A late autumn trip to West Virginia’s Greenbrier Valley isn’t complete without a visit to a few abandoned or forgotten landmarks.
Afternoon light peeks between two glowing trees at an abandoned residence in Greenbrier County.
Morning light shines through a maturing forest at the long-abandoned Laurel Creek Church that was constructed in 1870. This would make for a fantastic renovation: its interior is completely gutted down to the studs.
Constructed in 1864, Old Droop Church quietly rests on a knoll in Pocahontas County. Some of its original architectural detailing remains, but the rest has been covered over with non-original siding and woodwork.
Shadowed by the waning evening sun, Birchdale is an abandoned two-story, circa 1890 Folk Victorian-style residence.
Quiet serenity surrounds Hills Chapel, which was established circa 1899.
Woods Poage Chapel was constructed in 1919 from materials sourced from a dismantled combination church and lodge in the lumber company town at Raywood. Services were first held in the area in a schoolhouse on the lands of Wood Poage in 1874. Some work was partly completed and then abandoned in replacing the traditional wood clapboard siding with vinyl.
A friendly donkey and horse welcomed the visit to the circa 1893 Mt. Pleasant Church in Pocahontas County.
The sun sets on the adjoining Mt. Pleasant School. It appears that some work is ongoing to restore this property: a new metal roof was recently installed.
The former Barlow and Moore Store has been lovingly kept up over the decades. The store was once the centerpiece of Edray and stood at the crossroads of Marlin’s Bottom along the Huttonsville Turnpike and Back Mountain Road.
Time has run out on the former Rich Run School. It’s now in a state of collapse.
Work is ongoing to maintain the historic circa 1865 McNeel Mill in Mill Point, which operated in the community from 1778 until 1947. Thanks to grants from The Snowshoe Foundation, state and county officials, and private individuals, the mill may return to working order for demonstration purposes.
The Pleasant Green Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic African-American Methodist Episcopal church near Seebert. Constructed in 1888, the building features traditional Gothic Revival styling. Adjoining the church is a circa 1920 parsonage and cemetery.
Nuttallburg, West Virginia is located along the New River in Fayette County and was a coal mining venture that was spawned out of England-born entrepreneur John Nuttall. Nuttallburg became the second mining town in the gorge to ship “smokeless” coal, with the last mine closing in 1958.
With its understated exterior of beige brick, fronted with vacant retail and derelict apartments, one could not know that the historic Euclid Theater in East Cleveland, Ohio had its beginnings at the busiest street corner west of New York City.
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Add Yours →Nice work. My mother was born in Poco County. Visited the area last year. I’m now preparing a story map describing the CCC in Watoga SP 1933-1942.
Very nice work Sherman