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Jefferson County Courthouse & Downtown Charles Town National Historic District Placed on Most Endangered Properties List

6/4/2025

 
The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV), the state’s leading grassroots nonprofit group dedicated to protecting West Virginia’s irreplaceable historic places, regrettably has decided to place the Downtown Charles Town National Register Historic District in Jefferson County on its Most Endangered Historic Properties List.  

This decision is made after closely monitoring the Jefferson County Commission’s efforts to move county offices and courts to buildings it is in the process of purchasing on the American Public University System campus while openly disrespecting the concerns expressed by the City and the nonprofit Main Street group Charles Town Now (CTN) about the future redevelopment of the 10 historic buildings to be vacated downtown. Those buildings include the Jefferson County Courthouse, a National Historic Landmark, a designation that indicates its significant importance to the nation’s history.
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Charles Town, without doubt one of the most historic towns in West Virginia, has invested smartly in economic development efforts that have strengthened the business environment of its historic buildings which in turn helps to protect those buildings and the historic character of the downtown for future generations.   The departure of county government from downtown without beginning aggressive planning and thoughtful coordination now between Jefferson County and Charles Town could have a devastating impact on the Downtown Charles Town National Register Historic District.   The creation and execution of redevelopment plans can take years to fully realize.  

The City and CTN have worked with a nationally qualified planning firm to create a proposed redevelopment study that they are committed to funding without County assistance.  This study will take up to six months to execute. In advance of the May 15 and June 5 Commission meetings, the City and Charles Town Now requested a formal place on the agenda to discuss this proposed study and how to move forward with the collaboration of the County. Unfortunately, the County disregarded their requests and instead announced a loosely defined community discussion on July 17.  

“PAWV has communicated to the Jefferson County Commission that it has an important stewardship responsibility in preserving the historic character of the Charles Town Downtown National Register Historic District and the economic success of downtown. The City and Charles Town Now are offering to create a partnership with the County to smartly plan for the redevelopment of historic buildings that the County will vacate.   PAWV wrote to the County Commissioners in early April to urge them to begin communications with the City and Charles Town Now.  Our staff and statewide Board are deeply distressed that the County has disregarded our request and the plans for collaboration on redevelopment plans offered by the City and Charles Town Now.   The future of the Charles Town Downtown National Register Historic District deserves much better and it is for that reason that we are placing the district on the West Virginia Most Endangered Historic Properties List.   Our hope is that this listing will resonate with the County and the residents of Jefferson County that collaboration and coordination are needed to ensure a smooth transition for the district,” commented PAWV Executive Director Danielle Parker.    

Bi-Partisan Rural Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act introduced in Congress

4/17/2025

 
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Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) recently introduced the Rural Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act (S. 631, H.R. 1454) in the Senate. This bill would makes several changes to the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) aimed at streamlining processes, reducing cost burdens to rural property owners and developers, and provide affordable housing incentives. Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH) and Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) introduced companion legislation in the House.

This bill would increase the HTC from 20% to 30% for projects in rural areas, further bump up the credit to 40% for affordable housing creation, allow the credit to be taken in the first year for small and rural projects, and would eliminate the basis adjustment. All of these changes would help improve the HTC and make it more beneficial for smaller and rural projects, where projects are often less financially viable.

West Virginia Historic Preservation Conference Returns to Wheeling, May 1-3

3/20/2025

 
Discounted entry for PAWV members and volunteers! Become a PAWV member and automatically be entered into a raffle to win free conference registration.
PictureTour at previous PAWV Conference in Parkersburg.
The West Virginia Historic Preservation Conference will take place in Wheeling, West Virginia, from May 1 to May 3, 2025. The conference will feature an exciting lineup of educational sessions, tours, and hands-on demonstrations designed to engage preservation professionals, historic home-owners, historians, and community leaders alike. Experts in topics ranging from historic rehabilitation tax credits and small-scale development to architectural salvage and the preservation of historic cemeteries will speak at the conference. Attendees will hear from industry leaders,  including the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Main Street America, and discover practical strategies for revitalizing historic buildings and homes. The event will also offer valuable opportunities to network with fellow preservationists and building experts while learning from successful preservation projects across the state and nation.

