A New Deal-era house in Arthurdale is better preserved thanks to a collaborative project between Arthurdale Heritage, Inc., and local AmeriCorps members.
 
On March 15, AmeriCorps members with the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia worked with the Arthurdale Heritage community to apply UV protection film to the windows of the site’s historic house museum. This UV film will help ensure the longevity of artifacts inside the house, such as documents, photographs, textiles, and furniture, that are sensitive to light and changes in temperature.
 
The two-story Wagner-style house built in 1935 gives visitors a sense of life at Arthurdale, the nation’s first New Deal Subsistence Homestead Community. Established by the Roosevelt administration in 1933, Arthurdale provided jobs, education, and modern housing for impoverished and unemployed local people. It also served as a laboratory for new educational, industrial, and farming techniques. Arthurdale Heritage, Inc., was formed in 1985 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring and preserving the cultural heritage of historic Arthurdale, located in Preston County.
 
This hands-on service project brought together a number of AmeriCorps members from West Virginia. It was organized by Pamela Curtin, a Preserve WV AmeriCorps member serving with Clio, a nonprofit website and mobile app developed by Marshall University that connects the public to historic and cultural sites.
 
“Arthurdale’s historic structures and artifacts have unique stories to tell,” says Curtin, who is based in Morgantown. “These stories are not only nationally-significant, but also personally meaningful to the families who lived and continue to live there. This project presented a wonderful opportunity to help preserve this history.”
 
Curtin coordinated the project with Nora Sutton, an Appalachian Forest Heritage Area AmeriCorps member serving with Arthurdale Heritage as a Museum Associate. “Collaborative projects like this one are so important to Arthurdale Heritage’s mission to preserve the structures and artifacts in our care,” says Sutton. “Applying this protective film to the house windows will help us care for unique textiles and furniture that were made here by original homesteaders. It was great to work with other AmeriCorps members dedicated to preserving the past.”
 
Both Curtin and Sutton are alumni of West Virginia University’s Public History MA program.
 
Several other AmeriCorps members volunteered for the project, including Rachel Niswander, Charlotte Riestenberg, Sydney Stapleton, and Jason Wright. Ed Turnley, Vice President of the Board of Directors and member of the Arthurdale Heritage Maintenance Committee, oversaw volunteer tasks, such as cleaning the windows and measuring, cutting, and applying the UV film. Turnley is also an Arthurdale homesteader descendant whose family lived not far from the house the volunteers worked on.
 
This project contributes to a larger effort by Arthurdale Heritage to preserve its historic structures, which also include community and administrative buildings, barns, a former gas station, and an iron forge.
 
Supplies for this project, including the professional UV film, were generously funded by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, the state’s leading grassroots organization dedicated to the support and promotion of historic preservation. In addition to education, outreach, and advocacy, PAWV coordinates an AmeriCorps program that places volunteers with small museums, heritage tourism agencies, and main street groups.
 
AmeriCorps is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency whose mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. 

Join PAWV in supporting the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area (AFHA) in its effort to be designated by Congress as a National Heritage Area. Your expression of support NOW for Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area will help bring this long-sought goal to life.

WHAT CAN I DO?
Tell your U.S. Representatives and Senators you support Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area designation. Showing them strong grassroots support will inspire action!

See HERE for a contact list and HERE for sample letters and talking points.

WHY AFNHA? 
For over 15 years, AFHA has worked for conservation and community development in our 18-county region. AFHA conserves, develops, interprets and promotes a regional network of forest-based resources and experiences, benefiting communities and the environment throughout the highlands of West Virginia and western Maryland. Now is the time to expand these efforts during our spring 2018 support letter campaign.

AFHA began seeking National Heritage Area (NHA) designation with the approval of our Feasibility Study by the National Park Service in 2006. For the study, more than 150 different private, government and non-profit agencies as well as individuals wrote in support (see list of letters HERE) of this designation.

Today, we need to show that support again. 

