Arthurdale Inn

The Arthur mansion once stood close behind where the Inn is today. In 1937, the Inn was finished and Eleanor Roosevelt would often bring dignitaries and donors to the project to stay in the Arthurdale Inn. She had her own suite. Federal managers from Washington would stay there when checking on projects. The community used the building for celebratory dinners and events. It continued to operate as a restaurant and inn after the government left. Today, the inn is an administrative building for WV Caring, a hospice organization.

This ends the primary part of the tour. If you would like to continue the tour to see a few more buildings, keep going.

Richard Arthur retired and moved from Pittsburgh to West Virginia in the early 1900s. He purchased 600 acres, built his Victorian mansion (right across from where the Administration Building stands today), and became a farmer.

Arthur's farm grew to 1,200 acres, but saw less success in the 1920s. It was about to be taken by the state for taxes in 1933 when he negotiated to sell the property and the mansion to the U.S. government.

When it came time to build a new Inn for Arthurdale's many visitors years later, many thought the site of the mansion was the perfect location for it. Rexford Tugwell and the federal government ordered the mansion to be demolished, even though some wanted to save the home.

By May 1938, the newly completed Arthurdale Inn was open for business. It had 20 guest rooms and baths, the food served was grown by Arthurdale homesteaders, and the furniture was made by the local Mountaineer Craftsmen Cooperative Association. When Eleanor Roosevelt visited Arthurdale, she stayed at the Inn and even had her own private quarters there.

Arthurdale Heritage, Preserving Arthurdale, WV – Eleanor Roosevelt's New Deal Community. Arthurdale Heritage Inc.. Accessed March 20, 2017. http://www.arthurdaleheritage.org/.

Haid, Stephen Edward. "Arthurdale: An Experiment in Community Planning, 1933-1947." Master's thesis, West Virginia University, 1975.

Maloney, C. J. Back to the Land: Arthurdale, FDRs New Deal, and the Costs of Economic Planning. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.

Patterson, Stuart. “A New Pattern of Life: The Public Past and Present of Two New Deal Communities.” Doctoral Thesis, Emory University, 2006.

Penix, Amanda Griffith. Images of America: Arthurdale. Arcadia Publishing, 2007.

Ward, Bryan. A New Deal for America. Arthurdale Heritage Inc., 1995