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St. Francis of Assisi School - 2017 photo

St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School was built in 1927, with additions in 1941, 1953, 1963, and a new gymnasium in early 2000.

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School

This tour takes residents and visitors to Saint Albans to many different historical landmarks including the Ravenswood House, the Chesapeake and Ohio Depot, and the Chuck Yeager Memorial Rocket. The tour also includes several historical markers, cemeteries, and historic homes and buildings. 

Historical Tour of Saint Albans, West Virginia 

The original school building was built in 1932 and consisted of only four rooms for students to use. In 1940, four more rooms were added along with a gym and a kitchen. The school stayed that way until 1963, when money was provided for the building of five more classes, four specialty rooms, a library, and a&nbsp;new gym. Over time minor changes were added until 1993.&nbsp;The original building is still being used today along with the new parts it is connected to. The school has also recently added a football field behind the school building. From
1933 to 1940, the new school was called Stop 16 Elementary School, with grades
one through six. The new masonry school had two floors with four classrooms.
The first principal / teacher was Joseph Kinney. In the fall of 1940, the
junior high was added and the name was changed to Carter G. Woodson Elementary
and Junior High School, with grades seven through nine added. The building was
enlarged to include a gymnasium / cafeteria and more classrooms. High school
students attend Garnet High School in Charleston. There were less than 200
students in grades one through nine during those years of existence.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The black school ceased to exist in 1956
due to integration of black and white students in the same school. The last
principal at Carter G. Woodson School was Charles Preston. The name was then
change to McKinley Junior High School mthen&nbsp;and some students from St. Albans Junior
High began attending there also. 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Former student, Eugene Washington,
remembered that athletics, including basketball and football, was a big part of
the school. "Homer W. Price was the coach," he said.

&nbsp; Carter
G. Woodson students also enjoyed plays and carnivals, girls took home economics
and boys took industrial arts in grades seven, eight and nine. The school year
ended with a prom, class day and commencement. During the school's years of
operation, students were taught culture, integrity, diligence and awareness of
serf-esteem. Also, the school gained special recognition in various fields of
endeavors.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; The
school is named after two distinguished Americans, both with ties to the
Kanawha Valley. Carter G. Woodson, known as the "Father of Black
History," holds an outstanding position in early 20th century American
history. Woodson authored numerous scholarly books and founded Negro History
Week in 1926 (precursor to Black History Month). Born to former slaves in
Virginia, 1895, a twenty-year-old Carter entered Douglass High School in
Huntington, WV, where he received his diploma in less than two years and in
1912, he received his Ph.D. in history from Harvard University. He served as
dean of Howard University and WV State College.

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The 2nd&nbsp;distinguished American is William
McKinley became the 25th U.S. president in 1893. McKinley actually
resided in the Kanawha Valley and Charleston in 1863 as he served in the Union
Army during the Civil War at Ft. Scammon. His second term came to a tragic end
in September 1901 when he was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz.

The building was built in 1932 as a school for African-American students. The school has had many different names over the years. First known as Stop 16 and then Carter Woodson Jr. High School. When the schools became integrated to host all races the name became McKinley Junior High (now McKinley Middle School) in honor of President William McKinley. 