In addition to the educational sessions, there will be unique experiences such as Thursday's activities that include a tour of historic sites in Marshall County and a hands-on stucco demonstration led by experts, Adventures in Elegance, a Wheeling-based general contracting business specializing in plaster, stucco, terra cotta, and masonry restoration. An opening reception and one-of-a-kind lime burn bonfire on Thursday evening will provide perfect opportunities to make new connections and spark ideas before the sessions begin the following day. For those wanting to explore Wheeling’s amazing architecture, sign up for a variety of focused tours that will take you to Wheeling Island, North and East Wheeling, West Virginia Independence Hall, and Mt. Wood Cemetery.  On Saturday, the conference will be at the Scottish Rite with historic preservation exhibitor spaces and live demonstrations showcasing hands-on preservation trades.

On Friday evening, the annual West Virginia Historic Preservation Awards Banquet will be held at Glessner Auditorium at Oglebay Resort. This special event is a time to celebrate and recognize outstanding preservation projects and advocates across the state. The keynote speaker, Dr. Matthew Wagner, Chief Innovation Officer for Main Street America, will share insights from his work supporting community revitalization efforts across the country.

PAWV members will enjoy exclusive benefits at the event, including discounted entry of $200 for all 3 days including the awards banquet. For PAWV members unable to attend the entire event, there will be several free activities throughout the conference that they can attend. Space is limited and registration is required to gain free entry into:
  • ​Marshall County Historic Sites Driving Tour (Thursday)
  • Opening Reception at Wheeling Heritage (Thursday)
  • ​Lime Burn & Bonfire (Thursday) - Must be 21+
  • Exhibitor Space & Outside Demonstrations (Saturday)
  • Guided Tours (Saturday)
PAWV membership options are affordable, with individual memberships available for $25 and student memberships for just $10. New and renewing members will be entered into a raffle from now until mid-April to win free conference registration, which totals $225 for non-members! Raffle winners will be announced on April 16, 2025.

For those who may need financial assistance, volunteering at the conference is a great way to earn discounted registration of $150 for the full event, including the awards banquet, or $40 to participate in each individual day (does not include the awards banquet).

The West Virginia Historic Preservation Conference is more than just an event—it’s a powerful opportunity to explore how preserving our state’s rich historic heritage can drive community revitalization and economic growth. By bringing people together to connect, learn, and collaborate, the conference highlights how historic preservation strengthens local identity, attracts investment, supports small businesses, and creates vibrant, thriving communities.

​To learn more about becoming a member or volunteering, contact [email protected]. 

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE!


Two Sites Added to West Virginia Endangered Properties List

3/11/2025

 
The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia has added two significant historic sites to its Endangered Properties List: Mannington Middle School and the Roane County Courthouse Annex. These two sites join the Middleway National Historic District in Jefferson County as the Alliance’s 2025 priority Endangered Properties. These historic sites face various threats, and their inclusion on the list aims to raise awareness and galvanize support for their preservation. 