Currently, two bills, Senate Bill 401 and House Resolution 3142, have been introduced in Congress to designate the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area. This designation will bring national recognition of the importance of the Appalachian Forest Heritage story, as well as technical assistance through the National Park Service and funding for local projects. 

WHAT IS A NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA?
For over 30 years, National Heritage Areas have been telling America’s story. They are designed as a cost-effective way of conserving our nation’s natural and historic resources. This approach has been validated in 49 areas around the country, including two in West Virginia (Wheeling National Heritage Area and the National Coal Heritage Area), that have developed dynamic partnerships among local governments, non-profit groups and businesses.
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The National Heritage Area program in a nutshell:

• NHA is a grants and outreach program through the National Park Service, administered and controlled locally.
• NHA designation does not result in any additional federal ownership, regulations, or management controls.
• NHAs leverage federal funds that help create jobs, generate revenue for local governments and sustain local communities.
• NHAs return an average of $5.50 for every $1 of federal investment. 
• NHAs serve as catalysts in their communities, taking on projects that fit their goals and local priorities. They encourage collaboration and work with willing partners to see projects through.
  
  

WHAT WOULD IT MEAN FOR THE AFNHA REGION?
Let’s look at figures from one of West Virginia’s NHAs. The National Coal Heritage Area (NCHA) generates $207 million annually in economic impact, supports 2,744 jobs and generates $16.8 million in tax revenue. This economic impact consists of: tourism ($205.3 million), operations ($1.1 million), grant making activities ($419,000), and capital expenditures ($238,000).* The NCHA has been a driver of economic development in that southern West Virginia region and transformed communities through preservation and celebration of their rich coal history.

The opportunities for our region are similarly limitless; for we are unique. No other NHA has identified forest heritage as its primary theme. NHA status would provide support and funding for the region to develop interpretation and cultural programs; conserve our unique assets, recognize the role of past, present and future of the forest industry; strengthen our forest heritage identity; and share this amazing legacy with visitors. 

For the history of Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area effort, including Feasibility Study, see HERE

Written by Samuel Richardson, Preserve WV AmeriCorps member serving at the West Virginia & Regional History Center (Samuel (left) pictured above with Dr. Emory Kemp (right))

It was no surprise that I was going to face some serious challenges in my Year of Service with AmeriCorps. I would be examining and arranging the life’s work of Dr. Emory Kemp, with the goal of making his 300 box collection of blueprints, maps, restoration project reports, structural analysis papers, drawings, correspondence, and much more accessible to patrons of the West Virginia and Regional History Center (WVRHC). Public History, as an academic field, was foreign territory for me. However, as a graduate from the Public Administration program at West Virginia University, I was prepared to tackle any project that served the public’s interest. The transdisciplinary shift was a challenge, but complimented my “Clifton Strength’s Finder” examination which discovered my strength in adaptability.

            Transdisciplinary shifts into public history are not unheard of, as according to Dr. Kemp, the structural mechanics PhD, was moved from civil engineering to the History Department at West Virginia University. Despite resistance in his early educational career to studying history as an academic discipline, he choose to remain in engineering.   His resistance however, was no match for the orders of West Virginia University President James G. Harlow, who would implore Dr. Kemp lead the newly founded Institute for the History of Technology and Industrial Archaeology in the Department of History, not engineering.

            This was one of the many anecdotes that developed in the Monday afternoon meeting with the retired academic stalwart. Perhaps, in the process of officially retiring, as he promises his newest developing book on the Big Sandy River will be his last.

            The materials in the collection were assembled to support projects over Dr. Kemp’s 50 year career. The materials were arranged in a manner with no particular emphasis on a preserved original order. Dr. Kemp stated that he expected the professional expertise of the faculty and staff at the WVRHC to arrange the materials in a fashion that would make his work most accessible to researchers.

            Kemp also agreed with the proposed series arrangement, where WVRHC faculty member, Jane LaBarbara, and I hope to divide the collection into three major series, Kemp’s Personal Library, Publications by Kemp, and finally, “Subject Files” or “Research Projects.”