McKinley Middle School

Throughout 1940 and early 1941, as World War 2 raged across Europe, American military production was ramping up even before Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Indeed, well before even Roosevelt’s famous speech about the necessity of an American “arsenal of democracy” in December 1940, the massive Naval Ordnance Plant (NOP) in South Charleston, West Virginia had been reawakened from seventeen years of hibernation. Its two halves were leased out to corporations under government contract: Carnegie-Illinois Steel to manufacture naval armor plate, and General Machinery Ordnance Corporation to produce naval gun barrels. As Carnegie-Illinois embarked on a $50,000,000 expansion to the NOP facilities, it became rapidly clear that the original 85 houses and 32 bungalows built on the Navy property were nowhere near enough to accommodate the flood of new workers. In August 1940, the famous steel firm notified the Navy that by October of the following year, they expected their workforce to more than quadruple from the current 400 employed at their South Charleston operation.Undeveloped land was soon purchased by the government 7.5 miles west of the Plant in St. Albans, on the south bank of the Kanawha River. On November 18, 1940, the Navy signed contract NOy-4488 with a construction firm from Wheeling, West Virginia, to complete 450 housing units at an estimated cost of $1,527,000. And in January 1941, Lieutenant Commander Richard de Charms, Jr., was assigned as Officer In Charge of the contract’s execution. This was the standardized practice for the Navy’s Bureau of Yards and Docks (BuYards--replaced in postwar restructuring with NAVFAC, or Naval Facilities Engineering Command), which typically oversaw construction of all the Navy’s short facilities, to ensure the honest execution of the project by civilian contractors to the Navy’s specifications.De Charms also served as a liaison to the Naval Ordnance Plant’s commandant, Captain Roy Pfaff, as the NOP’s 86-man Marine garrison was expected to provide police, firefighting, and security services to the new development. In April 1941, De Charms advised BuYards to fold the development’s administration into that of the NOP.His recommendation was accepted, but not before 153 units had already been occupied. Formal administration of Ordnance Park was transferred to the Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd), and Captain Pfaff was officially put in charge of the new housing on Sept. 11, 1941. Even before the transfer occurred, however, the commandant was already in the thick of a fight with the Navy to keep Ordnance Park’s rent from being raised, since only months before the Park’s completion the Federal Housing Administration (created at the height of the New Deal in 1934) standardized rates nationwide for federally-owned housing--the result being that families freshly-moved into their new Ordnance Park duplexes only two months before suddenly had their rents raised.Pfaff and De Charms campaigned furiously against the rate hike, firing a series of letters and telegrams off to BuYards. Pfaff pointed to a petition from families living in Ordnance Park and cited the “bad effect on morale” it would have throughout the workforce. Rates for the St. Albans families, he argued, were already higher than those in Armor and Bungalow Parks (at the NOP facility), and the combined low rates of these three developments, which still had space available, were keeping private housing throughout the Kanawha Valley affordable for war industry workers.It was to no avail. BuYards would not budge from the FHA’s new pricing. Perhaps it came as a relief to Pfaff when, on July 1, 1942, administration of Ordnance Park was transferred again--this time to the FHA. W.T. Burton, chief administrator of the nearby FHA development at Kenna Homes (also built for war workers in nearby South Charleston, only a mile from the NOP), was also given charge of Ordnance Park. By July 1942, Ordnance Park had rented out approximately half of its duplex units, and eligibility was opened up to all war workers in the Kanawha Valley, not just those of the NOP. Nearby chemical plants belonging to Carbide and Carbon (later Union Carbide) and Westvaco, both in South Charleston, or the B.F. Goodrich rubber plant in nearby Institute, were also churning out products related to America’s war effort, and their workers could now find residence in St. Albans as well.Since the area around Ordnance Park was, at the time, relatively undeveloped, the community soon had its own school, church, and movie theater. Four playgrounds (still in use today, albeit with newer equipment) were provided for the workers’ children. Sewage facilities, a trash incinerator, and a building for the Park’s administration were also provided. House floorplans varied--newspapers list three, four, and five bedroom plans, while correspondence from Captain Pfaff also lists one and two room units as well, apparently for enlisted men or unmarried workers. This may simply be a difference in nomenclature.After the war’s end, the houses were sold to returning veterans, and many of the original duplex structures survive today--as does the original street layout. It is unclear at what point the development’s streets took on the names of Navy officers, as original plans show only numbered streets. Modern-day street signs have corrupted some of the original spellings, but the naming conventions follow a consistent pattern:Roosevelt Ave. - President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Commander-in-Chief.Knox Ave. - Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy, 1940-44Forrestal Ave. - James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, 1944-1947Bard Ave. - Ralph Bard, Asst. Secretary of the Navy, 1940-44Furlong Ave. - Chief of the Navy Bureau of Ordnance, 1937-1941Moreell Ave. (now misspelled “Morrell” on street signs) - Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, 1937-1943Pfaff St. - Captain Roy Pfaff, Inspector of Ordnance in Charge, Naval Ordnance Plant South Charleston.De Charms St. (now misspelled “DeCharmes” on street signs) - Officer in Charge of Contract NoY-4488. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ordnance Park was a neighborhood built to benefit the many families (mostly women) who worked at the Naval Ordnance Plant in South Charleston, WV, or B. F. Goodrich Rubber Plant in Institute, WV during WWII. &nbsp;MacCorkle Avenue was later constructed to accommodate increasing traffic. The homes were rentals until after WWII, when they were offered to returning veterans. &nbsp;There were 225 duplex houses with two different floor plans of two or three bedrooms. The community had a school, a church and a movie theater. &nbsp;Four playgrounds are still being used today by current residents. The street names throughout Ordnance Park are named after President Franklin D. Roosevelt and prominent naval officers and contractors that worked on the site.

Ordnance Park was built in 1941 to provide housing for a growing population of wartime workers in West Virginia's Kanawha Valley. As part of the Navy's new low-cost defense housing program, the Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks was responsible for overseeing its construction. The development could house up to 450 families after completion, with priority initially being given to workers and their families employed at the Naval Ordnance Plant 7.5 miles away in South Charleston. Police and firefighting services were supplied by the Ordnance Plant's Marine garrison until after the war, when rentals were discontinued and the houses were sold to returning veterans. Many of the original duplexes remain, and many more have simply undergone structural modifications, leaving Ordnance Park as a unique window into defense housing projects of the era.

