McDowell County Courthouse | |
Location | Wyoming St., Welch, West Virginia |
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Coordinates | 37°25′57″N81°35′3″W / 37.43250°N 81.58417°W |
Built | 1893; 1909 |
Architect | Frank P. Milburn (1893); W. E. & E. L. Shufflebarger (1909) |
Architectural style | Romanesque |
NRHP reference No. | 79003256 |
Added to NRHP | August 29, 1979 [1] |
The McDowell County Courthouse is a historic courthouse in Welch, West Virginia. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 29, 1979.
The courthouse was built in two phases. The first part was built in 1893 in the Romanesque Revival style. It was the earliest independent work of architect Frank P. Milburn, then practicing in Kenova. [2] Milburn would go on to be prolific designer of courthouses in the southern states. He reported that the original brick design had been built in stone, and that the jail had been turned around, but stated that "the contractors had done a good job of which they could justly be proud." [3] Due to space constraints, the county decided to build an addition in 1908. W. E. & E. L. Shufflebarger of Bluefield were the architects chosen, [4] and the complementary addition was completed in 1909. It was built to the north of the original structure.
On in the courthouse yard, John Hardy, a black railroad worker, was hanged for murdering a man in Eckman, WV, then known as the Shawnee Coal Camp, over a gambling dispute. [5] [6] This January 19, 1894, execution was the subject of a song: "John Hardy," which remains a staple of folk, blues, and bluegrass music. [7] John Hardy is thought to be the original John Henry [5]
On August 1, 1921, detectives from the Baldwin-Felts agency assassinated Matewan Police Chief Sid Hatfield on the courthouse steps. [8] At that time, Hatfield was a major labor leader within the coalfields of West Virginia. His association with the United Mine Workers and Mary Harris 'Mother' Jones were nationally known. [9] This act set the confrontational tone for labor relations within West Virginia. [9]
Marion is a city in and the county seat of McDowell County, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1844, the city was named in honor of Brigadier General Francis Marion, the American Revolutionary War Hero whose talent in guerrilla warfare earned him the name "Swamp Fox". Marion's Main Street Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The population was 7,717 at the 2020 Census.
Independence is a town located in and the county seat of Grayson County, Virginia. At the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 1,001. It is situated on Virginia's Crooked Road, a heritage trail celebrating the musical heritage of Southwest Virginia.
Welch is a city in and the county seat of McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,590 at the 2020 census; the 2021 census estimate put the population at 1,914, due to the Federal Correctional Institution, McDowell leaving city limits. Welch was incorporated as a city in 1893.
Henry Drury Hatfield was an American Republican politician from Logan County, West Virginia. He served a term as the 14th Governor of the state, in addition to one term in the United States Senate. Hatfield was nephew to Devil Anse Hatfield, leader of the Hatfield clan.
The Battle of Matewan was a shootout in the town of Matewan in Mingo County and the Pocahontas Coalfield mining district, in southern West Virginia. It occurred on May 19, 1920 between local coal miners and their allies and the Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency. The dead included two brothers of the detective agency's founder and Matewan's mayor Cabell Testerman, who supported the union.
The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in United States history and is the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War. The conflict occurred in Logan County, West Virginia, as part of the Coal Wars, a series of early-20th-century labor disputes in Appalachia.
"John Hardy" is a traditional American folk song based on the life of a railroad worker living in McDowell County, West Virginia in the Spring of 1893. The historical John Hardy is believed to have gotten into a drunken dispute during a craps game held near Keystone, and subsequently killed a man named Thomas Drews. Hardy was found guilty of murder in the first degree, and was hanged on January 19, 1894, with 3,000 people allegedly in attendance. Hardy is believed to have made peace with the Lord the morning before his death by being baptized in a river.
William Sidney Hatfield, was a West Virginia law enforcement officer noted for his involvement in bitter labor disputes, on the side of labor, during the Coal Wars of the early 20th century.
The Tucker County Courthouse and Jail in Parsons, West Virginia was built between 1898 and 1900 in a combination of Flemish Renaissance and Romanesque Revival styles. The red pressed-brick structure is flanked by a "jail and jailer's residence" built in 1896 in a similar style.
Frank Pierce Milburn was a prolific American architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His practice was primarily focused on public buildings, particularly courthouses and legislative buildings, although he also designed railroad stations, commercial buildings, schools and residences. Milburn was a native of Bowling Green, Kentucky who practiced as an architect in Louisville from 1884 to 1889; Kenova, West Virginia 1890–1895; Charlotte, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; and Washington, D.C. after 1904. From 1902 Milburn was architect for the Southern Railway.
The Buchanan County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located at Grundy, Buchanan County, Virginia. It was built in 1905–06. The Renaissance Revival style building is the only building in the downtown with pretensions to architectural sophistication. Designed by architect Frank Pierce Milburn, the design employs local stone, emphasized with a corner clock tower topped with a belvedere. A 1915 fire gutted most of the downtown, including the courthouse, which was rebuilt and expanded by 1917.
The Grayson County Courthouse is a historic county courthouse located at Independence, Grayson County, Virginia. It was built in 1908 to replace an 1850 building. Designed by architect Frank Pierce Milburn and built by E.L. Robbins of Grassy Creek, Virginia, the eclectic brick building employs a Flemish gable flanked by turrets.
The Putnam County Courthouse in Winfield, West Virginia was built in 1900 to replace an 1848 structure which partially collapsed in 1899. The Romanesque Revival building was designed by architect Frank Pierce Milburn with a hip roof and octagonal towers at all four corners. It is similar to the Summers County Courthouse in Hinton, West Virginia.
Old Hardy County Courthouse, also known as "First" Hardy County Courthouse, is a historic courthouse building located at Moorefield, Hardy County, West Virginia. It was built in two sections, the first built in 1792-93 and the extension added about 1833. It is an L-shaped brick building painted white. The original section measures approximately 25 by 50 feet and the 1833 extension 50 by 25 feet. The original section has Federal style detailing and features a cupola atop the gable roof. The building was remodeled in 1972. It served as the courthouse and clerk's office until the 1860s. It was subsequently occupied by a girls' day and boarding school and offices.
Welch Commercial Historic District is a national historic district located at Welch, McDowell County, West Virginia. The district includes 56 contributing buildings and one contributing structure in Welch's central business district. It includes a variety of retail stores, banks and offices, with some having apartment rental on their top floors. Also on the district is a municipal parking garage built in 1941. Notable buildings include, the Flat Iron Building, Babalis Building, Odd Fellows Temple (1929), Carter Hotel-Tyson Tower Building (1924), Wyoming-Elkhorn Apartment Building, McDowell County National Bank (1900), and McDowell County Courthouse Annex Building (1935).
Alexander Blount Mahood was a Bluefield, West Virginia-based architect.
McDowell County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located at Marion, McDowell County, North Carolina. It was designed by architect Erle G. Stillwell and built between 1921 and 1923. It is three-story, late Neoclassical building sheathed in yellow brick. The rectangular structure is composed of a central block flanked by slightly recessed, unornamented wings.
Garry & Sheffey was a prominent architectural firm from Bluefield, the largest city in southern West Virginia. The named partners were Martin J. Garry and Robert A. Sheffey, who established their partnership in 1920. The firm was active until 1941, and locally was second only to that of Alex. B. Mahood.
Charles Everett Lively was an American private detective who worked as a labor spy for the Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency. He played an active role in the Coal Wars in Appalachia and Colorado during the early 20th century.
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