            In hopes of understanding which areas of the large collection are appropriate to highlight and exhibit, Dr. Kemp will provide Jane and I with a list of 35 projects that were of noteworthy accomplishment and could be listed as potential engineering breakthroughs. Some of which, were his role in the construction of the Sydney Opera House, and saving the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company potentially millions of dollars, by engineering a way for them to integrate new equipment without completely destroying an older building. Kemp hopes to sit down with LaBarbara and me to discuss each of the projects in further detail. 

To support community efforts to preserve, interpret and promote coal heritage resources, the National Coal Heritage Area Authority announces a grant round for eligible projects within the National Coal Heritage Area. The NCHA encompasses 13 counties in southern West Virginia:  Boone, Cabell, Fayette, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne, Wyoming  and the Paint Creek and Cabin Creek watersheds in Kanawha County.  

Organizations eligible for grant awards are legally established non-profit organizations and institutions (recognized by the IRS) and public and governmental organizations including county and municipal governments, state agencies, economic development authorities and educational institutions, including public and private not-for-profit schools.

Applicant organizations must provide 50% of the project cost and may request grants ranging from $1,250 to $15,000 with the remainder provided in documented matching funds. Applications are due by 5:00 PM, April 13, 2018 to the NCHA office. 

The NCHA management plan identifies interpretive themes for the area.  Each project must address at least one of the interpretive themes in some manner and could go across several thematic areas.  Both interpretive themes and eligible funding categories are listed below.  For a full packet of information and to consult about your project, contact NCHA staff - www.coalheritage.org/Contact.aspx

Interpretive Themes

• The Business of Coal Mining:  Includes early prospectors, coke processing, transportation of coal, uses, mining companies, company records, land speculation, early coalfield development, recruiting laborers, impact on industrialization of country
• Working in Coal:  Includes life underground, training of miners, recruitment and integration of miners into the industry, early practices, mining safety, mining disasters, labor conflicts, health hazards, customs and superstitions
• The Company Town:  Includes company stores, housing, mining community, role of religion, life of women, educating children, ethnic and racial diversity, food and customs, medical care, social activities and structures, accessibility of goods, folk arts and culture, isolation, community solidarity, service communities and commercial centers, community design and architecture
• Mining Technology:  Includes early hand tools, hand loading, beginnings of mechanization, innovations and inventions, advances in underground technology, modern mining practices
• Crisis and Renewal:  Includes declines in the industry, loss of jobs, migration from the coalfields, deindustrialization, boom and bust cycles, affect on company towns

Eligible Funding Categories
      Interpretation and Heritage Programming:  (Grant awards range from $ 1,250 - $10,000) Projects must create or further develop interpretive opportunities related to coal heritage within the National Coal Heritage Area incorporating at least one of the interpretive themes.  Examples of eligible projects are interpretive brochures and guides, performances and performance spaces, interpretive exhibits, creation of public art exhibits and development of interpretive signs and brochures for walking/biking trails.  It can include community or school based heritage education projects.  Designs for printed materials, signage design and interpretive plans must be approved by the National Coal Heritage Area Authority before printing or fabrication of signs begins.  Exterior interpretive signage must use the graphic design template currently in use by the National Coal Heritage Area.  Historical markers will be allowed under this category, but must be a part of the Division of Culture and History’s historical marker program and must include adequate space for a minimum of two vehicles to safely pull off the road.

Historic Preservation and Resource Stewardship:  (Grant awards range from $ 1,250 - $15,000)
Projects in this category must further the preservation, protection, and/or restoration of historic properites, landscapes and cultural resources with the National Coal Heritage Area and be directly connected to the interpretive themes of the National Coal Heritage Area.  All structures must be listed on the National Register of Historic Places or determined as eligible for listing by the State Historic Preservation Office.  Preservation and restoration of historic structures must adhere to the Secretary of the Interior’s “Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties.”  All preservation projects are subject to approval of the WV State Historic Preservation Office and may not proceed until written notice from SHPO is received.  Examples of eligible projects are development of a historic preservation master plan for an existing National Register district or structure, structural analysis for the purpose of stabilizing an eligilble structure and interior and exterior rehabilitation.  (Contact the State Historic Preservation Office, 304-558-0220 for technical assistance in determining eligibility of structures.)