Ordnance Park

In 1963, Samuel D. Kessell found artifacts on the Kanawha River bank near the West Virginia State Department of Highways maintenance garage on MacCorkle Avenue SW, St. Albans, WV. After excavations organized by West Virginia Archaeological and Economic Survey (1964-1966), Marshall University, Cultural Analysis Inc., and colleges in Michigan and North Carolina (through the 1990s) it has been determined those artifacts are 8,000 to 6,000 years old. It was placed on the national Register of Historic Places in 1974.The depth at which the artifacts were found is significant, eighteen feet below the surface with forty-one different zones. Each zone where different occupational artifacts were found were separated by sterile sand or clay; meaning there were no artifacts found in the sand or clay. This archaeological site was unique because it is one of the deepest stratified (arranged in layers) sites in North America.Sign states: <blockquote>“Discovered in 1963 by Sam Kessell, recognized as one of the oldest and deepest stratified sites of the Early Archaic period (8,000 – 10,000 BC). Artifacts recovered document early inhabitants who camped here along the Kanawha River were small hunter-gather groups with ancestral links to modern Native Americans. Site listed on National Register in 1974”</blockquote>Among the many artifacts found there were only seven different types of projectile points. This site has helped us to understand the early Archaic Period and the early inhabitants of what is now St. Albans, WV.<blockquote>These seven points were:</blockquote><blockquote>1. Kanawha Stemmed Point</blockquote><blockquote>2. LeCroy Point</blockquote><blockquote>3. St. Albans - Notched Point</blockquote><blockquote>4. MacCorkle Stemmed Point</blockquote><blockquote>5. Kirk Corner - Notched Point</blockquote><blockquote>6. Charleston Corner-Notched Point</blockquote><blockquote>7. Kessell Point </blockquote>

St. Albans Archaeological Site was discovered in 1963 when Samuel D. Kessell found artifacts on the Kanawha River bank. This site along the Kanawha River shows that Native Americans lived here in 7,900 B.C.  This is one of the oldest recorded sites in North America.  It has been said to be the oldest continuously inhabited area in North America.  Charcoal was found 45’ deep. Someone has lived here continuously for ten thousand years.

St. Albans Archaeological Site

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Legendary pilot Charles
E. Yeager, also known as Chuck, was born in 1923 and raised near the small town
of Hamlin, West Virginia. As a young boy, Yeager loved to be outdoors climbing
trees, fishing or hunting. Yeager was always an average student, though his
mathematic ability and physical dexterity set him apart. Albert Hal Yeager,
Chuck’s father, was the owner of a natural gas drilling company. This
environment allowed his son to hone his skill with machines, experience that
would be useful to his future career. 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In September of 1941, at the age of 18, Yeager enlisted
in the U.S. Army Air Corps just months before the United States joined World
War II. Yeager was trained in Arizona and California to become a pilot and in
1943 he earned his wings. The new pilot earned a reputation as a skilled,
instinctive flier. In his military career, he flew 61 combat missions. &nbsp;He was shot down during one mission and with
help from the French survived to return to combat months later. His reputation only
grew after he downed five enemy planes in the course of a single mission. 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Yeager is most well-known for his record breaking flight
in the Bell XS-1 in October of 1947. While working as a test pilot under Col.
Albert Boyd, Yeager was chosen to be the first to try to pass the speed of
sound with an innovative, rocket-powered Bell X plane. After several other
failures Yeager finally managed to break through over the Mojave Desert on
October 14, 1947 in the plane he fondly referred to as the ‘Glamorous Glennis.’
Years later, in 1953, Yeager and teammate Jack Ridley set a new record by
flying the newest Bell X-1A at Mach 2.44.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For these fantastic achievements, Yeager was given many
notable awards. Most prestigious among these was being inducted into the
Aviation Hall of Fame in 1973, a great honor for Yeager. Besides this honor,
Yeager has also become namesake for a scholarship at Marshall University, a
major roadway, and a Charleston airport in his home state of West Virginia. His
military awards include the Purple Heart, Silver and Bronze Star, and the
Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This memorial rocket, erected
in 1970 by the Explorer Scouts, commemorates Yeager's bravery in testing the
first rocket propelled plane. Notable guests at the revealing were Chuck’s mother
Mrs. Hal Yeager and Congressman John Slack. The Honest John Army missile was
brought from a Lexington Army Depot for the occasion. During the dedication ceremony
in July 4, 1970, three Air Force jets flew over the site to show their respect
for General Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager. Yeager is a local and national legend. His
monument stands proudly in Roadside Park of St. Albans, West Virginia as a
testimony to his heroic scientific and military accomplishments.

	October 14, 1947: pilot Chuck Yeager becomes the first pilot to break the sound barrier at a speed of 700 mph (Mach 1.06). The innovative Bell XS-1 with its rocket-powered engines propelled the West Virginia born pilot to a height of 43,000 feet where he became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound. Years later, in December of 1953, Yeager topped the new record by flying at 1650 mph, twice the speed of sound. This monument stands to honor his achievement on that day in 1947.

Chuck Yeager Memorial Rocket

The land the city of
Saint Albans rests upon was once owned by George Washington. Washington
purchased 2,000 acres of land from Charles Thurston, a lieutenant of the French
and Indian War. Washington’s “Cole” River property encompassed all of
present-day Saint Albans from the Kanawha River to the Coal River. It was
willed at Washington’s death to his niece Elizabeth Spotswood, who would go on
to sell a piece of the land to Morris Hudson, the first official settler to
Saint Albans. Washington’s nephew, Samuel Washington, lived in Saint Albans for
a time and is buried in the nearby Bangor Cemetery. A historical marker in
Roadside Park recognizes the city’s connection to the first president of the
United States.

