Trail was born in 2010 following a 2007 Preserve America grant award to the West Virginia Division of Culture and History’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), in partnership with PAWV, to develop statewide thematic tours to encourage heritage tourism in communities throughout the state. When it started, the Trail included 26 theaters across the state. By 2015, however, 4 Trail theaters had closed, and staff at various other historic theaters in West Virginia had been asking PAWV about how to be added to the Trail. During 2015 and early 2016, PAWV requested and received applications from additional historic theaters across the state. After using state heritage trail criteria to decide which to accept or reject, PAWV recently added 6 theaters to the Trail. The new members include:

• the Alban Arts and Conference Center (in St. Albans, Kanawha County);
• the Lincoln Theater (in New Martinsville, Wetzel County);
• the McCoy’s Grand Theatre (in Moorefield, Hardy County);
• the Strand Theatre (in Moundsville, Marshall County);
• the Ritz Theatre (in Hinton, Summers County);
• the Summit Players Theatre (in Bluefield, Mercer County)

The Trail now encompasses 28 members, spanning 21 of West Virginia’s 55 counties.  For quotes from several of the organizations and agencies that operate or utilize the Trail’s new members, please see the end of this press release.

The Trail’s main public presence is a website run by PAWV (https://wvhistorictheaters.com/). It contains informational pages on each member theater; overarching Google Maps and theater trip itineraries, broken up by region of the state; historic theater resources (such as books, articles, and related organizations); links to the Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) for each theater’s area, etc. The Trail’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/wvhistorictheaters/) is where PAWV staff share member theaters’ events and post relevant news articles, press releases about the Trail, etc. PAWV also promotes the Trail and its member theaters through rack cards distributed to member theaters and their CVBs. Another marketing tool has been Trail interpretive signage, which PAWV presented to each original member theater to display inside. Those signs contain site-specific historical and architectural information, as well as information about the Trail itself.

Having added the 6 new member theaters, PAWV plans to launch a major promotional campaign for the Trail, utilizing the $1000 WV Humanities Council mini-grant funds. PAWV has already purchased a short, memorable URL and has updated the existing Trail website to include the new members throughout. Next, PAWV will design and print various promotional materials. Those will include interpretive signage for each new member, updated rack cards, and a portable, retractable banner showcasing the Trail.

Overall, these new promotional materials will serve as a valuable outreach tool – educating the public (both locals and tourists) about the Trail and its member theaters.  Specifically, the rack cards will alert people that the member theaters exist and are open for visiting, offering entertainment in their communities. The interpretive signs and the banner will go more in-depth, helping to inform and educate viewers about the history, sociocultural importance, architectural significance, and historic preservation of the state’s operational, historic theaters (not only individually but as a group). Additionally, since many of the Trail’s theaters have been reopened after periods of closure or are adaptive reuses of other building types (such as historic churches), these promotional efforts will help demonstrate how historic preservation has been a successful revitalization and economic development tool in West Virginia.

To learn more about the West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail, visit https://wvhistorictheaters.com/ or email PAWV’s Preserve WV AmeriCorps member, Kelli Shapiro, PhD, at [email protected].

Check out this video about the Tygart Valley Homestead Project in Randolph County.  Do any of these places look familiar?

Video created by Gerry Milnes and the Traveling 219 Project.

By Brenna, Preserve WV AmeriCorps

​Big Things are Happening in Fairmont – An Update on the Spadafore Building

In my short stint as an AmeriCorps member I have been privy to witness a fantastic boom in historic preservation and reuse in Fairmont, WV. In a little over nine months  I have experienced the opening of six new business, with a seventh to open next month and all within our historic downtown.

To celebrate these wonderful accomplishments Main Street Fairmont is hosting a series of Main Street Mondays, in collaboration with the City of Fairmont, to officially welcome three new restaurants to the historic downtown.

The second Main Street Monday took place Monday, May 16, at Fox’s Pizza Den (previously known as the Spadafore building), 94 Fairmont Ave., Fairmont. Restaurant owner Mark Offut, co-manager Steven Hammond, Fairmont City Council members, Marion County Commission members and members of the Main Street Fairmont Board of Directors were all in attendance. City Manager Robin Gomez presented Fox’s Pizza with a special proclamation in thanks for contributing to downtown Fairmont’s continuing revitalization.

Owner Mike Offutt and his partner Adam Rohaly, formed Fuzzy Mammoth Development LLC  with intentions of purchasing this historic building to breathe new life into a once blighted area. Offutt and Rohaly then bought the Spadafore building together to redevelop into a restaurant and fashionable downtown apartments.  Along with other local businesses, Fox’s hopes to revitalize historic downtown Fairmont.

“I am really excited about what is happening downtown,” Hammond said. “We really wanted to contribute to the revitalization OF downtown. I think that the more people who come here, not just to our restaurant, but to other restaurants around us in the downtown area, the more this is   going to build up. It’s an exciting time right now.”

The Spadafore Building, c.1928, is a three story Art Deco influenced building that was listed on the National Register as a contributing structure in 1995 when Fairmont perused their historic downtown nomination. This building may sound familiar as it was the center of a Historic Preservation Review Commission (HPRC) dispute back in 2012 when the Fairmont Community Development Partnership(FCDP) looked to demolish the building to make way for a parking lot in the interest of another historic structure rehabilitation. For more information check out the PAWV newsletter volume XIX, number 2, Summer 2012.

Other Main Street Mondays are planned during the month of May. The Freight House, location 101 Fairmont Ave., was celebrated with a ribbon cutting Monday, May 9th. The Downtown Grill, 323 Adams St., will be celebrated with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. Monday, May 23.