Archives and Historical Record Collection:  (Grant awards range from $ 1,250 - $10,000)
Grants within this category will serve to increase the public’s access to historical records and documents or to preserve paper-based archival documents.  Examples of possible projects include collecting and cataloguing archival documents to be made available to the public and creation of systems to allow on-line access to document images.  All work done under this category must focus on improving the public’s access to archival information, but may not include ongoing operational expenses of operating an archival facility.  A catalogue of material collected and archived under this grant category must be published and made available to the public either on-line or in print and a copy provided to the National Coal Heritage Area Authority.

Greenways, Public Parks and Non-motorized Trails:   (Grant awards range from $ 1,250 - $15,000) Grants within this category must focus on creating outdoor interpretive spaces, be open to the general public and be generally accessible to the traveling public.  Example of projects could include a trailhead facility that relates to the coal heritage of the area, interpretive materials, water trail access, roadside pull-offs featuring interpretive signage and/or historical markers, gateways to coal communities and non-motorized trails that connect historic resources.  Design plans and feasibility studies for these types of projects are also considered to be eligible.  In general playgrounds and recreational facilities will not be eligible for funding, unless they contain an interpretive element.  Plans for maintenance of the site must be clearly defined with a responsible entity identified.  All design plans for approved projects must be submitted to the National Coal Heritage Area Authority for approval before actual construction begins.

Educational Activities and Events:  (Grant awards range from $1,250 to $2,500)
Grants within this category will focus on providing education opportunities within the community or schools.  Educational activities should focus on preserving and sharing the history of the region with children, young adults or community members or involving those groups in collecting and preserving history.  Eligible activities include:  Field trips when combined with other educational activities, art projects that explore the history and culture of coal and coal communities, including drama, literature, photography, visual arts, music, dance, public art projects, special speakers or presentations when combined with other educational activities, historical research and documentation including oral and family histories and digital stories created by students and community members, and workshops or presentations designed to assist communities in preserving and interpreting their history.

PAWV sent this letter to Parkersburg's Design & Facade Review Committee the day before its meeting on February 14, 2018.  The subject of the meeting was to vote on whether to approve the proposed demolition of the historic Citizens Bank Building located at 401 Market Street.  During the meeting, the committee voted unanimously to approve the demolition of the structure.  The committee is comprised of Mayor appointees.

Dear Parkersburg Central Downtown Business District Design & Façade Review Committee,
 
On behalf of the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV), the statewide non-profit organization dedicated to historic preservation, I am requesting the committee to table the proposal to demolish 401 Market Street and allow for public comment and additional discussion regarding WesBanco’s redevelopment project.  Part of PAWV’s mission is to advocate for sensitive development and design that incorporates historic buildings such as the Citizens National Bank Building and to preserve existing structures that are the keys to downtown redevelopment.

When expanding this study beyond a 1 block radius, the ratio of building footprint compared to pedestrian and vehicle space dwindles even more (see aeriel view above). This is a common trait of unsustainable and unhealthy cities.  It is our opinion that parking lot will not improve the economic climate of the City, however, WesBanco can become a leader in enhancing the historic downtown through their effort.  Additionally, there are financial incentives for redevelopment and national trends that can be replicated in Parkersburg in which the building located at 401 Market St. can be preserved while meeting the parking and thoroughfare needs of WesBanco.  I have included some of these ideas at the bottom of this letter.
 