The newly listed properties are:
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  • Mannington Middle School (Mannington, Marion County): This impressive structure, with its unique Victorian Romanesque architectural style, is a significant part of Mannington and the state’s history. It is one of the oldest functional public schools in the state, still owned and operated by the Board of Education (BOE). The firm Franzheim, Giesey and Faris, based in Wheeling, designed the school and, in fact, these three men are responsible for the designs of a majority of Mannington’s historic buildings (as well as West Virginia University’s Woodburn Hall). Millard F. Giesey is often solely credited for the Mannington Public School and was nearing retirement, when construction finished on the school in 1925.  While still functional, the BOE, stretched thin, hopes its inclusion on this list will help with the preservation efforts for this outstanding building (pictured below).
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  • Roane County Courthouse Annex (Spencer, Roane County):  Built in 1917-1918 originally for the county jail and jailor’s residence, the Roane County Courthouse Annex (pictured below) was designed by Theodore Sansbury, Parkersburg-based architect who also designed the Calhoun County Courthouse, Parkersburg High School, Parkersburg Masonic Temple, and many residences in the Julia-Ann Square Historic District, also in Parkersburg.  Now known as the Annex, it has stood for over 100 years and served a variety of purposes for the county, including as a fire house in the 1950s. Now, it is underutilized and faces potential demolition. Its preservation and reuse would contribute to the revitalization of the downtown, commercial area of Spencer.
“These sites represent the rich architecture and diverse history of West Virginia’s public buildings, both being designed by West Virginia’s own architects. Their inclusion on the Endangered Properties List underscores the urgent need to protect these irreplaceable landmarks for future generations. We are committed to working with local communities and stakeholders to find solutions that ensure their preservation,” Danielle Parker, executive director for the Alliance.
Mannington Middle School and the Roane County Courthouse Annex join the Middleway National Historic District as the 2025 West Virginia Endangered Properties. In January, the Alliance added the Middleway National Historic District in Jefferson County to the Endangered Properties List. This remarkably intact rural village, with structures dating back to the 1700s and 1800s, is threatened by a proposed large-scale water bottling facility. The development poses risks to the district's historical, cultural, and environmental integrity. The Jefferson County Commission is scheduled to make a decision on the proposed project on March 11, 2025. 

The Endangered Properties List is a powerful tool used by PAWV to raise awareness about threatened historic sites across the state. Inclusion on the list provides these properties with increased visibility, advocacy support, and access to resources to aid in their preservation.
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PAWV encourages the public to learn more about these endangered sites and get involved in local preservation efforts. In 2024, the Alliance added proposed demolition sites in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, Charleston’s Municipal Auditorium, and historic cut stone walls statewide to the list and have been advocating for their preservation through public processes.

Middleway Historic District Added to West Virginia Endangered Properties List

1/28/2025

 
The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia is adding the Middleway Historic District in Jefferson County to its West Virginia Endangered Properties List.  This step, taken by the state’s leading grassroots nonprofit historic preservation group, highlights the significant risks to this unique National Register historic district that could result from the construction and operation of the proposed Mountain Pure water bottling facility by Sidewinder Enterprises.  The proposed development is under current active consideration by Jefferson County authorities.     
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​“With this listing, our chief goal is to ensure that public officials and citizens of West Virginia recognize Middleway as a rare historic treasure, not only for the state but also nationally, and to understand the threats posed by this proposed development,” remarked Executive Director Danielle Parker.   “Middleway is an intact example of a historic rural village, featuring homes and buildings from the 1700s and 1800s.   The proposed water bottling facility risks the historic, cultural and environmental significance of a community that has existed for nearly three centuries.  There is simply no other place like Middleway in West Virginia.  It deserves to be protected, cherished, celebrated and supported.”

Sidewinder Enterprises, LLC has submitted a concept plan to the Jefferson County Planning Commission to construct a one million square foot bottling facility in two stages on a remediated brownfield industrial site bordering the village that was formerly owned by 3M/Kodak.   Once completed, this would become one of the largest such facilities in the United States.  The concept plan indicates that the facility would depend on the daily extraction of over 1.2 million gallons of water from the local aquifer that feeds Lake Louise, located just outside Middleway. This extraction volume is the equivalent of servicing water to over 4,000 homes.  Sidewinder proposes to install a pipeline to transport the water over two miles to the facility crossing through the village with its significant historic and archeological resources.  The final facility plan includes parking for 406 tractor trailers, which would necessitate driving through Middleway’s narrow historic streets.  The proposal will be reviewed at a public meeting of the Jefferson County Planning Commission on February 11.  