A second maker in the
park is dedicated to remembering the original Saint Albans – Nitro Bridge which
worked to connect the two towns separated by the Kanawha River. Built in 1934
as a toll bridge, the “Dick” Henderson Memorial Bridge as it was named in 1999,
allowed the two cities to grow together and provided a vital link between WV
Route 25 and US Route 60 for citizens in the area. Due to safety concerns, this
original structure was torn down in 2013 and a replacement bridge was built. The
Saint Albans Roadside Park was used as a viewing area for the demolition of the
historic bridge. 

Also located in the
Roadside Park is a monument to General Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager, the first
pilot to break the sound barrier at a speed of 700 mph. Born in Hamlin, West
Virginia in 1923, Yeager was the first man to fly faster than the speed of
sound. Explorer Post 376, Boy Scouts of America, erected a memorial rocket in
Roadside Park in 1970 to honor Yeager’s historic achievement.

Another recent&nbsp;addition
to the park, the Rosie the Riveter Memorial Park, opened in 2012. At its
opening ceremony, the park was recognized as the only community park in the
nation to honor the work women did on the home front during the Second World War. The park was spearheaded by Rosies in the area and their families. This
small section of Roadside Park honors the work women did during the war and the
groundbreaking way they shifted gender barriers as they stepped up and served our
country. 

Located along MacCorkle
Avenue (Route 60) and bordering the Kanawha River in Saint Albans, the Roadside
Park also offers many recreational facilities including playground equipment, a
boat ramp, overnight camping sites, picnic shelters, and more. The park also
hosts the annual Saint Albans Riverfest, an outdoor event held each June which
brings the community of Saint Albans and surrounding areas together. Altogether,
the Saint Albans Roadside Park is a great public space connecting citizens with
the history and culture of the city they are living in.&nbsp;The Washington's Land historical marker reads:<blockquote>"Washington’s Land – George Washington’s “Cole”
 River Tract of 2,000 acres was
surveyed by John Floyd in 1774 and patented April 12, 1774. Bounded by the Coal River Kanawha Rivers,
“5 miles and 88 poles”, it embraced the site of St. Albans."</blockquote>

The Saint Albans Roadside Park was constructed in 1948 and offers a great combination of recreation and history in one convenient location for the citizens of the community. The lower boat dock and parking area was once the city base/soft ball field for city leagues.
With several historical markers located in the park, visitors can be connected with the history of Saint Albans while they enjoy their time outdoors. A marker telling of George Washington’s connection to the city, a marker dedicated to the old Saint Albans – Nitro Bridge (1934-2013), a monument honoring Chuck Yeager, and a new Rosie the Riveter Memorial Park are all located within Roadside Park.

St. Albans Roadside Park

The station was closed around 1963 and remained vacant until around 1991 when the city bought it. The depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Restored in the 1990s, it is now operated by the C&amp;O Model Railroad Club. The tracks run right through the middle of the city where the station is still standing and is used once or twice a year for tourist or people who live there to get on and ride a train on a day trip. The Chesapeake and Ohio Depot was originally built by Collis P. Huntington in 1871. Coalsmouth grew owing to new trade and business during the late 1800s. Lumber and planning mills were being established throughout the area. This was a great opportunity for a railroad station to be established due to the demand of lumber and coal transport in the area.  In 1871, Huntington wanted to have the name of the city of Coalsmouth changed to St. Albans. Due to his power and influence, the WV Legislature approved the name change and it became official in January of 1872. Unfortunately, the town’s people were unaware and unhappy about the change. It is said that the name change came as a favor to Mr. Huntington's Chief Council, Mr. H.C. Parson. The name came from Mr. Parson's home in St. Albans, Vermont.  The design of the original Chesapeake and Ohio Depot was built with two separate waiting rooms that separated women, and general, according to record. This depot was reconstructed and moved in 1906. At this time the depot served as a freight only station until its re-construction had taken place in 1910 after a fire destroyed it. In 1910, the station was reconstructed and once again became both a freight and passenger station. It remained a passenger station until the 1960s. Different means of transportation became popular and the depot closed down in 1963. However, the ferry boat still remained in operation until the later 1930s because its tolls were cheaper than that of the new Nitro-St. Albans Kanawha River toll Bridge which was built in 1934.  Today, the Rail Road remains an active part of the St. Albans area. The railways are still used to transport both coal and passengers. Although the C&amp;O Depot is no longer operating as a station, it is used as a historical marker and is open to the public the second Saturday of each month for all to enjoy its rich purpose and history.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Depot was built in 1906 and located along one of the city's original brick streets. The numerous tall windows, high ceilings, and extended overhangs on the roof make this one of the more architecturally detailed depots in West Virginia. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Collis P. Huntington brought the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad to St. Albans and the city's first depot was built in 1871 on Fifth Street near a ferry that served cargo and passengers alike. The construction of a railroad bridge in 1907 led to the C&O Depot being moved and rebuilt on 4th Avenue in St.  Albans. As passenger service declined in the 1950s, the C&O railroad reduced service between Huntington and Charleston as more residents and travelers preferred to travel by bus or personal automobile. The railroad discontinued service at this depot in 1963 but local residents have worked to preserve the building. 

