Alexander Wade House | |
Location | 256 Prairie St., Morgantown, West Virginia |
---|---|
Coordinates | 39°37′29″N79°57′30″W / 39.62472°N 79.95833°W |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1860 |
Architectural style | Mixed (more Than 2 Styles From Different Periods) |
Part of | Chancery Hill Historic District (2001 increase) (ID01001405) |
NRHP reference No. | 66000752 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 [1] |
Designated NHL | December 21, 1965 [2] |
Designated CP | November 29, 2001 |
The Alexander Wade House is a historic house at 256 Prairie Street in Morgantown, West Virginia. Built in 1860, it was the home of educator Alexander Wade (1832-1904) from 1872 until his death. Wade is credited with developing a system of grade promotional exams and graduations that was widely adopted in the late 19th century. The house was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1965. [2] [3]
The Alexander Wade House is located south of downtown Morgantown in the city's Chancery Hill area, just east of the junction of Prairie Avenue and Wagner Road. It is a 2+1⁄2-story brick building, with a dormered mansard roof. Its main facade is three bays wide, with a single-story porch extending across the front, supported by paneled square columns. Windows are set in rectangular openings, with stone sills and lintels. [3]
The house was built in 1860 for Judge Edward Bunker. At that time, it had a more Greek Revival appearance, with a gabled roof; the mansard roof was added in 1911, when the building was divided into apartments. The house was purchased in 1872 by Alexander Wade, an educator native to Maryland. As the superintendent of Monongalia County schools, Wade experimented with a system of grading and promotional examinations that successfully normalized the progress of children through rural schools. Wade documented his ideas and presented them to the National Education Association in 1879, where they met with approval and were eventually widely adopted by school systems nationwide. Wade was also an early advocate favoring adoption of the metric system in the United States. [3]
Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The most populous city in North Central West Virginia and the third-most populous city in the state, Morgantown is best known as the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2020 census. The city serves as the anchor of the Morgantown metropolitan area, which had a population of 138,176 in 2020.
Waitman Thomas Willey was an American lawyer and politician from Morgantown, West Virginia. One of the founders of the state of West Virginia during the American Civil War, he served in the United States Senate representing first the Restored Government of Virginia and became one of the new state of West Virginia's first two senators. He is one of only two people in U.S. History to represent more than one state in the U.S. Senate, the other being James Shields.
The Harner Homestead, is a historic home outside Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia.
Alexander L. Wade was an American educator. Alexander Luark Wade was born in Rushville, Indiana, to George Wade III and Ann Luark Wade on February 1, 1832. He moved to Monongalia County when he was a small child. He married Esther "Hettie" Sanders in 1854. Alexander and Hettie had six children, all of whom lived to adulthood.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Monongalia County, West Virginia.
Lynch Chapel United Methodist Church is a historic Methodist church located near Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was built in 1902, and is a small, one-story, rectangular church in the Late Gothic Revival style. It features a steeple bell tower with a pyramidal roof with folk Victorian accents such as delicate brackets and scrollwork.
Brown Building, also known as the Ream Building, is a historic commercial building located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was designed in 1898 by noted Morgantown architect Elmer F. Jacobs. It is a four-story eclectic style brick building. It has a flat roof and projecting cornice. It has a ball finial and parapet centered on the front facade. It features polychromatic brick detailing, accentuated bays and a triad of double-sash windows
Dering Building is a historic commercial building located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was designed by noted Morgantown architect Elmer F. Jacobs and built in 1896. It is a three-story Romanesque Revival style brick building. It has a rectangular plan, a flat roof, separate store fronts, and recessed portico entrances. It features a pediment above the flat roof with a rising sun motif and the date of construction inscribed in the center.
Ford House is a historic home located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was built about 1868, and is a 1+1⁄2-story, L-shaped Gothic Revival style cottage. It features a steeply pitched gable roof, a Gothic arched window in the center gable, and lattice work in lieu of bargeboard on the front porch.
Old Stone House is a historic home located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The original section was built about 1796, and is a two-story stone structure measuring 26 feet, 8 inches, by 20 feet, 8 inches. A one-story, timber-frame addition built in the early 1900s and measures 16 feet, 7 inches, by 16 feet, 4 inches. The Old Stone House was the home of John W. Thompson, a potter in early Morgan's Town. He was able to create red ware and stoneware pots from the clay found in the basement of the house. It is one of the oldest surviving examples of rustic pioneer architecture in Monongalia County. In 1935, it became headquarters of the Morgantown Service League, who operates a gift shop in the house.
