War Memorial Building

The War Memorial Building was originally erected as a Methodist Church. During the Civil War, even the Church could not escape the divisions of slavery, and southerners broke from the Northern Methodist Church and formed their own. Shepherdstown was home to both.[1] The Northern Methodist Church met in their building on New and Church Street, while the Southern Methodist Church built their building on the corner of Main and King Street. For the next seventy years, the churches would remain separated.

In 1940, the Churches reunited, and in 1945, the Men’s Club started negotiations to purchase the building from the Southern Methodist Church.[2] The building was not purchased until 1947 for $7000 and renamed the “War Memorial Building” after those that died in WWII. The Club added restrooms, furnace, and kitchen, making the building a major venue for community meetings. In 1947, the Club added a new kitchen.

On January 15, 1975, the upper floor of the community building caught fire and the community responded with donations of money, labor and materials to fix the building. In 1990, the Club spent $45000 to renovate the kitchen, restrooms, an exterior facelift, painting, electrical and plumbing work. The building is still used today for events.