West Virginia Jail Saved
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Sept. 23, 2008
The 1918 jail in Charles Town, W. Va., housed pro-union miners from the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain. The battlefield itself is endangered by strip mining; the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed it as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2006.
Credit: Jefferson County Preservation Alliance to Save Our Heritage
On Saturday, eight years after a jailhouse in Charles Town, W.Va., was sentenced to demolition, the 1918 building was rededicated after a $2.3 million renovation.
Designed by Washington, D.C., architect Alfred B. Mullet, the Georgian revival building incarcerated pro-union miners that were imprisoned after the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, a clash between coal miners fighting to unionize and government forces allied with local coal companies.
In 2000, Jefferson County Commissioners voted to tear down the National Register-listed building. Harpers Ferry writer Carol Gallant filed an injunction, citing the need for a study before using state or federal money to tear down a building on the National Register of Historic Places. "I could not believe that they were tearing this solid building down for a parking complex. It was a visceral reaction," Gallant says.
"She beat the bulldozers by hours," says Doug Estepp, executive board member of the Jefferson County Preservation Alliance to Save Our Heritage, the grassroots group Gallant formed in 2001.
County leaders still wanted the building gone. In 2002, the state supreme court of appeals ruled 5-0 to uphold the injunction. Even after the decision, however, the five-member commission voted again to destroy the jail. What really saved the building was a new cast of characters, Estepp says. "In 2004 we took the final two seats, and all five members of the current commission are members of our group and are supporters of the jail."
In 2002 the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Southern Field Office assembled a team of architects to study the building and evaluate its potential for renovation. After the two-year project, the jail is now used as a courthouse and also houses county records and offices. The rededication ceremony on Sept. 20 "was just a wonderful day," Estepp says. "Everyone was excited."
Gallant, who fought for eight years to save the jail, may have had the most cause for excitement. "We went on radio stations, we set up a booth at the county fair, whatever we could think of with the idea of keeping the public involved. ... It was a frightening thing to have to keep going when you weren't sure there would be a successful result. I was so busy and preoccupied with this that I didn't think about stopping," she says. "Most people don't understand their power. I did. You just don't go away. You're just relentless."
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Comments
Submitted by historicnearwestside.com at: October 2, 2008
Keep up the good cause. RELENTLESS is what it takes. Visit us at www.historicnearwestside.com
Submitted by Brian at: October 2, 2008
That building looks beautiful! I can't believe they wanted to tear it down. Though I suppose it didn't look great before the renovation.
Submitted by Sally at: October 1, 2008
Glad to see this success story. Our 1939 PWA jail, eligible for NR, which Margaret wrote about a few months ago is still in limbo.
Submitted by Regina from Charleston at: September 25, 2008
Congratuations to Carol Gallant and Doug Estepp. They have been persistent and relentless. I appreciate their support of Friends of the Mountains' effort to save the site of "The Battle of Blair Mountain" in Logan County. We need all the support we can get to save the ridge from being blown away to collect the coal underneath.
Submitted by Bakers Dozen at: September 24, 2008
Congrats on saving this great old historical building w/ great history. Doug Estepp put many long hours in helping this wonderful cause to save the jail and it ended w/ great rewards. More people in this world need to have the dedication and passion that Doug has about something important to them and I think it would make this world a better place to live. Again CONGRAT to all involved - job well done.
Submitted by Steve from Keene, NH at: September 24, 2008
Bully for Carol Gallant... She provides an example for us all...To those fighting the Senca Country courthouse in Ohio to those in Fulton, New York trying to save a church... And this...All too often labor history and class struggle is lost...Yes, we save the fine mansions of the robber barons, but should save important parts of our labor history too! ---SWL