Purinton House is a historic home associated with the West Virginia University and located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was built in 1904, and is a 2+1⁄2-story masonry dwelling with Classical Revival and Colonial Revival style features. It features a large wraparound porch whose hip roof is supported by Ionic order columns. The porch roof is topped by a balustrade. The roof is topped by a balustraded deck and widow's walk. It served as the on-campus residence for university presidents from 1905 to 1967. On November 2, 1911, President William Howard Taft delivered the address "World Wide Speech," from the front porch of Purinton House.
Men's Hall, also known as Boreman Hall South, is a historic dormitory associated with the West Virginia University and located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was built in 1935, and is a five-story, E-shaped red brick building with Classical Revival detailing. It sits on a reinforced concrete foundation and has a slate covered gable roof. When documented in 1989, it housed 350 students in 329 rooms. It was the first dormitory built for men on campus. Its construction was funded in part by the Works Progress Administration. During World War II, it was used as an Air Force barracks.
Elizabeth Moore Hall is a historic women's physical education building associated with West Virginia University and located in Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was built between 1926 and 1928, and is a three-story, red brick building with Georgian Revival detailing. An addition was completed in 1962. It has a slate covered gable roof. The front facade features five arches supported by six Doric order columns. It also has balconies with cast iron balustrades. The building is named for Elizabeth Moore, principal of Woodburn Female Seminary from 1865 to 1866.
Oglebay Hall is a historic classroom building associated with the West Virginia University and located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It was built in 1918, and is a three-story, brick and concrete building with Classical Revival detailing. The front facade features four Doric order columns that support a pediment with a false, concrete railing and entablature with the building's name. It also has balconies with cast iron balustrades. It originally housed the university's College of Agriculture and represents the university's heritage as a land-grant institution. The building is named for industrialist and philanthropist Earl W. Oglebay, whose house at Wheeling, West Virginia is known as the Oglebay Mansion Museum.
Woodburn Circle, also known as WVU Quadrangle, is part of the downtown campus of West Virginia University, located in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. The circle, in reality a quadrangle grouped around an oval path, is a historic and distinctive architectural assembly of three collegiate buildings, which evolved in the late 19th century. In chronological order these are Martin Hall, Woodburn Hall, and Chitwood Hall. The largest of the buildings, Woodburn Hall, has become the best known and is a symbol of the university.
Fourth Ward School, also known as the Wiles Hill School, is a historic school building located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. It consists of the original 1910 school building with two historic additions from 1939 and 1952, and the 1983 gymnasium building. It is a two-story, red brick, Romanesque Revival building on a raised basement and water table of ashlar sandstone. The 1939 rear addition was built as a Public Works Administration project and has plain Art Deco style trim The 1939 addition contains a stage and an auditorium / cafeteria.
Monongalia County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located in Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The courthouse was erected in 1784 with the current structure built in 1891. This Romanesque style building consists of a two-story building with a basement, five-story clock tower and a three-story South tower. The building measures at 99’ by 83’ by 99’ by 76’ with the first story at fifteen feet high and the second story at twenty-two feet high. The distinctive central clock tower has a pyramidal roof, four doomed buttresses, stone molds over the four clocks and tower windows, arcade belfry, and quatrefoil design with the building date. The original northern facade was covered by an addition built in 1925 with another addition built in 1975. Connected to the courthouse is a two-story Italianate style jailhouse built in 1881.
Chancery Hill Historic District is a national historic district located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The district originally included 109 contributing buildings and 1 contributing site, Oak Grove Cemetery. A boundary increase in 2001, added the already listed Alexander Wade House to the district. The district encompasses a residential area developed in the early-20th century on property that was once the farm of U.S. Senator Waitman T. Willey. It includes examples of popular architectural styles from that period including Queen Anne, American Foursquare, Colonial Revival, and Bungalow.
The Downtown Morgantown Historic District is a federally designated historic district in Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The district, encompassing approximately 75 acres, has 122 contributing buildings and 2 contributing sites including commercial and public buildings, residences, and churches. The district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 2, 1996. Ten of the contributing buildings are listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places. Significant structures located within the historic district are the Monongalia County Courthouse, the Metropolitan Theater, and the Old Morgantown Post Office.
South Park Historic District is a national historic district located at Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The district includes 501 contributing buildings and 5 contributing structures in a primarily residential area south of downtown Morgantown. The district is characterized by tightly packed dwellings on a hillside and represent a variety of post-Victorian architectural styles popular between 1900 and 1940. Notable buildings include the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Morgantown High School, Crestholm Pharmacy, and Bobbette's Confectionary.