PRESERVING THE FIRST WARD SCHOOL

The First Ward School in Elkins was built in the early twentieth century.  It served Randolph County students for almost the entire twentieth century.  Eventually, it was turned into storage when new schools were built all over the county.

In 2009, First Ward School was recognized on the revived WV Endangered Properties List.  The school was deteriorating badly and in need of a new roof.  This listing motivated partners to come together to revitalize this building.  Partners included C-HOPE, the Randolph County Housing Authority, and AU Associates.  In 2013, the First Ward School was preserved and converted into 16 affordable housing units for seniors.  It is a preservation success story for Elkins and West Virginia.

WBOY Channel 12 featured the First Ward School project recently, and PAWV awarded this project with the 2013 Best Use of Historic Preservation Tax Credits Award.  Enjoy this video to learn more about the project.

PAWV honors projects all over the state during the annual awards banquet.  This year, the awards banquet will be held in Huntington at the Palms Reception Hall on Sept. 26, 2014, in conjunction with the historic preservation conference: From the Ground Up.  Full details about the awards banquet and conference are available HERE.  The banquet is open to everyone to attend.  So even if you can’t make the conference, we encourage you to join us for a fun evening of drinks, dinner, and celebrating historic preservation partnerships like this one.