Historic Elkins Driving Tour

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Shortly after the founding of Elkins, West Virginia, in 1889, local residents established a chapter of the International Order of Odd Fellows. The organization reflected the spirit of the Progressive Era with its emphasis on self-improvement and service to the community. In the early 1900s, the Odd Fellows raised funds to create this home for orphaned children and the elderly. West Virginia had several homes that were operated by the state, but when this home opened in 1910, Elkins was the only city in West Virginia to have a charitable home operated by a fraternal order. In its early years as a charitable home, members of the Elkins Odd Fellows organized community events and started a marching band. Over subsequent decades, the Odd Fellows home of Elkins continued to serve as an orphanage and place of care for older adults, and widows suffering from economic hardship. The home continues to operate just as it did a century ago, but with the slow decline in membership of fraternal orders, the old fraternal house now serves as a nursing home.

2. West Virginia Children's Home

The West Virginia Children's Home has served the State of West Virginia with housing and placement of orphaned, neglected, and dependent children from 1911 through the present. In its early years, the home was meant to serve as a short-term housing solution for children who ranged in age from two to fourteen years old who typically stayed here for less than six months. Today, the home has a different mission as youth who have demonstrated behavioral issues from all 55 counties in West Virginia are housed here on a more long-term basis. The West Virginia Children's Home includes an accredited school and serves children from the ages of twelve to eighteen with the goal of preparing youth for the transition to independent living or for life in a group or foster home.

3. Graceland, Davis & Elkins College

Graceland was built in 1893 by Senator Henry Gassaway Davis, the co-founder of Elkins and Davis & Elkins College. Davis earned his wealth through climbing the ranks of the B&O Railroad, and eventually gaining enough political power to control the growing path of the railroad to better suit his involvement in the timber and coal industries. This Queen Anne styled summer home once sat on 360 acres of land that now houses Davis & Elkins College. Graceland was originally named the Mingo Moor, but was changed to honor Davis' youngest daughter, Grace. Graceland and the property that now belongs to Davis & Elkins College was once the site of many upscale political and social gatherings. After being passed through the family, Graceland was purchased by the West Virginia Presbyterian Education Fund in 1941 and was given to Davis & Elkins College where it was a residence hall for thirty years. Restorations began in 1990 to return Graceland to it's once luxurious state, and Graceland Inn opened it's doors in 1996.

4. The Stirrup Gallery of Davis & Elkins College

The Stirrup Gallery, located on the historic Davis & Elkins College campus, includes hands-on exhibits as well as one of the most extensive collections of powder horns in the United States; domestic life pieces and firearms from the historic Darby Collection; Ancient Roman coins, Native American artifacts and much more! Originated in 2013, The Stirrup Gallery has 14,000 years of history that has been donated to Davis & Elkins College. The Stirrup Gallery is dedicated to student success as they provide materials for them to promote thoughtful and meaningful involvement in their communities and the world.

5. Halliehurst

Halliehurst was built in 1890 by Senator Stephen B. Elkins, the co-founder of Elkins and Davis and Elkins College. The summer home is named after Stephen B. Elkins' wife, Hallie Davis Elkins, and was modeled after a German castle that she adored. Hallie Davis Elkins was the daughter of U.S. Senator from WV, Henry Gassaway Davis. Halliehurst was the first building the be established on the current campus of Davis and Elkins College, and has been home to a social center, a college administration building, and has housed the office of the president and other officials of the college. Halliehurst and her neighbor, Graceland, the summer home that belonged to Davis, would host elaborate social and political gatherings long before they belonged to Davis & Elkins College. Halliehurst was donated along with a matching gatehouse that now houses the Office of Communications & Marketing.

6. Liberal Arts Hall, Davis and Elkins College

Constructed in 1924, this four-story brick structure holds classrooms and offices for faculty and administrators at Davis and Elkins College. The history of the college itself dates back to 1901, when area leaders of the Presbyterian Church began plans to develop an institution of higher learning in West Virginia. After key donations from Stephen Benton Elkins and Henry Gassaway Davis, the organizers created a Board of Trustees and began recruiting faculty and students for the small college which first held courses on a plot of land just south of Elkins. Classes began on September 21, 1904 and the college moved to its present location in 1926.

7. Henry Gassaway Davis Statue (Elkins)

This statue on the corner of Randolph Avenue and Sycamore Street commemorates the life of Henry Gassaway Davis, an early political leader who represented West Virginia in the Senate from 1871-1883. Davis' greatest influence was promoting the development of railroads, perhaps appropriate given the fact that his first job was working as a brakeman for a rail company in 1842. Davis worked to connect the West Virginia Central & Pittsburg Railway which connected Elkins to Charleston, WV. Davis & Elkins College is named after Henry Gassaway Davis due to his early support of the institution and his many efforts to build the city of Elkins. Davis may be best remembered as Alton B. Parker's running mate in 1904, the year that Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt became President. An identical statue to this one appears in Davis Park in Charleston.

8. Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church

Located at the intersection of Sycamore Street and Church Lane in Elkins, West Virginia, Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church is the first sight that greets visitors to the nearby Davis and Elkins College. While the church itself was not built until the mid-1890s a Presbyterian congregation had existed in the area since 1869, meeting in the “Old White” Church (one of two buildings that existed in the town then known as “Leading Creek” prior to the foundation of Elkins in 1890). The new church built for the Presbyterian congregation of Elkins between 1894 and 1895 was largely the brainchild of West Virginia Senator Henry Gassaway Davis, one of the town’s founders along with Senator Stephen B. Elkins. In addition to its connection to Davis the church also has associations with a number of prominent former Confederates, most notably its architect Charles E. Cassell and the minister who led its dedication ceremonies Moses Drury Hoge. The church is currently open every Sunday for services at 11:00 AM as well as for regularly scheduled community events.

9. Randolph County Community Arts Center

Built in 1928, St. Brendan’s Catholic Church served the Catholic community until 1999. In 2000, the Randolph County Community Arts Council purchased the building and following renovations, the center opened in 2001. The former sanctuary of the church is now referred to as the "Great Hall" and includes the original lighting fixtures and religious icons. The Arts Center hosts 16 exhibits, 24 concerts, and more than 100 art and music classes each year.

10. Old Brick Playhouse

Formerly the Randolph Garage Company, which was constructed in 1919, this late Edwardian style brick building is a contributing structure to the Downtown Elkins Historic District. In 1992, M&J Enterprises purchased the building and donated three quarters of it to The Old Brick Playhouse Company, a newly formed educational arts organization.

11. Darden Mill (Appalachian Forest Discovery Center and West Virginia Railroad Museum)

Darden Mill was built in 1902 to serve the burgeoning rail lines in Elkins. The building continued to operate as a mill until 1943, when it was sold and served as a retail space for several more decades. In the early twenty-first century, the Mill was acquired by Citizens for Historical Opportunity, Preservation, and Education (C-Hope). C-Hope restored the historic building, which is one of two original structures that remain of the Elkins rail yard. The Mill houses two organizations; the West Virginia Railroad Museum and the Appalachian Forest Discovery Center. The West Virginia Railroad Museum gathers, conserves, restores, and interprets the history of the railroad in West Virginia. The Appalachian Forest Discovery Center is devoted to educating the public about the culture and natural resources of sixteen counties in West Virginia and two in Maryland.

12. Riverside School

Riverside School was built in 1906 to serve the African American community of Elkins, West Virginia. Riverside was the only African American elementary school in Randolph County from 1905 to 1954. It was the only African American high school in Randolph County from 1928 to 1954. When segregation ended in 1954, the school closed its doors to students. Riverside School represents the history of segregated schooling in West Virginia. The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia added Riverside School to the Endangered Properties List in 2010.

13. Randolph County Courthouse

Built after the county seat moved from its former home in nearby Beverly in 1898, the Randolph County Courthouse on Randolph Avenue in Elkins, West Virginia is one of the most prominent examples of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in the state. While the structure is notable for its architecture, however, it is also noteworthy as the site of legal proceedings involving not one, but two West Virginia governors. These individuals, the state’s 16th governor Ephraim F. Morgan and 19th governor Herman Guy Kump, both appear in county court records from the building’s first year in operation, 1905. Through these figures, the Randolph County Courthouse is connected to much broader historical processes, particularly the history of the West Virginia Mine Wars and Great Depression. The courthouse remains in operation today, and is open from Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.

14. The Kump House

Completed in 1925, the Kump House was home to the family of Herman Guy Kump, a leading attorney and the 19th Governor of West Virginia. Kump was in office from 1933 to 1937 and is best known for his work promoting public education and working with the federal government to promote public works projects throughout the state during the Great Depression. Today the Kump house is owned by the city of Elkins and is home to the Kump Education Center, an organization that focuses on historic preservation and sustainability.

15. First Ward School

First Ward School served the Elkins community by educating students from 1909 to 1976. After a brief period of being a storage unit for the Randolph County Board of Education, the building was left to decay. C-Hope, Citizens for Historical Opportunity, Preservation, and Education, bought the abandoned building from the Randolph County Board of Education in 2009 for $1. The First Ward School building was then placed on the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia's Endangered Properties List with intent for renovation. Today, the building has been re-purposed as an affordable 55 or older apartment complex and is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

16. Taylor-Condry House

Situated at the southern end of Taylor Avenue, the Taylor-Condry House (also known as “Ednalea”) is one of the most unusual sights in Elkins, West Virginia. Built between 1880 and 1881, the Taylor-Condry House was designed by an unknown architect to replicate the outward appearance of President George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon, Virginia. Prior to the house’s construction the land upon which it was built formed part of Jacob Ward’s plantation, one of the largest in Randolph County with approximately 200 slaves. Ward willed the property to his son-in-law Andrew Taylor in 1866, who constructed his Mount Vernon-style home there twenty years later and deeded it to his son Blaine (a noted local politician) in 1904. The building is currently a private residence and is not open to the public.

This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.

Historic Elkins Driving Tour

Created by Brooks Bryant on November 13th 2018, 10:41:56 am.

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Description

This tour takes visitors on a short drive through historic downtown Elkins, a community established in 1890 and named in honor of industrialist, land speculator, and US Senator Stephen Elkins. The tour begins at the 1925 home of Herman Guy Kump, the 19th Governor of West Virginia, and includes local establishments such as the West Virginia Railroad Museum, the Randolph County Community Arts Center, and landmarks such as the statue of Henry Gassaway Davis and historic buildings on the Davis & Elkins Campus.

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Historic Elkins Driving Tour

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