The second executive mansion built for the governor of West Virginia in the state's history, this structure was completed in 1925 at a cost of $200,000. The mansion was designed by Walter Martens, a Charleston architect who designed several other buildings on Charleston's East End. The Georgian-Colonial-style home has welcomed national and global dignitaries, ambassadors, public officials, and hosted numerous events to encourage business, support education, and promote the preservation of West Virginia history and culture.
Holly Grove Mansion, also known as the Ruffner Mansion, was built in 1815 by Daniel Ruffner, the brother of David, Joseph Jr., and Tobias Ruffner. All were the sons of Joseph Ruffner Sr. and were instrumental in developing a thriving salt industry to the Kanawha Valley in the early 1800s. The Ruffner Mansion served as the home for the family who helped develop the Kanawha Valley while also being a center of industry and commerce during the early 19th Century. Holly Grove Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and now sits on the West Virginia State Capitol Complex.
One of the last remaining homes built prior to the Civil War in Charleston, the Augustus Ruffner House was constructed in 1834 by lumberman and farmer Augustus Ruffner. The Ruffner family maintained ownership of the home for several generations. The family named the estate "Cedar Grove” in reference to the beautiful stand of trees that surrounded the property. Today, the home is known as one of Charleston's "Seven Sisters," the name residents assign to the seven remaining pre-Civil War homes. Henry D. Ruffner inherited the house upon Augustus’s death in the mid-1850s, though he was forced to leave it while serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The house remained in the Ruffner Family until the 1940s.
Children's Home Society of West Virginia advocates for children in a variety of ways, attempting to educate the people of West Virginia about the problems encountered by children and trying to find solutions to these problems. Children's Home Society is the largest adoption agency in West Virginia and has been serving the state's children for over 100 years. The agency is a non-profit organization that relies on donations, grants, and other funding.
Built in 1889 by Samuel and Cynthia Stephenson, this lovely Queen Anne Victorian style home stands on Bradford Street in Charleston, West Virginia, between the intersection of Kanawha Boulevard and Virginia Street. The house has been fully restored internally and externally. It retains many classic features of a Queen Anne Victorian home, such as wood siding, a corner turret, large porch and slate roof.
The MacFarland-Hubbard House was built in 1836, and is one of seven remaining homes built in Charleston prior to the Civil War. The home has housed four prominent Charleston families since its construction, including the MacFarlands, the Rubys, the Crowleys, and the Hubbards. In 1861, the home was temporarily used as a Federal medical hospital, even though it was owned by a family with Confederate sympathies. Today the MacFarland-Hubbard House has been restored by the West Virginia Humanities Council, whose offices reside on the second floor.
An exemplary sample of American Queen Anne architecture, this house overlooking the Kanawha River was commissioned by powerful businessman Frank Woodman in 1891. Woodman had a hand in most of the industries of the Kanawha Valley by the 1890s, and was even a director of the Charleston Clendenin & Sutton Railroad alongside future West Virginia governor William MacCorkle.
This historic home, constructed for W.A. Ohley, is typical of the "American foursquare" style popular between 1890 and 1930. As part of incoming West Virginia governor Aretas Fleming's cabinet, Ohley witnessed the infamous "Four Governors" episode during the most contested election in the state's history.
Justus Collins (December 14, 1857-October 18, 1934) made a lasting impression on West Virginia as a coal operator. Known for his octagonal company stores, he brought work to the "smokeless coalfields" of West Virginia. His house stands at 1116 Kanawha Blvd. E. in the Charleston (WV) Downtown Historic District.
Bougemont is an historic home constructed ca. 1916 and located on Bougemont Drive in Charleston, West Virginia.
Dalgain is an early 20th century home in the South Hills neighborhood of Charleston, WV that was designed by H. Rus Warne. It is an American four square design featuring Italianate influences. The house was built as a wedding gift for Robert McCabe and his wife Margaret Fleming Ward.
The Barnes-Ford House was built in 1923 by Fred Crowthers for Bernard Barnes. Crowthers was an English born architect who plied his trade in the Charleston area and is known for the Manor Place Apartments located in the East End Historic District. He also constructed the Merrill house located in South Hills.