Middleway Conservancy President Jessie Norris expressed gratitude for the Preservation Alliance’s recognition, stating, “We are deeply grateful to the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia for acknowledging Middleway and the critical need to preserve this rare and authentic glimpse into our past.  The challenges facing Middleway undeniably warrant its inclusion on the Endangered Properties List. The additional heavy truck traffic on our narrow historic roads could cause significant damage to the stone-stacked foundations and increase the risk of collision as the streets are not wide enough to accommodate semi-trucks.  Moreover, the remediated 3M/Kodak site contains two toxic chemicals in a plume of contaminated groundwater which hydrological experts fear could be disrupted by the significant amount of water being moved by the plant, threatening hundreds of residential wells in the village and surrounding areas.  While we are not against all industrial development, the scale and design of this proposed plant and the pipeline will cause irreparable damage to our historic village. We hope Middleway's placement on the Endangered Properties List, along with the support of our allies, will encourage decision-makers to consider what is best for the invaluable treasure that is Middleway and Jefferson County.”  

Danielle Parker added, “Preservation leaders throughout the state are deeply concerned by the threat this proposed development poses to the Middleway Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.  A groundswell of citizen support has also emerged, including a newly formed advocacy group called Protect Middleway, dedicated to safeguarding the village’s water, ecology and safety.  We call upon Jefferson County authorities to reconsider the scale and direction of this proposal.  Given the risks it presents to a historic village of statewide and national significance, we urge the county to reject this development. The Middleway Historic District and its residents deserve protection.”
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Since 1999, the West Virginia Endangered Properties List has become one of the most useful and powerful tools of the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia for raising awareness and garnering support for the preservation of threatened landmarks and landscapes across the state.   In 2024, the Preservation Alliance announced three additional endangered property listings -- West Virginia’s historic hand-cut stone walls, Charleston’s magnificent Art Deco Municipal Auditorium and 35 historic structures of importance to the state’s history within the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve proposed for demolition by the National Park Service.  
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Advocacy Gathering in Support of the Middleway Historic District will be held at 5 pm on Friday, January 31 at Grace Episcopal Church in Middleway, followed by light refreshments at the nearby Union Church.  This event, cosponsored by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia and the Middleway Conservancy, offers an opportunity for the community to come together and hear from partner organizations and stakeholders committed to preserving and protecting the historic district and its residents.  Attendees will also have the chance to explore the Middleway Historic Archives and view relics uncovered in Middleway, as well as learn about the untold stories and artifacts that remain to be discovered.  Representatives from the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia will be present to discuss the significance of the West Virginia Endangered Properties listing and its implications for Middleway’s future.    
More on Endangered Properties

The Rural Historic Tax Credit improvement Act Proposes to Streamline Processes and Reduce Costs Burdens for Rural Areas

12/20/2024

 
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Vacant school buildings would particularly benefit if this legislation passed. Pictured here is the Calhoun County High School, which is currently being rehabilitated. (Image from Facebook).
PicturePAWV in Washington D.C. in 2023, advocating alongside representatives from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Arthurdale Heritage.
Currently, many historic rehabilitation tax credit projects are not economically viable in small and rural areas, giving a disproportionate advantage of the credit to large urban developments. The costs associated with the credit as-is severely limits rural areas, and especially largely rural states like West Virginia, from being able to use the credit to rehabilitate and revitalize historic properties.

To address these deficiencies, Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the Rural Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act yesterday. This bill aims to streamline processes, reduce cost-burdens to rural property owners and small developers, and provide affordable housing incentives.

“Being a rural state shouldn’t mean losing out on private investment incentives like tax credits to help us preserve our communities’ history and revitalize local economies,” Senator Capito said. “I have enjoyed working with the dedicated group of West Virginians who brought this issue to my attention and who provided important perspectives during the creation of this legislation. The Rural Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act will help level the playing field for communities in West Virginia by attracting investment for economic expansion and additional housing supply.”

Key changes of the Rural Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act are to:
  • Make the historic rehabilitation tax credit projects in rural areas eligible for an increased credit from the current 20% to 30%
  • Include an additional increase in the credit to 40% for affordable housing creation, and the tax credit could still be used in addition to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)
  • Allow small rural projects to claim the credit in the first year of use
  • Allow transferability of the credit to a third-party
  • Eliminate the basis adjustment to simplify credit transaction.