St. Albans Chesapeake and Ohio Depot

Main Street St. Albans was a growing and thriving business district in the early 1900s. The new Coal River and Western Railroad were built in 1906, the thriving lumber business had numerous sawmills in town, and the coal trains passed through town daily. The Midland Trail (U.S. Rt 60) also went down Main Street St. Albans.	St. Albans downtown was at the center of an important transportation corridor. It was quickly rebuilt after the disastrous fires of 1906 which destroyed some of the downtown areas. These rebuilt structures were designed by Walter F. Martens, who built the West Virginia Governor's Mansion. The new brick buildings that replaced the frame buildings included two banks, a furniture store, two lodges, and a general mercantile store. Later a theater and drug store, as well as several clothing stores, a hotel, churches, and several specialty shops were put on Main Street. The people of St. Albans rebuilt their town in a manner that reflected its newfound prosperity. 	Today, there are many shops and restaurants on Main Street including a flower shop, Shucker's Seafood, The Café, hair salons, Little Bit of Heaven Cupcake Shop, and the Alban Theater. Locally produced plays, music, and other entertainment are performed at the Alban Theater and coffee shops on Main Street.

St. Albans Main Street Historic District is a small part of the town of St. Albans, West Virginia with shops and restaurants. It was added to the National Register in 2000, and it contains 22 structures dating back to 1906, when two fires destroyed some of downtown St. Albans. 


St. Albans Main Street Historic District

Mr. Thompson purchased land from Elizabeth Spotswood, George Washington's niece (1,000 acres) near the Coal River and moved his family here in 1816. &nbsp;He built a large stone house near here called Muckmore (near the present day Loop) which burnt down in the 1860’s. &nbsp;Mr. Thompson and James Teays built a 180 foot long covered toll bridge in 1831 across the Coal River along the James River and Kanawha Turnpike. Mr. Thompson died in 1837 and is buried at College Hill Cemetery, along with much of his family. Both he and Samuel Washington’s family knew each other before settling here and coming from Culpepper, Va.

One of the oldest cemeteries in St. Albans. The site of St. Albans founder, Philip Rootes Thompson's grave. 

College Hill/Thompson Cemetery

<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"></a>Railroad magnate Collis Potter Huntington constructed the house known as “The Beeches” in 1873-74 for his nephew, Henry Edwards Huntington. Henry made the move to West Virginia from New York to run the operations of his uncle’s sawmill. The house quickly came to be known by the name “The Beeches” due to the abundant number of beech trees on the property.2Upon completion of the house in 1874, Henry and his wife Mary Alice Prentice&nbsp;occupied the house. Within two years, the young couple would own the home as well as the sawmill started by Collis. Henry was also active and successful in his uncle’s newest railroad venture, the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&amp;O Railroad). This success made it necessary for the couple to return to New York in 1876.2&nbsp;Henry went on to become one of the country's leading financiers and a collector of art and rare books. In his will, he left part of his fortune to establish The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino California. 4After the Huntington family left St. Albans, “The Beeches” was bought by the C&amp;O Railroad, which later sold the estate to the Montague Manufacturing Company. The superintendent of the sawmill once owned by Huntington used the house as a home. In 1903, the Montague Manufacturing Company filed bankruptcy and “The Beeches” was sold at auction. John&nbsp;Van Rensselaer&nbsp;Skinner purchased the structure for $3,750.1 &nbsp;Skinner was also a railroad man and eventually become the owner of the Coal River Railroad. Due to his many investments in coal, timber and real estate, he was among the wealthy citizens of Kanawha County. Skinner left “The Beeches” to the Woman’s Club of St. Albans in his will in 1948&nbsp;for use as a culture and education center for the community.1&nbsp;The club sold the house to Charles and Pam Smith in 2015 due to the cost of maintaining the home.&nbsp;2.The Smiths did extensive renovations and upgrades to the house, saving it from almost certain demolition. In 2018, they sold "The Beeches" to Dennis and Virginia Painter. 5







The original architecture of the house was a variation of the Italianate style; however, Skinner made significant changes to the home, adding a number of neoclassical details. Surviving original details include a shallow hipped roof, double front doors with arched glass panels a hewn sandstone block foundation and the parlor's&nbsp;mid-19th-century fireplace with an arched opening. The deep eaves were probably originally bracketed in the Italianate style; however, the brackets seen today were replaced by Skinner. Additional changes made to the original structure are a classical style porte cochere complete with a triangular pediment, fluted metal Ionic columnns, and flush siding.1, 3The interior also features two five-sided, one-story bays with window seats, forming a visual east-west axis between the dining room and sitting room. 3&nbsp;"The Beeches" was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. 3

Construction of this historic mansion began in 1873. The following year, it became the home of Henry Edwards Huntington, the nephew of railroad magnate Collis P. Huntington. The Huntington family named their estate "The Beeches" and it later became known as the Huntington-Skinner House. The property changed hands several times in the 20th century and served as the home of the Woman's Club of St. Albans for many years. 