Appalachian Forest Heritage Area
Thematic Tour Map Project Request for Proposals

Appalachian Forest Heritage Area has been working since 2001 in 16 counties of the highlands of West Virginia plus 2 counties of western Maryland on conservation, and community and heritage tourism development to benefit our forest communities. One of AFHA’s primary goals is to develop thematic tours that network and link sites across our region in order to increase tourism. Primary funding for this project is from ARC FlexEGrant through the West Virginia Development Office.

AFHA is seeking proposals from qualified individuals to execute the following scope of work for our organization.

The distinct products to be produced will be:

• AFHA tourism plan identifying the framework for development of multiple thematic tour maps for AFHA
  • Help facilitate development of a tourism plan for AFHA 16 county region in West Virginia. AFHA staff and volunteer project team will provide substantial support and decision making and be responsible for compiling the plan, with the consultant providing advice and participating as part of the planning team.
  • Working from the thematic framework already developed by AFHA, the tourism plan will determine functional sub-theme groupings upon which to base on-line thematic tours across our region.
  • Discussion will include scope of proposed “tours” including practical number of sites within each sub-group, inter-relationship between themes and geographic areas, and feasibility of user-choice site listings compared to suggested itineraries.
  • The consultant will identify and work with project team to determine the best appropriate online platform for AFHA thematic tour maps, to be recommended in the plan. The development platform selected should be useful, expandable, and easily accessible for generating the thematic maps into a content rich, user friendly environment that may be deployed on multiple platforms and media. The selected platform needs to also be affordable and feasible for future development and updating of tour maps by AFHA staff beyond the timeline of this project. Currently AFHA is working with Arc GIS Story Maps software, and has done a previous tour using basic google maps, but other platforms may be considered.
  • Written plan will be drafted by AFHA project team by November 1, 2016, for review and comment. Final version agreed and complete by January 15, 2017.
• Asset mapping, including networking and building partnerships, with heritage, cultural, natural, and community asset sites
  • Identify a process and platform for asset mapping database that is functional for developing the on-line tour map projects as well as sortable for multiple purposes.
  • With AFHA project team, identify criteria and categories of information to be collected.
  • AFHA project team will have primary responsibility for partnering with sites and generating content, with assistance from consultant on networking and identifying gaps.
  • Sites may include trails, landmarks, festivals, historic sites, and outdoor recreation opportunities, as appropriate for each sub-theme grouping.
  • Facilitate asset mapping including design and implementation of database. Ensure data entry is complete for prototype project sites.

• Increase in capacity for AFHA organization to conduct asset mapping and update and develop the tour maps
  • Work with and train the AFHA project team staff in use of database so they can have capacity for future responsibility for maintaining database and for expansion to future projects.
  • Train AFHA project team staff on development and maintenance of tour maps using selected tour map platform. Trained individuals should have capacity to build future tour maps for the remaining identified sub-themes.
• One completed thematic tour map prototype, posted and available for tourist use on AFHA website.
  • Develop and implement one prototype themed tour using selected platform. Project team will select the topic for the prototype tour from the planning discussion.
  • Working with AFHA project team determine aesthetic components and overview context text and images for the tour map
  • Working with AFHA project team and database content, identify and select images and text to be included in tour map for each included site
  • Complete prototype for review no later than December 1, 2016. Following review and comment by AFHA project team, make revisions for final version posting by January 15, 2017.

In addition, consultant shall:

• Maintain communication with AFHA project team throughout the project to insure accurate exchange of information and deadline goals.
• Be available for periodic meetings in person and online/telephonically to discuss project and progress.
• Be available for occasional possible public meetings to facilitate planning, discuss project and perform outreach.
• Complete project by January 15, 2017

Qualified individuals (or teams) selected for this project will:

• Have appropriate experience and/or education suitable for this scope of work. A minimum of bachelor’s degree in a related field is preferred.
• Be able to demonstrate previous success with at least one digital online mapping platform, and preferably multiple platforms.
• Present a portfolio of related projects with their resume.
• Have or gain familiarity with AFHA and its assets.
• Be able and willing to work with multiple stakeholders in a collaborative process.
• Demonstrate impeccable communication skills.
• Be able to complete described project by deadline of January 15, 2017

Proposals should include

• cover letter with cost bid, itemization by task is preferred.
• project proposal outlining proposed process and benchmarks for completion of above products
• resume for individual and/or team members
• examples of previous work

Please send proposals by email to: [email protected]

Any attachments not suitable for email may be submitted by weblink, dropbox, or google drive. Please contact us to ensure communication of these documents.

Proposals should be received by 5 pm on June 20, 2016.

AFHA reserves the right to extend deadline if sufficient acceptable proposals are not received. AFHA reserves the right to reject any proposals for any reason.

For questions call Phyllis Baxter at 304-642-7427 or Logan Smith at 304-636-6182.

Education Coordinator Position Available

Spark! Imagination and Science Center in Morgantown, West Virginia is seeking a part-time, salaried Education Coordinator. Under the supervision of the Executive Director, the Education Coordinator will be responsible for the development and implementation of hands-on, interactive educational programs for students, families and life-long learners.

Duties Include:

• Implementing outreach and field trip programs
• Developing/Implementing/overseeing on-site education programs such as maker’s programs and the Hands-on Science Area
• Marketing the outreach and field trip programs
• Scheduling education programs
• Maintaining program records regarding budget, supplies, attendance, evaluations

The Education Coordinator will work approximately 20 hours per week. Hours will be flexible, but will include many Saturdays and some evenings. This position requires driving in a personal vehicle, mileage will be reimbursed. The salary will start at $18,000-$22,000 depending on experience.

A bachelor’s degree is required. An M.A. in Education, Museum Studies, Public History, and other related fields or 3 years of museum experience is preferred.

Cover letter, resume and three references should be emailed to Julie at [email protected] by June 30, 2016.

For more information about Spark! visit sparkwv.org