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The Abraham Smith Jr. House was finished in 1871, making it one of the oldest houses in the Quality Hill Historic District. Abraham Smith Jr. was a successful businessman in the Clarksburg area. He was a backer for the Clarksburg-Fairmont rail line and owned several coal mines. Smith purchased land for his house from George Bastable, who owned several lots in the area. The two and a half story brick building is executed in a nineteenth century vernacular style with Italianate elements. An elevated coursed ashlar foundation supports the grey painted brick structure. The steeply pitched roof is supported by a dentilled cornice. Palladian style windows allow light entry from every direction. A one-story three-bay porch defines the facade of the home. In addition to Smith, the house was also owned by Louis A. Johnson, President Roosevelt’s assistant secretary of defense and President Truman’s secretary of defense, and Catherine Osborn Goff, relative to many of Clarksburg’s most influential figures. In large part due to the vernacular style of the Abraham Smith Jr. House, it has aged quite well. The home is in good condition and the architectural choices remain in modern aesthetic favor.

Abraham Smith Jr. House

This tour takes users through two centuries of historic Clarksburg homes. Antebellum constructions, residences of famous figures, and architectural masterpieces are just a few of the offerings to be had. Be sure to visit the Clarksburg Visitors’ Bureau for more information about this tour or the city. 

The Thomas W. Harrison House was built circa 1860 for Thomas W. Harrison. Harrison attended West Virginia’s First Constitutional Convention and was the first circuit court judge of Harrison County following the formation of the state. In addition to his law duties and pursuits, Harrison also served as the director of the Merchants Bank. The Thomas W. Harrison Home is a two and a half story square brick building. It is set back rather far from the street and occupies a significant plot of land. Origionally a simple brick farm house on Broad Oaks farm, the facade now features a number of Neo-Classical Revival features, most notably the pedimented portico with a well decorated entablature. A mansard roof suggests Europe’s urban centers. By the early 20th century the building was abandoned until the 1920s when it was acquired and decorated by Jay Edward Long and his wife Anna Shaffer. They occupied the home until 1940, when it was purchased by the family of Louis A. Johnson. Johnson served as United States Secretary of Defense under President Harry Truman from 1949 to 1950.

Thomas W. Harrison House

Completed in 1880, the James Clifford House was the first house built on the north side of East Main Street. James Clifford, an Irish immigrant, commissioned the building as a family home. The distinctive dark red brick used in the structure was kilned directly on the property. The completed house is two stories with a cut stone foundation. The facade is defined by an engaged tower on each side of the building. Each facade bay includes a large vertically oriented window beneath a bracketed entablature. A rounded glass transom over the main entrance mirrors the window arches throughout the structure. Unlike many other Italianate buildings in the Quality Hill Historic District, the James Clifford House was not remodeled to fit a more Neo-Classical Revival style in the early twentieth century. Infamously, the home was the site of the Union Army’s corral during the Civil War. The James Clifford House remained in the Clifford family for many generations, until being sold to the American Legion in the 1970s. The American Legion has maintained the general historical authenticity of the building, though an original two-story wing on the rear was demolished and replaced with a smaller one-story structure.

James Clifford House

Built between 1852 and 1856, the Burton Despard House is the oldest building in the Quality Hill Historic District by almost two decades. The square two-story Italianate structure helped define the architectural style and direction of later structures in the area. The Burton Despard House has a slightly raised foundation which accentuates the height of the building in conjunction with vertically oriented windows. The five-bay facade features a simple raised porch on the first floor and a balcony bounded with wrought iron on the second. A bracketed cornice supports a relatively deep entablature. The roof of the house is gabled with a chimney at each end. While the facade has changed relatively little over the years, multiple phases of two-story additions have expanded the rear of the home significantly. Colonel Burton Despard was a highly successful lawyer and entrepreneur in Harrison County. He was an incorporator of the Merchants Bank, organizer of the Clarksburg Gas Company, and owned several area coal mines. When Despard’s house was first being built in the middle of the nineteenth century, it drew mockery from Clarksburg’s citizens for its location so far from town. In actuality, the home was only two miles from the courthouse, but its location in an undeveloped neighborhood and adjacent to a large corral certainly encouraged the common moniker for the house, “Despard’s Folly.” It was reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer that when the Union Army picketed two to three thousand mules in the corral in 1861, Despard was kept awake by the “hideous braying.”1Despite the initial ridicule, Despard’s influence encouraged others to begin constructing homes in the Quality Hill area in the 1870s. Certainly, the colonel’s connections to local families through marriage were highly effective in encouraging these families to establish homes in the area. Despard married Emily Smith, daughter of Abraham Smith Sr. and following her death married Gertrude Lee, daughter of Judge George H. Lee. The Smiths and Lees both became well-established in the neighborhood. The Burton Despard House remained in the Despard family until 1919. In the 1950s, John Davis and Harry Weaver purchased the building and converted it into the Davis-Weaver Funeral Home. The structure continues to serve this business today.