Huntington-Skinner House (also known as "The Beeches")

<div>St. Albans High School was organized in 1913 under the supervision of Mr. Charles P. Guice. The building used was a six room red brick building, situated just above the graded Central School building (demolished 1961).&nbsp; There was also a small concrete block building just across the street from the main high school building. Which was used as a classroom by the commercial department. Mr. Guice was superintendent for six years.</div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Mr. M. P. Summers became principal of the high school in 1922, serving two terms as principal and then was made superintendent of the St. Albans schools. &nbsp;Mr. John E. Hughes succeeded Mr. Summers as principal and served two years from 1924-1925.</div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The attendance at the high school had been increasing so rapidly that a larger building was needed. The St. Albans Independent District School Board decided to build a new high school building. &nbsp;The new building was finished for the 1924-25 term of students with Mr. John E. Hughes as principal. The building contained fourteen large well ventilated and well lighted rooms. It is equipped with a modern hot air heating plant and a modern clock system. It has a well equipped commercial department and chemistry laboratory.</div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;From 1925 to 1930 the high school had no principal but was under the supervision of Mr. Summers. For the term 1930-1931 the school board appointed Mr. W. A. Burgess as principal with Mr. H. C. VanCamp as superintendent and again in 1931-32 Mr. W. A. Burgess was appointed principal and Mr. L. E. Lovenstein as superintendent. &nbsp;Mr. B. E. Liggett as made principal in 1932.&nbsp;When a new High School was opened in 1954, this became the Jr. High. It closed in 1990 and is used as a restaurant warehouse. A severe fire occurred at the school (now a restaurant warehouse) in March 2018.&nbsp; A marker erected at the school on Washington's 200th birthday is still there. It reads: <blockquote>"George Washington acquired 2,000 acres of this land by a patent, dated April 12, 1784. Issued to him by Benjamin Harrison, Governor of Virginia. Washington obtained this tract upon a survey made by John Floyd, April 16, 1774, with a land Warrant issued to Charles&nbsp;Mynn&nbsp; Thurston, a lieutenant in the French and Indian War. It bordered on the Great Kanawha River and Coal Rivers, five miles and eighty poles. Erected by the State of West Virginia, 1932". </blockquote>

This school building was finished for the 1924-25 term of students from 8-12th grade with Mr. John E. Hughes as first principal. The building contained fourteen large well ventilated and well lighted rooms. Equipped with a modern hot air heating plant and clock system, the school was also equipped with a commercial department and chemistry laboratory. A gym was added in 1927. When a new high school was opened in 1954, this became the junior high. It closed in June, 1990, as a junior high and is used today as a restaurant warehouse. The school closed in 1990.

