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Lewisburg Historic District Walking Tour
Item 24 of 58
Since its construction, this building has housed a saddler's shop, meat market, and restaurant. It is best known as Clingman's Market, which operated within the building for 57 years, from 1945 to 2002.

Gwen Clingman from Goldenseal, Spring 1999.

Gwen Clingman from Goldenseal, Spring 1999.

Garland R. Clingman from Masonic Sketches, 1939.

Garland R. Clingman from Masonic Sketches, 1939.

Cllingman's Market, 2018.

Cllingman's Market, 2018.
As former owner Gwen Clingman described it, "it is a dump." It still had the remnants of a meat market with a few chairs and oil cloth covered tables, but Gwen served breakfast and lunch to much of downtown Lewisburg.  Patrons would walk to the kitchen and point to the many pots on the stoves and select their meal.  Each Friday she served a Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey and dressing.

Clingman generously provided free meals to shut-ins and others in need. For many students at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, it was the only hot meal they would get.  In her honor, Gwen's Meals, sponsored by local churches, continues to feed the needy.

Today, the building is occupied the Stardust Cafe.
www.wvculture.org/goldenseal/Spring99/clingmans.html