The Burton Despard House is the oldest extant home in the Quality Hill Historic District, having been completed in 1856. Constructed for Colonel Burton Despard, a prominent lawyer and entrepreneur, the home initially provoked the moniker “Despard’s Folly,” for its location away from the center of town and proximity to an animal corral. Perhaps there was some truth to the name, as Despard was kept awake by the braying of thousands of Union mules during the Civil War. However, the Burton Despard House encouraged others to move to the area and Quality Hill quickly became one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in the area. The Despard Family lived in the house until 1919; it was later purchased by John Davis and Harry and Elizabeth Weaver. 

Burton Despard House

The Highland family was one of Clarksburg’s first recorded settlers in 1802. In 1863, the State Legislature appointed commissioners to divide their counties into townships, name each township, and map out the decisions they had made and file them with the recorder of the county. The commissioners named in the act for Harrison County were Jacob Highland, Luther Haymond, Sidney Haymond, and John W. Boggess. The Union District was named by Jacob Highland in efforts to state his opposition to the secession of Virginia from the Union. John Edgar Highland attended the Northwest Academy in Clarksburg, and was a soldier for the Union Army during the Civil War. After moving to Weston for a short period of time, John Highland moved his family to the Highland homestead near West Milford in 1875. John and his wife Lucinda raised six children on the homestead, and all were influential in the development of Harrison County and the city of Clarksburg.Virgil L. Highland worked on his father’s farm growing up, and went to school in the winter. Eventually he became a teacher, and attended college in Scio, Ohio with the money he had earned. Highland studied business and took courses in commercial work, penmanship, and banking. After graduating, Highland was employed by R.T. Lowndes, and in 1896 Highland was put in charge of the Lowndes interests which included the store, an electric light company, an artificial gas plant, a flour mill, and other businesses. Highland stayed in this position of power with Lowndes for seven years, and also served as the County Clerk of Harrison County from 1896-1902. Highland was also responsible for establishing or conducting other businesses in Clarksburg such as the Clarksburg Telegram Company, the Union Gas and Carbon Company, the West Chevy Chase Land Company, the Valley Coal and Coke Company, the Monongahela Valley Traction Company, the Elkhorn Coal Corporation, the West Virginia Metal Products Company, Merchants National Bank, the Southern States Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Hutchison Coal Company, the Clarksburg Lumber and Planning Mill, the Penfield Coal and Coke Company, the West Virginia Fair Association, and the Tuna Glass Company. Virgil Highland was locally known as Harrison County’s “Silent Man” for his dedication to politics and his work ethic.Virgil Highland was highly instrumental in organizing the Empire National Bank in 1903, and served as the bank’s president from 1903 to 1930. After losing an election for circuit clerk in 1902, Highland set his sights on organizing a bank. The Empire National Bank opened its doors on October 3rd, 1903 in the Oak Hall Building. On February 14, 1907, the bank moved to the building for which it is now known. The Empire Building Company was established at the same time as the bank, and razed the Oliver Boughner General Store to construct the $100,000 Empire Building that was later purchased by the bank. The structure was seven stories high, and constructed of steel, brownstone, and brick. The bank’s main doors were bronze, while the interior was furnished with marble, bronze, and mahogany.On November 12th, 1902, the Clarksburg Telegram appointed Virgil Highland, S.C. Denham, and C.W. Lynch to purchase the Clarksburg Daily Telegram and move the paper from a room on West Main Street to the Post publishing plant. They also changed the paper from a weekly publication to a daily publication, and installed a Sunday edition in 1914. The Telegram was printed in the basement of the Empire Bank Building, while the editorial offices were on Fourth Street.The Virgil Highland House was built between 1903 and 1905 in a Victorian Romanesque style. At two and a half stories, the house appears larger due to the castle-like features. These include large cut stones, two towers, and a porch cornice designed to resemble a crenellated parapet. Tudor arches cap the windows, some of which contain richly colored stained glass panes. Clarksburg architects Holmboe and Lafferty were commissioned to design the building. Thanks to preservation efforts, the Virgil Highland House remains architecturally faithful to its original design. For example, a 2010 collaboration between building own Jennifer Lopez and The Mills Group restored the roof, skylights, and conservatory. Often known as the “castle house” by locals, the Virgil Highland House is a major contributor to the unique architecture and culture of Clarksburg.

