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<p>The picturesque Neo-Classical style Arthur Kingdon house was designed by Alex Mahood and built in 1928. Arthur Kingdon, an attorney, and stockholder in the West Virginia Coal Realty Company, built and occupied many of the most beautiful homes in Bluefield. Walter C. Shunk, a coal operator, later owned the house.</p><p></p>

 Neo-Classical Style House

This driving tour features only a sample of the 250 listings on the National Register of Historic Places. Many of the homes were designed by architect Alex B. Mahood (1888-1970).  He was trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris where he brought back the styles prevalent in Europe at the time. To have a professional of this caliber, concentrating his talents in Bluefield and Southern West Virginia, is amazing.

Most of the residents of these grand homes were bank presidents, architects, mine operators and owners, contractors, & merchants who shaped the destiny of Bluefield.  They were connected through the West Virginia Cole Realty Corporation in the development of downtown Bluefield and helped our population grow to 19,330 in 1930, greater than its present population.  Bluefield was booming and the Norfolk & Western Railroad line was shipping out coal from the Pocahontas Coal fields, one of the richest coal deposits ever discovered.

Neo-Classical Style House

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