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Weston Inn / Maj. Bland Hotel

Introduction

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In 1827, Weston’s second hotel, originally called the Weston Inn but renamed several more times in succeeding years as new owners acquired the property, was built squarely across Main Avenue at its intersection with First Street. The odd circumstances of a town allowing a main thoroughfare to be blocked by a building in its path were these: a hundred or so yards farther south was a wide, deep, impassable ravine scoured eons earlier by Town Run on its way to the West Fork River. The village of Weston, in the early decades of its history, had no money to correct that problem. Fate would intervene, however. In July 1886, the old hotel burned in a large business section fire. By then the city fathers had the financial resources to place a culvert in the stream and fill above it, and they did, in 1890. At last, after 70 years, Main Avenue was open from end to end and eventually replaced sections of East Second Street and Center Avenue as a part of the Weston and Gauley Bridge Turnpike.

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Backstory and Context

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At the intersection of First St and Main Ave was the Bland hotel aka The Weston Inn. This was, in fact the end of Main Avenue in Civil War days. Traffic arriving here either turned around or went east on First. The reason for this was that the Bland Hotel blocked the way. The Bland was a large hotel for the time with thirty-five rooms and a large lobby for fancy affairs. The stage coach to Clarksburg arrived and departed from here daily. During the first Confederate raid (August of 1862.) after the Federal army had withdrawn, gunfire was heard on the asylum grounds. A lone Union soldier was shot in the leg just above the ankle while scrambling away. Dr. Camden was called to the scene at once and shortly sent for Black Wash to come carry the wounded man from the field. Wash brought the soldier to the hotel and assisted while Dr. Camden amputated the foot. Camden reported that the trooper bore it well and soon called for his pipe. Hardly had the dust settled from this affair when there was a second incident. A Confederate soldier was accidentally shot in the leg while leaving with the troops that evening (via the covered bridge). Bland rounded up Black Wash and had him carry and assist during amputation as before. It’s likely that Black Wash took both these severed limbs and buried them out in back of the hotel. Chances the bones are still there, somewhere.

Sources

https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=6090731&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjE3MTg0MTYwMSwiaWF0IjoxNjE4NTkxNzk2LCJleHAiOjE2MTg2NzgxOTZ9.wGBR8OJUi2DjAtBHYcMBH9MCx5jyrv0zqSqRFq00Hlk

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