PAWV's Executive Director, Danielle Parker, further explained: "Rural communities face uphill battles to preserve historic assets, grappling with significant challenges to utilize the historic rehabilitation tax credit due to disproportionately high cost burdens. PAWV is honored to work with Senator Capito and Senator Warner to address these challenges and make historic preservation efforts in our rural downtowns more financially viable. This bipartisan bill will bring small scale rehabilitation projects on par with larger more attractive developments, thereby preserving our small Main Streets and demonstrating that historic preservation is not just a cultural priority but an economic one that benefits all Americans."

PAWV worked closely with members of the Abandoned Properties Coalition's Historic Tax Credit Team to advocate for this legislation over the past two years. We are thankful for the support of the Historic Tax Credit Coalition, Main Street America, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. More information available HERE.

4-H Camp Sessions: Focused on the Historic Preservation Trades

10/2/2024

 
From June 17th to 20th, PAWV staff, board members, and Preserve WV AmeriCorps members taught preservation trades at the Jackson’s Mill 4-H Older Members Conference (OMC). This was a great opportunity to showcase preservation techniques and help members understand what they can do in their communities to help their historic resources.

On the first day of the conference Joni Morris, PAWV’s cemetery preservation expert, taught cleaning methods, repairs and documentation of headstones. Students took to applying their newly learned skills in the historic Jackson Cemetery on Jackson Mill’s campus, where they cleaned several historic stones. They also fully reset one tablet stone that had cracked near its base. Their efforts in the cemetery landed them on the front page of the OMC daily newspaper!
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The next day, Preservation Manager Jamie Billman led a walk around the Jackson’s Mill campus, explaining the materiality and upkeep of the surrounding buildings. They talked about common problems facing aging buildings and the importance of keeping up with maintenance tasks such as those on PAWV’s assessment checklist.

Following a brief introduction to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the National Register of Historic Places, participants filled out an updated historic property inventory (HPI) for the Webster County Cabin with the help of a former camper and the staff historian, Joe Obidzinski.

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The next two days saw instruction from Jon Smith, PAWV board member, and historic preservation master carpenter. Jon has been a carpenter since the 1970s and runs Smith Family of Workshops. The first day with Jon was spent talking about methods, materials, and safety. The students and Jon walked around the historic district and looked at the Mills and blacksmith shop for examples of timber structures and old construction methods.
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The next day students got to work and put together picture frames using similar construction techniques that would be used to build or preserve historic wooden sash windows. This gave them the opportunity to try out historic techniques to make wooden dowels, measure angles and then put the pieces together. The students were excited to use some new-to-them tools and to walk away with a hand-built picture frame!
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PAWV is pleased that these students were so engaged in the historic trades and preservation, and hopes to lead similar workshops in the future.

Nominations being accepted for the West Virginia Historic Theater Trail

8/22/2024

 
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The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia announces an open application period for the West Virginia Historic Theater Trail.

The Trail was born in 2010 following a 2007 Preserve America grant award to the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office, in partnership with the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV), to develop statewide thematic tours to encourage heritage tourism in communities throughout the state. From live performances venues to cinema, 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. 

During the pandemic, the Trail went inactive, as did many of the theaters listed on it. Now, in 2024, the Alliance has seen an increase in interest in the revitalization of the Trail, and in response, is soliciting new nominations as well as updating the website dedicated to the Trail: https://wvhistorictheaters.com/. This is the main public presence of the Trail and is administered by the Alliance. It contains historic theater resources, informational pages on each member theater; and overarching Google Maps and theater trip itineraries broken up by region of the state. The Trail’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/wvhistorictheaters/) is where the Alliance shares member theaters’ events and posts relevant news articles about the Trail.

Applications for the Trail are being accepted on a rolling basis. Applicants can work with Jamie Billman, Preservation Manager for the Alliance, and theaters will be added to the Trail pending approval by a review committee.  The application can be found at https://forms.gle/AvN3TJU38HS63wP78

PAWV is the statewide grassroots organization supporting historic preservation in the Mountain State. Since 1982, the nonprofit has been working to preserve West Virginia's precious historical resources for the benefit of present and future generations. 