The Virgil Highland House was constructed between 1903 and 1905 and is located in the Quality Hill Historic District. Highland hired local architects, Holmboe and Rafferty, to design his Victorian Romanesque styled home. The house resembles a medieval castle as it includes towers, large cut stone blocks, and a porch cornice designed to resemble a crenellated parapet. Virgil Highland was a prominent local figure who contributed to the development of Harrison County and Clarksburg. He was both a politician and a businessman. In addition to serving in area governments, he also owned the Empire National Bank. Today the Virgil Highland House is known locally as “The Castle” and remains a private residence.

Virgil Highland House

In the early 1870s, Nathan J. Coplin purchased this plot of land from John Bassel, who in turn acquired it from the extensive holdings of George Bastable. The Coplin family had been present in the Clarksburg area since the early days of its settlement in the latter half of the eighteenth century. The Coplins were some of the most prolific farmers in the area. In fact, Nathan J. Coplin was the only homeowner in the Quality Hill Historic District to still earn a living from farming when his home was constructed in 1873. The first iteration of the Nathan J. Coplin House was a two and a half story square Italianate structure. The five-bay facade includes a one-story porch supported by Corinthian columns. The dentilled cornice of the porch once matched the gabled roof cornice. This changed between 1911 and 1924 when the home was remodeled to incorporate Colonial Revival elements. Though the renovation was largely well blended with existing elements, the general shape of the structure became rectangular due to an eastern expansion. This led to a noticeably asymmetrical roof and front facade, which both detract slightly from the once symmetrical building. Regardless, the Nathan J. Coplin House remains a historically significant home, both architecturally and for its association with an important Clarksburg family.

Nathan J. Coplin House

The Bastable-Koblegard-Keeley House was built between 1870 and 1872 for George Bastable. It is likely the second oldest house in the Quality Hill Historic District. Bastable, who was associated with the Clarksburg Telegram, purchased this plot and several others in the area from Granville Davisson. The original structure was Victorian Gothic in nature. The two-story brick structure featured a five-bay facade with a one-story porch. A detached second-story porch was capped by a pedimented roof. The home was purchased by John Koblegard in 1881. Koblegard was an incorporator of Clarksburg’s Union National Bank and West Fork Oil and Natural Gas Company. Under Koblegard’s tenure, major renovations between 1911 and 1924 markedly converted the Bastable-Koblegard-Keeley House from Victorian Gothic to distinctly Neo-Classical Revival. The multiple one-bay porches were replaced with a single pedimented three-bay porch supported by four doric columns. The previously symmetrical roof was altered with the addition of a gabled attic space perpendicular to the general flow of the roofline. The brickwork was also painted white to match the clapboard and porch. The home was purchased some time in the twentieth century by a member of Clarksburg’s Keeley family, likely Tom Keeley.

Bastable-Koblegard-Keeley House

The Robinson Jackson House is one of Clarksburg’s most unique historic homes. The Classical Revival structure with Beaux-Arts detailing was built between 1903 and 1907. It is the only representative of these styles in the Quality Hill Historic District. The two and a half story home was constructed of white painted brick. A deeply projecting porch and second-story balcony is supported by large Ionic columns. Though pediments are common in the area, none are as detailed or ornate as the one on the Robinson-Jackson House. Decorative cartouches and arabesques fill the space under a bracketed cornice. A smaller tympanum over the door echoes the features above on a smaller scale. The mansion was repainted yellow for many years, though it has recently been returned to its original white. Paul W. Robinson paid for the construction of the house. Robinson was vice president of the Union National Bank and had other business interests in town. The site of the home was previously the site of an 1801 mansion known as the John George Jackson House. This earlier building had badly deteriorated and was demolished to make room for the Robinson-Jackson House. The Robinson-Jackson House remained in the Robinson family for several generations, before, through a twist of fate, it was purchased by George Jackson, a descendant of John George Jackson.