As the statewide nonprofit supporting historic preservation, we can provide many ideas in favor of preserving this historic building in an attempt to convince the committee to vote to table this proposal and even vote “no” to the proposal, but ultimately, I urge you to listen to your citizens.  Over 500 people have signed a petition asking you to vote “no” to this proposal.  It is important to your residents that you preserve what is left of the downtown.  It is a treasure, and it is a place that matters.  That is why PAWV chose Parkersburg as its host town for the upcoming West Virginia Historic Preservation conference bringing dollars and energy into your community; you have a lot to offer and potential for redevelopment. 
 
You have active residents that care about historic preservation, and this is an excellent opportunity to show forward thinking for future generations.

Thank you for your service and consideration,

Danielle LaPresta
​Executive Director

FINANCIAL INCENTIVE – HISTORIC TAX CREDIT
The Citizens National Bank Building has been vacant for over a decade, and its redevelopment has been financially unfeasible in the past.  However, as of January 1, 2018, West Virginians can take advantage of a combined state and federal historic tax credit of 45% on income-producing properties.  Prior to this increase, the combined state and federal historic tax credit was 30%, but a 45% tax credit on qualifying construction activities (interior and exterior) is a major incentive for banks and property owners to rehabilitate historic properties like the Citizens National Bank building. 
 
Tearing down the Citizens National Bank Building for a parking lot and alley is a short-term answer to a vacant building problem that can be incentivized now for redevelopment.  Please run the pro-forma again for redeveloping this property using the historic tax credit figures, and this property could be marketed for rehabilitation in a prime location in downtown Parkersburg.  PAWV would be happy to lend its services in reconfiguring a pro-forma to demonstrate whether redevelopment of this building is possible now that the historic tax credit is 40%.  And if WesBanco also needs additional space for offices, 401 Market St. offers prime street front and first-floor space that can be redeveloped using the historic rehabilitation tax credit.  The bank has acquired and redeveloped a historic property at 33 N. Third St. in Columbus, Ohio.  The WesBanco Regional President Lisa Robinson was quoted as saying acquisition is a “huge new step for WesBanco”[1], and we encourage the committee and WesBanco to work together to consider something similar for Parkersburg.
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[1] https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2013/10/wesbanco-taking-huge-new-step-with.html. 

PARKING GARAGE INSTEAD OF PARKING LOT?
According to Parking Consultant, Gerard Giosa[1], “Surface parking gobbles up so much land that it begins to negatively affect the character and walkability of a downtown business district. An 800-car parking garage can be constructed on a piece of land that is just 120 feet wide by 270 feet long, and it can be tucked into the center of a downtown block and surrounded by existing and new buildings so that it is hardly visible from the street. By contrast, if we wanted to provide those same 800 spaces in a surface parking lot, the parking lot would have to be the size of four and a half football fields! And it’s almost impossible to assemble that volume of contiguous land in an existing downtown setting.”
 
There is a service parking lot already connected to the WesBanco property, and a parking garage across the street from the WesBanco property.  Has WesBanco considered building a parking garage and thoroughfare on its existing surface lot if the bank has identified that additional parking is needed?  This parking garage may even serve as an additional incentive for redevelopment of 401 Market St.  Although the up-front costs of the parking garage are more expensive, estimated in 2013 by Giosa at $21,000 per parking space versus $3,000 per parking space in a surface lot, the parking garage can attract additional development by meeting parking needs for the redevelopment of 401 Market St., as well as providing additional parking for the Blennerhasset Hotel.  Over time, the parking garage can pay for itself through monthly and day parking for employers in the downtown area.
[1] Gerard Giosa article can be accessed at http://buildabetterburb.org/financing-parking-garages-qa-with-parking-consultant-gerard-giosa/
 

Monica Miller, President of M Miller Development Services, recently joined the board of the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia.  After a career in state government, most notably managing the Main Street West Virginia program where she worked with businesses and community leaders statewide, Monica is putting her vast experience to work as a small business owner specializing in community economic development, downtown revitalization, organizational management and development, planning, facilitation, fundraising, speaking engagements and advocacy. 

