Walking Tour of Historic Beverly, West Virginia

1. Beverly Cemetery

The Beverly Cemetery is located in the town of Beverly, WV, a short distance north of the commercial center, and is located within the Beverly Historic District. It is surrounded by few residences and vacant lots surrounding it to the north, east and south. The rippling Tygart Valley River and wooded areas are on the western side of the property. Beverly Cemetery is a rectangular section of land containing over 300 graves dating from 1768 to the modern era.

2. Beverly United Methodist Church

The Beverly United Methodist Church is the third structure to serve as a house of worship for the Beverly, West Virginia’s Methodists since European colonists arrived to the area in the late eighteenth century. The first, a log structure built on Court Street at an unknown date, was dismantled by federal troops occupying the town during the Civil War for use as building material in the construction of winter quarters. The second, at the same location, rose shortly after the war in 1867 and lasted until the construction of the current building on Main Street in 1890. The Methodist congregation of Beverly has hosted a number of prominent preachers during its time in existence, most notably Bishop Francis Asbury in 1788, the Reverend Lorenzo Dow in the 1830s, and the Reverend Samuel Clawson shortly thereafter. Through its connection to these individuals, the Beverly United Methodist Church and its congregation serve as a window into the development of the Methodist denomination in the area and nationwide. The church is currently open during regular services on Sundays.

3. Beverly Presbyterian Church

The Presbyterian church on Main Street in Beverly, West Virginia is the second such structure that has stood at that location, although a Presbyterian congregation has existed in the area since 1772. Built between 1869 and 1873 in the Victorian Gothic style, the current Beverly Presbyterian Church replaced an earlier building constructed in 1859. The congregation’s first church did not last long, being dismantled by federal troops for use in the construction of huts for winter quarters during their occupation of the town in the American Civil War. The huts in the immediate vicinity of the dismantled Presbyterian church’s former location on Main Street were the first attacked during Confederate General Thomas Rosser’s 1865 raid on Beverly, making the site of additional interest to the town’s Civil War history. The Beverly Presbyterian Church is currently open Tuesday to Thursday from 11 Am to 9 PM, Friday and Saturday from 11 Am to 10 PM, and Sunday from 10 AM to 3 PM.

4. The Jonathan and Laura Jackson Arnold House

The Jonathan Arnold House was the home of Laura Jackson Arnold, sister of Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. A strong Unionist, Laura opened her home to Union troops during the Civil War. Laura helped heal the wounded while also providing shelter and food. Prominent figures, like Union General George McClellan, passed through the home during the Civil War. Laura and her brother Thomas had once been very close, but due to their differing views on the question of secession, their relationship became antagonistic and the two never resolved their differences before Thomas's death in 1863. Because of her assistance to federal forces, Laura was praised by Union troops during the war and remembered with great respect and admiration by Union veterans after the war.

5. Lemuel Chenoweth House

This two-story homestead was built in 1856 by renowned bridge builder Lemuel Chenoweth. Upon entering this homestead museum, visitors are taken back to the late 18th century with authentic furnishings from the period and exhibits that tell the early history of the community. The home has been restored to match its original appearance thanks to the efforts of local preservationists and museum curator Randy Allan. The homestead overlooks the Tygart River and the Beverly bridge, constructed by Lemuel Chenoweth himself.

6. Former Bank of Beverly

Built in 1900 in the Neoclassical Revival style to house Beverly, West Virginia’s first bank, the former Bank of Beverly building is now one of four buildings owned and operated by the Beverly Heritage Center on Court Street. In operation for a little over three decades, the bank closed during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first “bank holiday” in March of 1933 and never reopened. From 2004 to 2012 a number of community organizations devoted to preserving the history of Beverly and the surrounding area collaborated in the establishment of the Beverly Heritage Center, which combined the bank building with the adjacent Old Beverly Courthouse, Hill building, and Bushrod Crawford house with the construction of a rear addition. As part of the heritage center, the Beverly Bank building is central to historical interpretation in the area. It also, however, serves as a window into the community’s past on its own merits, both through its association with its first president (Dr. Humboldt Yokum) and through its connection to the era of the Great Depression. Anyone interested in this history can learn more by visiting the Beverly Heritage Center, which is open Sunday to Thursday, 11 AM to 5 PM, and Friday and Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM.