Robinson-Jackson House

The Freeman-Stout House was part of the first wave of building in the Quality Hill District in the early 1870s. It was built circa 1872 for William H. Freeman, brother-in-law to the neighborhood’s first resident, Burton Despard. The two-story structure is T-shaped and Victorian Gothic in style. The home is covered in gray-green clapboard with a simple gable roof. Extensive wood detailing and decoration on the porches and balconies are uniquely impressive for the neighborhood. The Freeman-Stout House has been repainted and refinished several times over the years, though the general shape and style remains faithful to the nineteenth century. As of 1985, the home was owned by Frances Osborn Stout, the granddaughter of William H. Freeman.


Freeman-Stout House

The Stealey-Goff-Vance House, also known as the Amy Roberts Vance House, was built in 1807. Jacob Stealey, the original owner of this house, purchased land from George Jackson in 1795. At the time the land was known as "Tanyard Mill." Stealey earned his income through being the first community tanner and was successful in his trade. In order to have water running through his tanyard, Stealey bought more land from Jackson in 1807 and he built his house on this extra land near Elk Creek. There is no record for how much construction of the house cost, though Stealey purchased the land for 709 dollars. Construction was likely extremely expensive, as Stealey had locally acquired stone, brick, and wood used. These materials were difficult to acquire for the time period and indicative of Stealey’s importance and wealth. The Stealey-Goff-Vance House is the oldest known brick house in Clarksburg, and likely also the oldest extant building. The structure is Federal in architectural style, two-stories, and rectangular. The verticality of the two floors is emphasized through a particularly high rubble foundation, giving the house an almost looming facade. Five bays of windows grace the front and back of the building, though the side walls have no openings. A chimney on each end would have provided enough warmth for the home. Though largely typical of Antebellum construction, the Flemish bond brickwork throughout the building is exceptionally laid. A small two-story ell near the back of the house likely served as a mostly detached kitchen, due to the danger of fire spread.After Stealey passed away in 1841, the house and tanyard stayed in the hands of his son, John, until 1881, when Nathan Goff Sr. purchased the property. Goff was frequently Clarksburg’s president in the middle of the nineteenth century and also served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1863 to 1866, and again in 1870. After Goff died, his widow Mary R. Horner Goff maintained the property from 1885 to 1908. Under her tenure in circa 1891, the house was renovated and updated with Victorian features. These included a center gable, a small porch, and bracketed cornice. The changes were made to bring the relatively simple house more in line with the styles near the turn of the twentieth century. The detached two-story kitchen ell was replaced with an appended single-story brick construction — fire concerns no longer prevented kitchens in the home.After Mary Goff’s death in the early twentieth century, the Stealey-Goff-Vance House remained in the Goff family, though they did not live there. The space was instead rented as a boarding house and for a doctor’s office. This usage continued until 1932, Amy Roberts Vance purchased the home the next year. Vance commissioned some minor renovations to restore the house for use as a permanent residence. Vance was an outspoken civic leader and mother. Her two sons, John and Cyrus, followed her lead and became politically active. Cyrus went on to serve in cabinet and executive positions for three presidents. At the time of Amy Vance’s death in 1967, her sons donated the home to the Harrison County Historical Society with stipulation that it be used as a museum. Today the house is used as headquarters for the Harrison County Historical Society and tours of the home are available by appointment. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Renovations by the historical society to preserve the structure were completed in 2016. The house is indicative of the growth pattern of Clarksburg, as it sits nearer Elk Creek, the wellspring of the area, than it does to the center of downtown now. It is a significant location not only as one of the oldest, if not the oldest, buildings in Clarksburg, but also for its association with the famous Clarksburg families Stealey, Goff, and Vance.

The Stealey-Goff-Vance House dates back to 1807, when it was constructed for tanner Jacob Stealey. It is the oldest home in Clarksburg, and likely the oldest building in general. Stealey died in 1841, but the home remained in the family's possession until 1881, when John Stealey sold the property to Nathan Goff Sr., a former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. Goff's widow remodeled the home around 1891, adding Victorian details such as the gable roof and detailed exterior millwork. During the early twentieth century, the home served as a boarding house and doctor's office before it became the property of Amy Roberts Vance in 1933. When Vance died in 1967, her sons donated the historic home to the Harrison County Historical Society with the stipulation that the property would serve as a headquarters and museum. The historical society offers tours of the home by appointment, as well as special programs at the house throughout the year.

