The Morris Harvey House

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The historic home of real estate investor and philanthropist Morris Harvey has been preserved, completely restored and operates today as an upscale bed and breakfast located in the heart of the Fayetteville Historic District. The three story, 14-room Victorian Queen Anne-style home was built in 1902 by Robert H. Dickerson. Dickerson was a contractor for Morris Harvey. The Morris Harvey House became one of the first homes in the region to be equipped with indoor plumbing, a system that provided running water from an 800-gallon copper tank located on the third floor that collected rain then dispersed it throughout the home.

Images

The Historic Morris Harvey has been placed on the Register of Historic Places

Morris Harvey, real estate investor, and supporter of Barboursville Seminary-later Morris Harvey College which is now the University of Charleston.

View of the home from standing in the front yard.

The Morris Harvey campus in Barboursville, WV morrisharveyhouse.com

The Morris Harvey campus in Charleston, WV (University of Charleston) morrisharveyhouse.com

A close up shot of the side of the house.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Morris Harvey was born in 1821 and made his fortune by purchasing land along the New River in present-day Fayette County, West Virginia. The land became extremely valuable as railroad barons began looking for a route to connect West Virginia's coalfields with the leading cities of the east. Given the mountainous terrain of the region, Harvey's land along the New River provided the only economical path for railroad construction. Harvey invested his earnings in banks and established the Continental Divide Gold and Silver Company, but he is most famous for his work as a philanthropist. When the Barboursville Seminary was in danger of closing, Harvey donated enough funds to retire its debts and keep the school solvent. In recognition of his generosity, the trustees of the school renamed their institution as Morris Harvey College.

The Harvey's donated an additional $100,000 to move the school to Charleston, West Virginia. This move did not occur until 1947; thirty nine years after the schools' namesake had passed away. The school's trustees decided to expand the institution beyond its original theological mission, building programs in science and technology while expanding programs in liberal arts. With the transition came another name change announced by the trustees of the college in December, 1978. Although the School of Arts and Sciences is named after Morris Harvey, the institution is now known as the University of Charleston.

After Morris Harvey passed away in 1908, the house stayed in the Harvey family until 1931. From 1931 to 1953 the home served as the parsonage for Methodist ministers, and had various owners over the next 40 years. The home was purchased by George Soros and his wife Elizabeth Bush in 1993 and was transformed into the current bed and breakfast. The couple did extensive renovations to the house, including restoring the seven original oak fireplaces with Italian tile. The inn is currently owned by Bernie J. Kania Jr. and his family, and has five guest areas, seven fireplaces and two antique bathrooms with claw foot tubs and water closets. The Morris Harvey House has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sources

Krystal, Becky. "Bed Check: Morris Harvey House in Fayetteville, W.Va." The Washington Post. WP Company, 01 July 2011. Web. 02 May 2017. <">https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/bed-check-morris-harvey-house-in-fayetteville-wva/20....

"The Historic Morris Harvey House Bed and Breakfast." Our History | Historic Morris Harvey House B&B | Fayetteville, WV. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2017. <http://www.morrisharveyhouse.com/our-history>.

Athey, Lou "Morris Harvey." e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 30 November 2012. Web. 25 September 2015.