Whipple Company Store
I
have driven past this old store many times in my life. I even
went inside several times back when it was an antique store.
Recently however, I took the tour to learn the amazing
history of this building. I highly recommend that you do the same
when you're near Oak Hill WV.
SHORT DESCRIPTION
The
store was built by coal operator Justus Collins in the late 1800s. As
the commercial and social center for the mining town of Whipple and
surrounding communities, the store housed offices for Whipple Colliery
Company, the post office and doctor. The store stocked the necessities
for a household, from food to furniture. Four of these stores
were built, with this one the only survivor. In 1957, the Whipple
mine shut down and the store closed. Reopened as a trading post, the
store operated until the late 1980s, when it was used as a home. In
1991, the Whipple Company Store was listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. The store at Whipple was designed like a fortress on
the outside with guards posted at all of the entrances. The
inside of the store was designed in a round, so that the acoustics
allowed a guard posted in the center to hear every word spoken in the
space. The store is now owned by Joy Lynn, who grew up in the
area and always wanted to own the building before it was torn down.
She managed to get it just in time.
|
The current interior. Improvements are being made daily to restore the building.
During the tour, this is where you start.
Interior, looking in opposite direction. Hundreds of never before seen photos line the walls.
Rare and historic photos arent the only thing they found in the store....
The
store was literally a cradle to grave one stop shop. These
coffins (and more) were found in the store. The elevator,
operated with a rope is so well balanced that a child could operate it,
and it's been there since the beginning..
Of course, where there's mining, there's coal mining memorabilia.
HOWEVER....
Photos on
the Net cant really show, and especially TELL the story of the
building and its secrets that were only recently discovered. When
you take the tour, you'll be amazed at what they found and where.
Seriously, it's well worth the time to learn our local history and how we got to where we are today.
|
7485 Okey L Patteson Rd, Scarbro, WV 25917
Tell em you saw it on Mywvhome.com!
Back To Main Index
©
COPYRIGHT
All
content including articles and photos on this website Copyright 2013 by
J. Waters. All images on this website are used with
permission or
outright ownership of J. Waters.
All newspaper articles
are courtesy of the Charleston Gazette or Daily Mail for the express
use of the author. You do NOT have permission to use any image, article
or material without permission from the author. You do NOT have permission to pull photos from this website and post them to Facebook or any other website. Any
material used without permission will be subject to creative copyright
laws. |