Stealey-Goff-Vance House

Major Nathan Goff Jr. was the third child of Waldo P. Goff and Harriet Louise Moore Goff. The young man grew up in Clarksburg before entering military service. He was discharged from the military in September of 1864. Goff then attended law school at Cooper Institute in New York in October of 1864. However, he left in December the same year without graduating. Goff instead applied for a license to practice law. The Circuit Court of Harrison County approved Goff’s admission, and Goff began practicing law in Harrison and the adjoining counties in March of 1865. In his first years of practice, Goff gained clients and experience thanks to his family’s popularity in the community. On November 7th, 1865, Nathan Goff Jr. married Laura E. Despard, who welcomed the couple’s first child in September of 1866.Goff joined his father in law’s practice soon after his marriage to Laura, and attempted to gain public office in August of 1866. The Harrison County Union Republican convention chose Goff and Solomon S. Fleming as candidates for the West Virginia House of Delegates. Goff, along with the rest of the Union ticket, won on October 25, 1866, and was in Wheeling for the opening of the legislature on January 15, 1867. Goff was the youngest delegate in attendance. Goff was then appointed as the United States District Attorney for West Virginia by President Andrew Johnson in November of 1868, and was reappointed in 1872, 1876, and 1880. During this time he continued to manage his private law firm.Goff purchased property on the West Main Street in 1880 with the intent to build a family home. Sloan and Balderson, architects from Philadelphia who had also designed the Odd Fellows Building in Clarksburg, designed Goff’s new home according to his instructions. The exterior of the home is in a Second Empire style. This was characterized by brick walls, vertically oriented windows, and most importantly, a steeply gabled mansard roof. The structure was built with local materials. Some materials, such as a furnace and bathroom equipment, were brought in from other areas due to them being unavailable in Clarksburg. The original cost of the house, completed in 1883, was $10,000. The first floor consisted of a large drawing room, a library, an office, a dining room, and a kitchen. The second floor contained four large bedrooms and two bathrooms. One of the four bedrooms was deemed the McKinley Room since President McKinley, whose wife attended finishing school with Laura Goff, stayed there on occasion. The attic of the house contained servants’ quarters, and also housed the water tank. The house was completed and surrounded by a cast-iron fence.After Laura’s death in October of 1918, Goff divided his time between Clarksburg, Washington D.C., and New York City. While on a trip to Lake Placid, NY, Goff was injured and suffered a partial paralysis but healed within two months. While recovering in his home, Goff’s son and a nurse, Katherine Penney, stayed to care for him. Goff and Penney wed in Brooklyn in August, the same month that he recovered. After Goff’s death in 1920, his estate was divided among his wife and two sons. The Nathan Goff Jr. home symbolized the wealth and power of one of Clarksburg’s most important citizens. The structure was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Unfortunately, the building was demolished in 1993 and delisted from the register shortly thereafter.

The Nathan Goff Jr. House was built between 1880 and 1883, and belonged to a prominent figure in Clarksburg and the state of West Virginia. Nathan Goff Jr. was the United States District Attorney for West Virginia from 1868 to 1883. He was also the son of Waldo Goff, the owner of the famous local Waldomore home. Nathan Goff Jr. was also responsible for creating the Waldo hotel, named after his father. The Nathan Goff Jf. House was an emblematic example of the Second Empire architectural style. The Goff home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, but was delisted in 1994 following the home’s 1993 demolition.

Nathan Goff Jr. House

The Maxwell family was influential in the founding of the state of West Virginia. Family members such as Edwin Maxwell were among the leaders of the effort to create the state during the Civil War. Edwin Maxwell served as Attorney General of West Virginia and also served on the Supreme Court of Justice and ran for West Virginia governor in 1884. His son, Haymond Maxwell, led an equally political life. Haymond Maxwell served as Harrison County’s First Judge of Criminal Court, as Circuit Judge, and in the West Virginia House of Delegates. He was also appointed to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and unsuccessfully ran for governor of West Virginia in 1948.

This home was completed in 1914 and designed by architect J. Edward Wood for William Brent Maxwell and his wife Lillie Jarvis Maxwell. The three-story brick Neo-Classical Revival Style home with tile roof. The original balustrades have been lost and the chimneys have been shortened but otherwise the exterior and interior are original. The estate remains in the Maxwell family and has been continuously occupied as a private family residence since construction. A carriage house is located in the left rear and (possibly) Civil War era store building that originally faced Pike Street is in the right rear. When viewed from the rear alley, the old storefront façade is visible including four "L" shaped bolts that held a sign.

Historic Homes of Clarksburg

Abraham Smith Jr. House

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