This Charleston home was built in 1895 for Israel N. Johnston, who served as state ornithologist for many years. Owing to Johnston's nickname of "The Bird Man" owing to his work, ownership of many birds who shared this home, and his authorship of the 1923 book "Birds of West Virginia, this home became known as "Bird Haven." Johnston also owned and operated a tailor shop at 308 Virginia Street in Charleston. The home is one of the oldest frame-built houses in the area and exhibits late Victorian features such as a 3-sided front bay window and a front and back parlor area. It is a bungalow-style home with painted clapboard and multiple gables.
Sunrise was built 1905 for West Virginia's ex-governor, William A. MacCorkle. The estate stands on a sprawling 15-acre property, and is connected to the Sunrise Carriage Trail that runs from the nearby South Side Bridge to the mansion. Along the trail to the mansion there are two historic markers, one for two women spies who were shot and killed during the Civil War and one for MacCorkle’s daughter who died from injuries sustained in a car accident. The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
This site was home to Samuel Starks, a prominent African-American leader in the Knights of Pythias organization. Built in 1908 in what was largely a historically Black community, Samuel Starks was only able to live in the house for a number of months, for he died the same year the house was completed. Under his tutelage, Starks and the Knights of Pythias were successful in acquiring properties to assist Black business owners and entrepreneurs nationwide with aspirations of land ownership. Sam Starks became West Virginia’s first Black state librarian in 1901. The house was severely damaged by fire in 1981, but was repaired and restored. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. In 2018 the abandoned home caught fire twice in a week, causing the structure to be demolished.
Elizabeth Harden Gilmore was a Charleston funeral director and a pioneer in the civil right movement in West Virginia. Gilmore was a leader and one of the founders of the local chapter of Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) that led sit-ins throughout Charleston. She also worked to secure the admission of African American Girl Scouts into the previously all-white Camp Anne Bailey. Gilmore led the first sit-in against the Diamond Department Store’s lunch counter in Downtown Charleston. Thanks to her leadership, the store opened the lunch counter to African American patrons in 1960. In 1988, Gilmore's home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Efforts continue to restore the home and operate it in a way that honors Gilmore's legacy.
Mattie V. Lee was the first African American woman physician from the state of West Virginia, and was heavily involved in efforts to provide housing for female students and as a center for social events. The Mattie V. Lee house was established in 1915 as a safe haven for African American girls who relocated to Charleston, WV in search of employment. Historically, the home served as a social, religious, and cultural center, as well as helping in the process of residents becoming employed. Today the Mattie V. Lee Home is an addiction treatment center for the Prestera Center.
Breezemont, also known as the General C.C. Watts House is located at 915 Breezemont Drive in Charleston, West Virginia. The historic home was built circa 1905 by Cornelius Clarkson Watts and sits on the top of Watts Hill in Charleston. Watts was a noteworthy person in Kanawha County and West Virginia history.
One of Charleston's oldest homes, this beautiful antebellum residence is located on the West Side directly across the street from Stonewall Jackson Middle School. It is possibly the only antebellum home with slave quarters still standing in the Kanawha Valley, a structure that is located directly behind the home and known as "The Quarters."
Designed as his private home by Charleston, WV's first African- American architect, John Clavon Norman, Sr, the craftsman structure is a good representation of his work. Norman would design many buildings throughout West Virginia and especially the Kanawha Valley. Segregation was a reality that Norman had to accommodate in completing several designs.John C. Norman, Sr., is the father of the African- American medical pioneer, John C. Norman, Jr.
Charleston, like the rest of western Virginia, was contested territory during the early years of the Civil War. Confederate troops attempted to capture and hold the city at several points during the course of the war. A marker at this location tells the history of the first engagement in Charleston. In July of 1861, Henry Wise's Confederates attempted to build a small fort at this location in anticipation of a battle with Union troops under the command of General George McClellan. The owner of the property, Rebecca Littlepage, reportedly denied Wise's demands and successfully compelled the Confederates to both leave and spare her home from destruction as they had originally promised.
This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.
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This tour guides users to over twenty of Charleston's historic homes. Explore a wide variety of sites ranging from important African-American homes, to political residences, to twentieth century mansions. For a more focused tour, see the Seven Sisters tour of Charleston's antebellum houses here: https://theclio.com/tour/323.