St. Albans Junior High and High School

Hansford Elementary School, a school attended by current St. Albans Mayor David James Scott, was among the first schools in St. Albans, WV when it was built in 1919. The school was ready for occupancy in December that year, and by the next month, January of 1920, the school opened and accepted students under Barbara White as the principal. The school initially had 135 students from grades one through six. By 1930, the school population had increased enough that an additional room was required to house more than 200 students, and an addition to the building was made to serve their needs. Throughout the decade, the school saw more students each year as the population of the surrounding areas increased. By 1947, 418 students attended Hansford Elementary, with 350 students residing in city limits and the other 68 students being bused in from the Spring Hill area. There were then 12 teachers at the school, doubled from the 6 who taught at the school in 1934. In 1946, to accommodate the school's continuing growth, the Kanawha County Board of Education approved the purchase of an 8-room house adjacent to the lot the school was on. From its opening in 1920, the number of children attending the school had more than tripled. The growth continued throughout the 1950s, with a consistent addition of about 15 students per year, which was attributed to the growth of the chemical industry and Chemical Valley. This resulted in the expansion of suburbs in areas such as Saint Albans. West Virginia’s population peaked around that time, with a little over two million people living in the state at the time of the 1950 census. However, the school declined in population over the next two decades, highlighted by the 1975 to 1976 school years which saw only four students transfer into Hansford, while thirty-seven students transferred out. In 1974, the Kanawha County Board of Education unanimously decided to adopt 325 recommended books for the 46,000 students across 124 public schools in the district at that time. The selection included works such as Animal Farm by George Orwell, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the Autobiography of Malcom X, and works from “father of modern psychiatry” Sigmund Freud, black rights advocate Eldridge Cleaver, and poet Allen Ginsberg. However, the decision was met with harsh criticism and years of protests that ultimately caused a large enough disruption to cause some schools to fail. A month after the decision, board member Alice Moore challenged the content of the books, both for their language and the topics they covered. A conservative and strong opponent of sex education, Moore, with the help of 27 ministers, caused a delay in the purchase of the textbooks, backed by petitions that garnered signatures of over 12,000 residents. By the opening of school that year on September 3, attendance had already diminished 20 percent. After a 3-2 vote to buy the books anyway, protests reached businesses, plants, and even mines, where 3,500 workers participated in a sympathy strike. Although the Kanawha Circuit Court prohibited protestors from interfering with school board operations, their outrage could not be ignored. Violence erupted in the forms of shootings, fires to cars and homes, and schools being dynamited and vandalized, during which time the New York Times reported on October 8 that 18 protestors were arrested. The school had only closed for four days on September 12. People were demanding resignations and calling for the death of the three board members who approved the texts, and denied proposals to put the books in public libraries to be accessed only with parental permission. A proposal based off Moore’s agenda to ban any texts that “pry into home life, teach racial hatred, undermine religious, ethnic, or racial groups, encourage sedition, insult patriotism, teach that an alien form of government is acceptable, use the name of God in vain, or use offensive language,” (10) was also rejected. Violence continued into the following year. Extremist groups soon became involved with the issue, such as the Ku Klux Klan and John Birch Society. This fueled tensions further, and Reverend Marvin Horan was sentenced for plotting to bomb the schools in 1975. After his sentencing, the violence lapsed, but sporadic protesting continued through 1977, effectively leaving an entire school district in disarray. Eventually, the school board and several committees of families agreed to abide by most of Moore’s stipulations, and the majority of the controversial books were put into libraries to be checked out only with parental permission. In 1977, the Kanawha County Board of Education looked to close and consolidate schools across the county to save money. The Hansford Elementary School was selected to be closed along with several others, and it was expected that the total savings would amount to a little over $243,000, with approximately $175,000 coming from shedding workers’ salaries and benefits. The closing of Hansford itself saved the Board $8,522. Hansford PTA President Patrick Hart presented a petition signed by 320 to the board asking for the school not to be closed but to no avail. The remaining students were assigned to other schools, most of which went to Central Elementary, which was originally built in 1900 before it was demolished and rebuilt in 1963. Others went to Highlawn and Belvil. Upon its closing, the city of Saint Albans was quick to purchase the building from the board for $160,000, of which $145,000 came from a grant by the U.S. Office of HUD, with the remaining funds from the St. Albans Library Board. The building was partially demolished in 1990, then opened as the Hansford Community Center to accommodate a senior citizens’ center as well as youth recreations, which it still does today.

Hansford Elementary School in St. Albans, WV was built in 1919. After opening in 1920, the elementary school became part of massive, violent protests that swept through the county and made national headlines in order to censor books that today are common reads. In an era of conservatism where sex education was frowned upon and racist ideals were widely accepted, authors such as Malcom X, George Orwell, and Sigmund Freud caused disruptions within the Kanawha County education system that lasted for years, garnering involvement from groups such as the KKK and causing shootings and bombings. The chaos ultimately led to the school board submitting to the will of angry parents in a time when women’s and anti-racism movements had not yet affected the entire country. The Kanawha County Board of Education succumbed to the damage of protests and loss of attendance, and consolidated schools in 1977, around the end of the protests, at which time Hansford Elementary was closed. Only a portion of the original school stands today. It is currently the Hansford Center, a senior citizen center owned and operated by the city of St. Albans.

Hansford Elementary School

Note: The Poe family did indeed know Judge Drew and may have visited there as it was an Inn along the James River and Kanawha Turnpike in the mid 1800s, but the Raven was not written there. In fact, the Thompson and Poe families knew each other prior to Philip Thompson moving here from Virginua.

Ravenswood (ca. 1833), McQueen Blvd.. Georgian (Classic Revival) style house built by Phillip Thompson for his son and is the third oldest house in St. Albans, WV. Judge J. B. Drew, one of its owners, invented the story that Poe had written the “Raven” there. Also called Raven’s Court. A dairy was once run from the basement. Featured on Home and Garden TV in 2004.




