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Thurmond, West Virginia

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This is a contributing entry for Thurmond, West Virginia and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.
This building was constructed around the turn of the twentieth century by D.D. Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald entered an agreement with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad to lease the property and construct his own structure on it. The completed building is one-story and primarily steel. Beginning in 1929, Fitzgerald operated a commissary and provided supplies for railroad workers passing through Thurmond. The building became vacant sometime in the mid-twentieth century. When the Lafayette Hotel, home of the post office, burned down in 1963, the post office moved to this building. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the post office shared the space with the last business in town, Thurmond Supply. The post office ceased service in 1995, and Thurmond Supply followed suit soon after.

This building’s location directly adjacent to the tracks made it ideally placed to serve railroad workers.

Plant, Window, Tree, Vehicle

The building served as Thurmond’s post office from 1963 until 1995.

Window, Fixture, Azure, Wood

Harper, R Eugene. Thurmond Historic District, National Register of Historic Places. September 15th 1983. Accessed April 29th 2021. http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/fayette/84003520.pdf.

National Park Service. “Thurmond Historic Structures Assessment New River Gorge National River West Virginia.” Accessed April 29th 2021. http://www.quid-tum.com/documents/thurmond_assessment_report.pdf.

Thurmond, Abandoned. Accessed April 29th 2021. https://abandonedonline.net/location/thurmond/.

Thurmond Walking Tour, National Park Service. January 6th 2020. Accessed April 29th 2021. https://www.nps.gov/neri/learn/historyculture/thurmond-walking-tour.htm.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Abandoned. Accessed April 29th 2021. https://abandonedonline.net/location/thurmond/.

Middleton, Jamie. Accessed April 29th 2021. https://jamieinwanderland.wordpress.com/2015/10/29/a-real-modern-day-ghost-town-thurmond-west-virginia/.