West Virginia has some really cool, historic buildings. There are churches, barns, houses and other structures that are unique in the country. Here are a few of them:
- The Pocahontas Opera House in Marlinton
Maggie Thornton This opera house, built in 1910, is one of the oldest reinforced concrete structures in the country.
- The Cooper House in Bramwell
Ed Kennedy/Flickr This house had the first copper roof in the country and one of the first indoor swimming pools in the state. The house also has a doghouse built into the outside chimney. The house was built in 1910 from orange brick imported from England.
- Our Lady of the Pines
Jon Dawson/Flickr Long before the tiny house movement, there was this tiny church. This church in Silver Lake is considered the smallest in 48 states. The building seats 12.
- The Halliehurst mansion
Mike McBride/Flickr Built in 1890 by Sen. Stephen Elkins and named for his wife Hallie Davis, the Halliehurt building at Davis & Elkins College has 56 rooms with towers, floor to ceiling windows, wrap-around porches and massive fireplaces.
- The Graceland mansion
Smythe Richbourg/Flickr Also on the campus of Davis & Elkins College is the Graceland mansion, now a bed and breakfast. It was built by Henry Gassaway Davis, the first elected U.S. Senator from West Virginia. The house is a Queen Anne Style with turrets and wrap-around porches. The last time a family occupied the house was in 1939.
- Huntington’s arch
Charlie J/Flickr This arch in Huntington is a smaller version of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It has the names of 91 men who died in World War 1.
- WVU’s Woodburn Hall
Tom Long/Flickr This building is basically a symbol of West Virginia University. It has a clocktower that students once led a cow up. Cows don’t go down steps, though, so it had to be lowered down.
- Williamson’s Coal House
Jimmy Emerson. DVM/Flickr This house is made entirely of coal. It’s in Williamson next to the Mingo County Courthouse.
- The Round Barn of Mannington
neshachan/Flickr Amos Hamilton built this round barn in 1912 for $1,900. It was built with a water system that the cows could turn off and on. Round barns were purported to keep the devil from hiding in corners.
- The Rankin Barn near Ravenswood
Sonja/Flickr This barn near Ravenswood has eight sides. It was built between 1890 and 1905.
- The Windmill Quaker State in Parkersburg
Nyttend This windmill was driven by a car engine and used solely as an attention getter for a service station. The building has also been used as a restaurant and a credit union.
- The Kuykendall Polygonal Barn near Romney
Riverroadkuykendalls This building has 15 sides and was the only one of its kind in the state and one of only a few in the country. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In this picture, Edith Kuykendall, wife of Michael Blue Kuykendall, tends to her hogs with the barn in the background.
- St. Joseph’s Cathedral
Joanne C Sullivan/Flickr St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Wheeling is one of only two Catholic cathedrals in the state.
- The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum
Theruined/Flickr This building is purported to be the largest hand-cut blue sandstone building in the country. It has nine acres of floorspace.
How many of these have you been to? What’s your favorite structure in the state?
Maggie Thornton
This opera house, built in 1910, is one of the oldest reinforced concrete structures in the country.
Ed Kennedy/Flickr
This house had the first copper roof in the country and one of the first indoor swimming pools in the state. The house also has a doghouse built into the outside chimney. The house was built in 1910 from orange brick imported from England.
Jon Dawson/Flickr
Long before the tiny house movement, there was this tiny church. This church in Silver Lake is considered the smallest in 48 states. The building seats 12.
Mike McBride/Flickr
Built in 1890 by Sen. Stephen Elkins and named for his wife Hallie Davis, the Halliehurt building at Davis & Elkins College has 56 rooms with towers, floor to ceiling windows, wrap-around porches and massive fireplaces.
Smythe Richbourg/Flickr
Also on the campus of Davis & Elkins College is the Graceland mansion, now a bed and breakfast. It was built by Henry Gassaway Davis, the first elected U.S. Senator from West Virginia. The house is a Queen Anne Style with turrets and wrap-around porches. The last time a family occupied the house was in 1939.
Charlie J/Flickr
This arch in Huntington is a smaller version of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It has the names of 91 men who died in World War 1.
Tom Long/Flickr
This building is basically a symbol of West Virginia University. It has a clocktower that students once led a cow up. Cows don’t go down steps, though, so it had to be lowered down.
Jimmy Emerson. DVM/Flickr
This house is made entirely of coal. It’s in Williamson next to the Mingo County Courthouse.
neshachan/Flickr
Amos Hamilton built this round barn in 1912 for $1,900. It was built with a water system that the cows could turn off and on. Round barns were purported to keep the devil from hiding in corners.
Sonja/Flickr
This barn near Ravenswood has eight sides. It was built between 1890 and 1905.
Nyttend
This windmill was driven by a car engine and used solely as an attention getter for a service station. The building has also been used as a restaurant and a credit union.
Riverroadkuykendalls
This building has 15 sides and was the only one of its kind in the state and one of only a few in the country. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In this picture, Edith Kuykendall, wife of Michael Blue Kuykendall, tends to her hogs with the barn in the background.
Joanne C Sullivan/Flickr
St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Wheeling is one of only two Catholic cathedrals in the state.
Theruined/Flickr
This building is purported to be the largest hand-cut blue sandstone building in the country. It has nine acres of floorspace.
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