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By Edward Pride, Preserve WV AmeriCorps serving at the Waldomore (Clarksburg – Harrison County Public Library) Beginning in Spring 2016, a buzz of activity has taken over Waldomore, a historic library and museum located in Clarksburg, WV. Over the past couple of months, an extensive renovation of the building has been ongoing. From electrical to plaster work, a myriad of improvements have brought the structure back to life. As the restoration continues, the development of new planning and programs are helping to set up the next chapter for Waldomore. Constructed in 1842 by Waldo P. Goff, Waldomore originally served as residence to the Goff Family. After almost a century as home of the Goff’s and their heirs, May Goff Lowndes donated the building and site to the City of Clarksburg on the condition that it was to be used as a library and museum. From 1931 to 1975, Waldomore operated as the Clarksburg city library. After the completion of a new library structure in 1975, Waldomore was repurposed as a center for historical and genealogical research as well as a civic meeting and event space. Today, Waldomore continues to serve the citizens of Clarksburg and the North Central Region.
By Edward Pride, Preserve WV AmeriCorps at the Waldomore (Clarksburg – Harrison County Public Library) Since April 2016, extensive renovations have been ongoing at Waldomore, a historic library and museum located in Clarksburg, WV. Improvements being performed during the restoration include the replacement of aging electrical wiring with a new system, the repairing of damaged plaster throughout the structure, as well as the installation of new carpeting and paint. Due to the nature and scale of the project, the contents of the building had to be removed and placed in temporary accommodations. Before Waldomore Staff could begin the moving process, extensive planning had to take place in order for the move to be executed with little to no issue. Although every collections move has different characteristics and challenges, the items covered below provide a basic framework for any museum or archives to use when planning their move.
Typically when the HCWVHS has school-age visitors, we do a short presentation on the history of the Vance House, and then the students participate in our “Identify the Artifact” activity. Rarely is there time to do the all-inclusive tour, and the younger students are generally more interested in the “old stuff” rather than the house itself. Even rarer is the school tour after the end of the school year. So much to my surprise, I was contacted by Greg Phillips, Upward Bound instructor and history teacher at Robert C. Byrd High School, for two separate Vance House tours in June. Upward Bound is a federally funded educational program for high school students from low-income families or from families where neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree. Over the summer, the students take courses to prepare them for college and advanced classes in high school. Mr. Phillips’s group was from the Upward Bound program at Salem International University, and he specifically asked for a tour focused on Vance House’s architecture. By using the architecture, Mr. Phillips wanted his students to learn how the Vance House visually represents the economic and social aspects of 19th century Clarksburg
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