Ravenswood House

Birkett Davenport Fry was born in Kanawha County, Virginia (now West Virginia) on June 24, 1822, the son of Thornton Fry and Eliza Thompson Fry. He attended the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) for a year before enrolling at the United States Military Academy at West Point. His stint at West Point, like his time at VMI, proved to be brief and fruitless for he left before graduating. After, he read law and passed the bar in 1846. Military service, however, beckoned again. Fry was commissioned a first lieutenant and fought in the Mexican War. In 1849, he moved to California and opened a law office in Sacramento. While living in California, in the mid-1850s, he joined William Walker on his filibuster expedition to Nicaragua. Fry saw combat at Rivas and Granada, being promoted to brigadier general after the former engagement. At some point, he was ordered to return to California to raise additional forces. While he succeeded in recruiting reinforcements, Fry failed to secure transportation to Nicaragua and thus his involvement with Walker’s filibuster expedition came to an end. In 1859, he moved to Alabama, where he engaged in cotton textile manufacturing.  When the Civil War broke out, Fry was commissioned colonel of the 13th Alabama Infantry. During the conflict, he was wounded several times. At the Battle of Seven Pines, while leading his regiment, he was wounded in the right hand. Fry received a ghastly wound to his left arm, just below the shoulder, at the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam), but refused amputation. Miraculously, he avoided infection and survived. In May 1863, at the Battle of Chancellorsville, he suffered a minor wound while commanding a brigade. During the Battle of Gettysburg, Fry participated in Pickett’s Charge. In the lead up to the failed Confederate assault, shrapnel from federal artillery struck his shoulder. During the advance, near the stone wall, Fry was shot through the thigh. As Confederate forces retreated, federal troops captured him. He was first sent to Fort McHenry near Baltimore and then to Johnson’s Island, a prisoner of war camp for Confederate officers located in Sandusky Bay on Lake Erie. In 1864, Fry returned to Confederate lines after being exchanged and participated in the early stages of the Siege of Petersburg. On May 24 of that year, he was promoted to brigadier general, a rank which he held until the end of the war.  When the conflict ended in 1865, Fry fled to Cuba, where he lived for a few years. In 1868, he returned to the United States and commenced a successful business career first in Alabama and then in Florida. In 1881, he moved to Richmond, Virginia. There, he once again became involved in cotton textile manufacturing, spending roughly the next decade as president of a cotton mill. On January 21, 1891, Fry died in Richmond. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama.  In 2017, as part of its Civil War sesquicentennial project, the West Virginia Highway Historical Marker Program of the West Virginia Archives and History installed a marker dedicated to Birkett Davenport Fry. It stands along Kanawha Terrace near St. Albans High School in St. Albans, West Virginia.

A veritable jack-of-all-trades with an insatiable thirst for adventure, Birkett Davenport Fry (1822-1891) practiced law, fought in the Mexican War, participated in a filibuster expedition, manufactured cotton textiles, and served as a colonel and brigadier general for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Most notably, he was wounded several times during the conflict and partook in Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. 

Birkett Davenport Fry Highway Historical Marker

Bangor Cemetery is situated on land that was&nbsp;originally the property of George Washington. upon his death in 1799, it came into the possession of Elizabeth Spotswood, daughter of Augustus Washington. She in turn sold the property to Morris Hudson around 1810. Hudson and his family moved onto the property and began construction of their home. It was not until 1825 that Hudson finished construction of the first church built in present day St. Albans east of the Coal River.&nbsp; &nbsp; Bangor Cemetery, once known as Hudson Cemetery,&nbsp;was named for the Episcopal Church constructed on the present site in 1825. This church was built on a nearby knoll&nbsp;by Hudson.&nbsp;Hudson built the church just east of his home located south of the main thoroughfare in the Kanawha Valley. The Hudson property was&nbsp;between 300-400 acres of land. Hudson was originally from Lancaster County, PA. He came to present day West Virginia via&nbsp;Botetout County, VA. The Hudson family including his six adult children and their spouses&nbsp;moved to region in 1797.1&nbsp;The brick church doubled as a school until it was destroyed by fire in 1845.&nbsp; The church, along with the Hudson home,&nbsp;is recorded on a map filed in a lawsuit in 1837. This map, recorded by Garland Ellis in his 1977 book, was developed during a lawsuit to determine the route of the James River and Kanawha Turnpike.2&nbsp;&nbsp; Among the interments the&nbsp;cemetery are veterans of every major military conflict until Vietnam. Samuel Washington, nephew of George Washington, is buried here. His marker uncovered in 2008...but re-covered for security.&nbsp; Morris Hudson, one of the first settlers of Coalsmouth, is also buried here and his son Samuel Hudson.&nbsp;There are many markers, though still standing, that are illegible. Some of the oldest that can still be read feature the names of Hudson, obviously one of the oldest families in St. Albans, including Elizabeth Quarrier,&nbsp; Tompkins,Thompson and some of the oldest families in the entire Kanawha Valley. One of the oldest graves is the son of J. Swindler, 1813.&nbsp; The DOH Historical reads: <blockquote>“Bangor Cemetery
– This land, which was owned by George Washington, was purchased by Morris
Hudson, who in 1819 built a small church on the knoll that adjoined this
property. As was custom of the times, 2 acres was set aside as a cemetery for
members of Bangor Parish. The church burned in 1845 and was replaced and named
St. Mark’s Episcopal, at 405 B Street.”</blockquote> 

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Located along Kanawha Terrace at the bottom of South Walnut Hill, this cemetery predates the city of St. Albans. It originally served as the burial grounds for the congregation of Bangor Episcopal Church, the first church constructed on the eastern side of the Coal River. The land upon which the cemetery is situated was part of a 1,311 acre parcel of land willed to descendants of George Washington. 

Historical Tour of Saint Albans, West Virginia

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School

Introduction

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