7. Old Beverly Courthouse

Completed in 1815 in the Federal style, the Old Beverly Courthouse is one of four buildings owned and operated as part of the Beverly Heritage Center on Court Street. The building remained in use from the date of its construction until 1894, when the residents of Beverly constructed a new courthouse in a bid to keep the seat of Randolph County from moving to Elkins during the “Courthouse Wars” of the 1890s. After the new courthouse burned down under suspicious circumstances three years later, however, the county court records returned to the old courthouse, where they remained until the county seat moved to Elkins permanently at the end of the century. The history of the former courthouse reflects the fortunes of the town in the nineteenth century from its most prosperous years in the early decades to its eclipse by other communities in the decades that followed.

8. Hill Building

Built in 1907 to serve as a general store for Randolph County businessman Aries G. Hill, the Hill building was one of four adjacent structures on Court Street combined with a rear addition to become the Beverly Heritage Center in 2012. The building, which includes design features characteristic of the Neoclassical Revival architectural style popular at the time, replaced a wing of the Old Beverly Courthouse that served as a clerk’s office during Beverly’s time as the seat of Randolph County. After his service as a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War, Hill bounced around Randolph County searching for new economic opportunities before settling in Beverly as saloon-keeper John Feight’s clerk in 1902. By the time of his death in 1923 Hill had become one of the most prominent citizens of the area, and his former business (opened five years after his arrival in the town) is noteworthy as a product of the architectural renaissance in Beverly at the turn of the twentieth century. The Hill building became part of the Beverly Heritage Center in the early twenty-first century, which is open Sundays to Thursdays from 11 AM to 5 PM and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 AM to 6 PM.

9. Bushrod Crawford House

Built circa 1850 in the Federal architectural style popular in the mid-nineteenth century, the Bushrod Crawford House is one of four buildings owned and operated by the Beverly Heritage Center on Court Street in Beverly, West Virginia. Bushrod, along with his brother Absalom, operated a store in the portion of the building facing the street, while Bushrod resided in the other half. The Crawford brothers were both strong secessionists in the leadup to the American Civil War, with Bushrod running as the pro-secession nominee to represent Randolph County at the 1861 Virginia Secession Convention (an election Conditional Unionist John N. Hughes ultimately won). When Federal forces under General Gorge B. McClellan occupied Beverly after the Battle of Rich Mountain that same year, the Crawfords fled to eastern Virginia and McClellan claimed Bushrod’s home as his headquarters during his brief stay in the town. After the war, Bushrod returned to reclaim the building and lived there until his death in 1893. The structure is now part of the Beverly Heritage Center, a museum and community center dedicated to historical education and preservation in Randolph County. The center is open Sunday to Thursday, 11 AM to 5 PM and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 AM to 6 PM.

10. Beverly Heritage Center

Beverly Heritage Center preserves and operates a museum complex composed of four neighboring historic buildings: Beverly Bank, Randolph County Courthouse, Hill Building, and the Bushrod Crawford building. The idea to create this historic complex by connecting these four buildings by adding walkways and creating museum exhibits began in the 1990s, when local citizens and historic preservationists considered a variety of plans to revitalize the historic town and promote heritage tourism. Thanks to grants and donations, construction began in 2004 and was completed in 2012. Visitors to the complex are now able to tour each of these four buildings and view exhibits related to the area's Native inhabitants, the arrival of pioneer settlers, the Battle of Rich Mountain, the creation and importance of the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnmpike, the Civil War battles of central West Virginia, and daily life in this small community throughout the late 19th and 20th century.

11. Old Beverly Jail

The former jail building on Walnut Street in Beverly, West Virginia is the third such structure to house inmates in the community’s history. The first, a log structure completed in 1790 on the west side of Main Street, was quickly found inadequate to the town’s needs and was replaced by a stone structure on the other side of the street in 1813. The jail building on Walnut Street replaced the second jail in 1841 and remained Randolph County’s jail until the construction of one in the new county seat of Elkins in 1913. The 1841 jail and its predecessors are associated with prominent individuals from the town’s history, most notably Edward Hart (son of Declaration of Independence signer John Hart), local legend and frequent inmate Robert Ferguson, and J.F. Phares (the “bogus” sheriff). The 1841 jail is currently under renovation and historic objects from the building are on display at the Beverly Heritage Center.

12. Humboldt Yokum House

This Queen Anne style home was built by Dr. Humboldt Yokum, a son of Dr. and Mrs. George W. Yokum, in 1890. Humboldt went to West Virginia University and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia to further pursue his studies, graduating from Jefferson in 1885. Humboldt grew up in the house next door to this two story home in Beverly, WV. The building just south of the Humboldt House was Dr. Humboldt's office and was built to mimic the style of his home. The Humboldt Yokum House is located in the Beverly Historic District and has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Walking Tour of Historic Beverly, West Virginia

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