Historic | West Virginia Mountain Mama

Posts Tagged With: Historic

The Golden Rule Under Construction #2

Posted on January 15, 2020 by jolynnpowers

The first line of my recent press release about the Golden Rule said,” The Future of the Golden Rule is in Sight”. That was amazing to write and is exciting to watch. So if you have been following me long you know about the wonderful building the company I work for is the process of redeveloping. If you are new here, let me take a moment to explain just a bit about the Golden Rule.

I work for a housing and community developer called, Woodlands Development Group, who in the spring of 2018 bought a historic 3 story brick furniture store warehouse-type building in the small town of Belington, WV. The Golden Rule building was built in 1903 and was owned by the Shinn family until the late 1980s and was sold to a man who used it for storage. Left to decay the community of Belington wanted to save the building and its history. Woodlands Development Group got involved and bought the building with grant funds from the second owner and arranged the financing of over 3 million dollars to redevelop the Golden Rule into a mixed-use building. The plan includes 10 apartments on the top two floors and a cafe and retail space on the first floor. I have been working on the building in several different capacities for two years and am now working on business development and marketing for the building’s future. She is my greatest work joy and I hope to be part of her future for many years to come. This is my home away from home!

Basement of the Golden Rule before image

JoLynn Powers working at the Golden Rule.

So my portion of the project finished just a few weeks ago. The building was finally empty after around 4, sixty-yard dumpsters and around 13,000 pounds of trash removal. We found storage for the truckloads of antiques that were not sold at several events so they can be used as decor for the first floor in the future. We (my AmeriCorps volunteers and I ) demolished hundreds of feet of shelves, flooring, ceiling tile and drywall. So construction contractors can turn the building around.

I finished my contract year with the knowledge that my work was not done but going to be different this year. So now I get to sit back and watch others build a brighter future for this building.

So far crews have cut huge wholes in the three floors for the elevator shaft and fire escape stairwell. They have excavated into the basement to remove dirt and rubble to get ready to pour new stairwell landing pads.

GEDSC DIGITAL CAMERA — Crews get the dirt out of the basement of the Golden Rule.

They have begun the framing of the walls inside each apartment and have had time to remove the breezeway that lead to the storage shed. These are before and after photos. You couldn’t see the breezeway from the back due to all the brush and trees.

The Americorps crews that helped me clean out the upper stories are back working on clearing out the basement and rafters of the third floor this spring. They are working to get the building ready for roofing contractors, and the electrical contractors.

It is only a few weeks into construction but changes are visible and teams of more people are working together to get things done. I am excited and so hopeful for the people who get to live and work in this building. I know Tom and I have our own plans to be part of the retail space in the near future, so I hope my involvement continues even after the Golden Rule reopens. This year I am happy to be helping in the development of the businesses, the build-out of the retail space and who knows what else to make sure this project gets off the ground running.

If you want to see more about the Golden Rule and the first steps in our process of redevelopment you can click here Golden Rule #1. There are many other posts about this and my AmeriCorps service that shares my love for this building and what I get to do for a living.

Categories: About me, AmeriCorps, Barbour County, Belington, WV, Golden Rule, historic locations, Historic Preservation, Redevelopment projects, rural life, West Virginia History, Woodlands Development Group | Tags: Belington, construction, Golden Rule, Historic, Historic Preservation, history, Redevelopment, West Virginia, Woodlands Development Group | 2 Comments

Easter Egg Hunting at the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Posted on April 26, 2014 by jolynnpowers

Every Easter we try to spend at least part of our day at one of North Central West Virginia most interesting places, The Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum a.k.a. as the Weston State Hospital. This century old building is now the site of many community activities and in is an ongoing state of restoration. It is one of the places that I visit regularly with family and friends because of the wide verity of activities that go one in the stone building and on the 300 acre property.This massive structure and the grounds that surround it are the largest stone cut building in North America and second only in size to the Kremlin in Russia.

The history of the this wonderful grand old buildings constructions begins before the civil war and official opening of its doors took place in 1881. The Hospital was home to up to 2400 patients in the 1950’s and continued to house the mentally ill until the last of 1994 when the mental hospital was officially closed for use. Finally after sitting abandon for years, in Aug of 2007 the Jordan family bought the building and grounds. Ever since that sale on the court-house lawn, the family have been on a journey to restore and reuse the building and grounds. It is now a place that draws thousands of families, tourists, photographers, ghost hunters and television crews. They offer tours, ghost hunts, plays, outdoor concerts and one of the largest Easter egg hunts in our state.

I try to take Christopher to play on the huge 3 acre front lawn whenever there is a community activity. In the center of the huge yard is wonderful water fountain that is the center of all the outdoor gatherings. Christopher and a school mate try to capture a balloon that is in the fountain before the 400 hundred colored eggs are ready for them to find.

Fountain at the Easter Egg Hunt at the TALA

Balloon caught in the fountain of the TALA

view of the fountain from inside the entry of the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Assylum

view of the fountain from inside the entry of the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

While the 200 children and their families prepare for the day of hunting eggs, the TALA opens its doors to the public, offering tours of the 1-4 floors of the main building. Other tours take place on weekdays and at night if any one wants to see some of the hospitals famous ghosts. They also offer one of the east coasts best Halloween Haunted Houses in Oct every year. Named “Ward 21” after another building on the grounds it never fails to scare the pee out of several visitors every year. I have been on some of the tours and went through the haunted house myself and all of the activities are well worth the price of admission. My best friend Natalie and I did the haunted house together several years ago and believe me what we experienced in that dark haunted house could fill a blog post all by its self.

While inside the building Christopher and I took a look around at some of the rooms that were still in need of restorations and cooled off in the cool corridors of the 4 foot thick walls of this massive structure.

Visiting area in side the TALA.

Main hall way to the west at the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Soon we heard the call for the”Egg Hunt” to begin and returned to the yard, and lined up for the afternoon of racing around collecting eggs. The race courses are divided into age groups to make every thing fair for the littler ones. The horn sounds and off they ran under huge trees that have seen more years than my short life span.

Easter Egg hunters on the Lawn of the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

At the end of the race Christopher and some friends sat in the shadow of a large oak and opened the eggs that our community helps to pay for each year. I think we went home with about 20 eggs, each with a prizes or candy inside of each egg.

Kevin Freeman a local business owner and daughter open eggs after the hunt

While the crowds began to filter away from the grounds and head home for more Easter dinners and games. I took a few more shots of the wonderful grounds and some but not all of the buildings.

Outside view of the visiting room end of main building

door into back of modern addition of building

window looking out into court-yard of the civil war section of the hospital

Easter was another wonderful day at one of Weston, West Virginia’s most interesting places. I hope that you can now see why we try to visit and support one of my favorite historic buildings. For more information on visiting here and taking a tour or visiting the haunted house please take a look at their website at The Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. There are many community activities that this old building supports and even if you only spend a day on the lawn watching children play it is a day well spent.