Monica has served in various leadership roles in preservation at the state and national levels.  She managed the Main Street West Virginia program for over 20 years.  Prior to that she worked for West Virginia’s premier state parks system.  She was the founding chair of the National Main Street Coordinating Programs Executive Committee, is chair emerita and current member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Board of Advisors, represented Main Street and the Advisors on the National Trust Board of Trustees where she was vice-chair of the Community Revitalization Committee, and currently serves as the campaign chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Fund for the National Trust.   She is a frequent speaker at national conferences.

When asked about her interest in preservation, Monica says that communities that capitalize on their unique assets, architecture, small businesses and leadership are attractive to residents, investors and tourists.  The connection of place is important to economic development whether attracting industry or other development.  It all comes down to great communities being more economically viable.  

Thank you, Monica, for being a part of our team at PAWV!

The Mon River Trails Conservancy is needing to sell 10 crates of roofing slate (some used, some new) and are in a time crunch. It is being stored at a project site in Masontown, WV which is soon to become a restroom for the Deckers Creek Rail-Trail. The organization had considered using this slate for a new roof but now have shifted to a different plan. The organization has set up a Craigs Listing to sell the slate, but you can contact Ella Belling directly for more information at ella@montrails.org
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Link to Craigs List Morgantown:
https://morgantown.craigslist.org/tls/6482095532.html

PAWV is accepting nominations for the 2018 West Virginia Endangered Properties List.  Nomination forms are available here (MSWord). Nominations are due at 5pm on Friday, March 16, 2018, to info@pawv.org. 

Guidelines for the nomination process include the following:
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Criteria
1)There must be a degree of endangerment from one or more of the following:

• Neglect
• Proposed demolition
• Rezoning or redevelopment
• Other human or environmental factors, such as recent storm, fire, or flood damage

 
2)      The property must be listed in, or be eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places.
•    Properties not listed in the National Register of Historic Places (as either an individual site or a contributing structure in a historic district) must submit a completed Historic Property Inventory Form to the WV State Historic Preservation Office to determine eligibility. The form is available at: http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/forms.html
•    Once the property is deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, please submit both the Historic Property Inventory Form and the documentation of eligibility as part of your Endangered Properties Nomination.
 
3)There must be evidence of significant local support for preservation of the property, including three (3) letters of support.
 
Process

• A separate nomination form must be submitted for each nomination, but organizations or individuals may submit more than one nomination per year.
• Selections will be determined by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia based on historic, cultural, and/or architectural factors - as well as preservation feasibility, degree of local support, and risk of loss.

 
Timeline
March 16 - Application deadline at 5:00pm to info@pawv.org
March 23 - If you have not received a confirmation from our office that your application has arrived, call 304-345-6005 to inquire.
March 30 - PAWV Endangered Properties committee meets to review nominations- You may be contacted by PAWV staff to schedule an initial site visit as part of the review process, or to request clarifications or additional materials. Please make sure there is someone at your contact number/email to receive and answer questions or provide materials, if necessary.  
April 27 - Applicants will be notified of their status in regard to the nomination.
May - Special announcement and press conference for the West Virginia Endangered Properties List at a date and location to be determined.

​The West Virginia Endangered Properties List is a collection of historic resources that are in danger of being lost, although they are good re-use candidates for their communities. The goal of this program is to encourage property owners to rehabilitate their properties while preserving our shared heritage.

The alliance revived its endangered list program in 2009 with a competitive nomination process and with technical assistance provided to the stewards of the selected properties. Technical assistance includes on-site visits from experts, guidance in preservation projects and assistance in organizing clean-up days, hands-on workshops, or other skilled preservation activities.

Learn more about the properties that were formerly on the endangered list but have graduated to saved at http://www.pawv.org/endanger/category/status-saved. To talk more about this program, contact Anna Lynn Stasick at annalynn@pawv.org or by calling 304-685-8119.