Preservation Alliance Announces Eight Grant Award Recipients

5/17/2024

 
The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia is proud to introduce the first four recipients of the newly established Fund for Historic Schools Grant, as well as four recipients of Saving Historic Places Grants.

Recipients of The Fund for Historic Schools Grants include:
  • Rupert School (Greenbrier County), 
  • ​Calhoun County High School, 
  • Bluestone School in Bramwell (Mercer County), and 
  • Waiteville School (Monroe County)​​

Round two Saving Historic Places Grant recipients include:
  • Tyree Tavern (Ansted, Fayette County), 
  • Hughes House (Wheeling, Ohio County), 
  • Kerns Fort (Morgantown, Monongalia County), and 
  • The Former United Brethren Church (Buckhannon, Upshur County).
“The goal of both the Fund for Historic Schools and Saving Historic Places Grant (SHP Grant) is economic development. For the schools program, special attention is placed on vacant schools because of the serious negative effects their vacancy and deterioration have on rural communities. While the SHP Grant helps to save endangered historic places. In all cases, these projects have high levels of community support, demonstrable reuse plans, and potential for positive economic growth in disadvantaged communities. We look forward to being able to contribute subgrant awards to the rehabilitation of these historic buildings, and we would like to thank our funder, the National Park Service, for making this possible through a Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant.” 
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- Executive director, Danielle Parker 
About the Round Two Saving Historic Places Grant Projects: 
Tyree Tavern, an historic inn and tavern that was occupied at times by both Confederate and Union troops, was constructed c. 1800 and independently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This project has been awarded $12,000 for structural beam replacement work.

Friends of Wheeling’s Hughes House restoration project will receive $10,000 for window restoration. The nonprofit organization is working to save the historic structure which is an important piece of the North Wheeling National Historic District streetscape. 

Kerns Fort in Morgantown is a settler’s cabin built in 1772 that served as a fort during early colonization and housed militia during the Revolutionary war. The building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been awarded $15,000 for a new roof to prevent water intrusion.
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The former United Brethren Church, a Gothic Revival style brick church built in 1873, is a contributing structure to Buckhannon’s Central Residential Historic District. Adaptive reuse of the building will bring creative arts endeavors to the district. This project has been awarded $11,817 for window stabilization and repair.
In 2023, PAWV developed the Fund for Historic Schools, a subprogram of the Saving Historic Places Grant Program and won a $750,000 Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant from the National Park Service to support the program. The Fund for Historic Schools Grant is a competitive grant program designed to encourage economic development through the renovation and preservation of certified historic school buildings in rural West Virginia communities experiencing high levels of poverty while saving these meaningful community landmarks for generations to come.

About the Fund for Historic Schools Grant Program Projects:
The Rupert School building project has been awarded $275,000 for roof and window replacement. The former school building was built in 1942 and decommissioned in 2019. Not wanting to lose the building to neglect, the community rallied to find a new use for the school. Woodlands Development Group has purchased the Rupert School building and plans to redevelop it as a health clinic and affordable housing. 
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Calhoun County High School is in the process of being redeveloped into a community center improving health, education, and economic outcomes for nearby residents. This project, spearheaded by The 1982 Foundation, will receive $275,000 for window rehabilitation and replacement work.

Bluestone School was an African American high school in Bramwell whose architectural plans were produced by master architect Alex B Mahood. The schoolhouse is a contributing structure to Bramwell Additions Historic District. This project is slated to receive $65,000 for window rehabilitation. 

Waiteville School, a one-story classic schoolhouse topped with a cupola and bell, was built in 1950 and is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Waiteville Community Center, Inc. will receive $50,000 for the installation of storm windows and flooring rehabilitation work so that the building can serve the community as a hub for gatherings and as an emergency warming center. 

Dr. Lyn Guy, former Superintendent of Monroe County Schools, advocates for saving meaningful, but defunct, school buildings from neglect and demolition and instead, putting them to good use: “The Waiteville School is one of those cherished places, where a small community now has a community center,  dedicated organizations, and many, many volunteers, who hold it dear.”

Historic Black wv Church Recognized on America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places List

5/1/2024

 
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Tams, WVa. – West Virginians are celebrating the addition of the historically-significant New Salem Baptist Church to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2024 – an annual program that raises awareness about the threats facing some of the nation’s greatest treasures. The New Salem Baptist Church in Tams (Raleigh County) serves as a physical reminder of the important contributions of Black coal miners to the coal industry in the United States and is one of the last remnants of the coal company town of Tams, as well as one of few remaining buildings tied specifically to the history of Black coal miners in West Virginia. It is only the second site in West Virginia to be added to the prestigious 11 Most Endangered List, now in its 37th year, which has recognized over 350 other sites since 1988. 

The New Salem Baptist Church is part of the culturally-diverse Tams mining camp constructed beginning in 1909 to house Gulf Smokeless Coal Company workers. Coal companies often intentionally recruited a diverse workforce to minimize labor organizing, including European immigrants, local farmers, and Black Americans moving north in search of employment, and Tams was no different.  At the height of coal mining efforts in the 1920s, Tams had a population of around 1,250, and during a time of segregation, the Gothic Revival Church was constructed in 1921 after the Black Baptist congregation under the pastorate of Rev. Burton Linwood Ziegler asked coal company owner, William Purviance Tams to build a church for them. Typically coal companies controlled the land and all buildings in the coal camp, so the congregation had to rely upon the coal company owner to the build them a church.  Membership at the church peaked at 350 members and has dwindled since the coal mines closed in the 1960s and the last residents left Tams in the 1980s. 

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, by 1920, over 26% of all mine workers in central Appalachia were Black, however, their story is underrepresented in national historic preservation efforts. Sherrie Hunter, the Director of Marketing & Education for Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority and whose father was the milkman for Tams, teamed up with the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, the statewide nonprofit dedicated to historic preservation, to change that by nominating the property to the 11 Most Endangered List after their success in having the Church nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 2023.
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2014 photo including volunteers: Joe Carter, vice president United Mines Workers District 17, Jerry Massie, United Mine Workers field representative. Kim Blankenship, Lowe’s, Sherrie Hunter, project coordinator, Donald Cook, pastor, Shawn Mains, Lowe’s, Michael Giles, Lowe’s, Harley Cox Bonds, Phyllis Rose, Tom Cox and Mitch Barley. Photo: The Register-Herald
Sherrie, also a Councilwoman for the City of Beckley, began working to preserve the church in 2011 after meeting its former Pastor of over 25 years, Reverend Donald Cook, who passed away in 2022 and also worked at the Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority. The church began falling into disrepair and Sherrie started working closely with Rev. Cook and Queenie Schoolfield, the oldest member of the congregation, to fundraise for repairs. To date, they have raised $16,200 from local supporters to replace the roof and repair the soffit and fascia, $5,000 from the Raleigh County Commission and $5,000 from the National Coal Heritage Area. Funds are still needed to make critical repairs to the windows and doors. Donations are currently being accepted through a GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/f/new-salem-baptist-church-tams-wv. 

Although the Church has stood for over 100 years and community support for its preservation is very strong, the building needs more upkeep and repairs than the small congregation can currently handle. More funding and partnerships are needed to fully preserve the church and ensure it can remain part of community life for years to come, as recognized by Carol Quillen, the President & CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation who said about the Church’s addition to the 11 Most Endangered List,

“Preservation is at its heart about community, and that is abundantly clear for the New Salem Baptist Church. This small but mighty congregation and their committed local allies have worked tirelessly to uphold the church’s unique West Virginia legacy. We hope that this designation will help attract resources and new partnerships to support preservation of the church and a broader awareness of the stories it tells about the often-overlooked Black history in Appalachia coal mining.”
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