Battle wages on to save historic Arnold-Edwards House
By JOHN WICKLINE, Staff WriterArticle Photos
Some see the crumbling concrete and the rotting wood when they look at the building at the corner of Center Avenue and First Street in Weston, while others see it as a shiny gem that links the present to the days of the state's very beginning during the Civil War.
But whatever the viewpoint, the structure known as the Arnold-Edwards House is quickly becoming a battleground between local history aficionados and the Lewis County Commission.
County commissioners have created a building commission, which is charged with finding the best possible solution to funding and constructing a new courthouse annex. The current plan could mean the demolition of the Arnold-Edwards House. Commissioners, however, have discussed including items such as the stained glass windows in the design of the annex, along with the possibility of placing historical markers to tell the tales of those who once lived there.
But that's not good enough for a handful of Weston residents who are trying to preserve the building that was reportedly the home of the man who drafted the legislation that paved the way for the region to break away from Virginia and form the new state of West Virginia during the Civil War.
George Jackson Arnold was a member of the Virginia Legislature during the War Between the States, but unlike many of his Virginia colleagues, he remained loyal to the Union. When Virginia broke ties with the federal government, Arnold was part of a group in the western part of the state who banded together to create a government loyal to the Union that would continue to represent the interests of Virginia. Though he was opposed to the idea of seceding from Virginia, Arnold drafted the legislation that created the new state. When the law was passed, Arnold resigned from the group and returned to live at the house in Weston. But because of his ties to the Union government, Arnold was deemed a traitor to the newly formed Confederacy, and he was often forced to hide behind a false door in the home to escape the southern soldiers.
"The demolition of the Arnold-Edwards House would be most disastrous," local resident Brenda Reed wrote to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Agency. "Its extreme importance outweighs mere attractiveness, for it is a living link to a unique event in American history."
Dozens of letters have decried the destruction of the building, but none have given even an inkling as to where the commissioners could instead locate a much-needed annex, nor where they could find the estimated half-million to repair its crumbling foundation and make the necessary renovations to bring it into compliance with federal and state regulations.
"That house is a very great house, but it's very poor office space," said Commissioner Bob Rinehart, who was a member of a committee trying to find funds to save the building in 2004. "Even if we would remodel, we would lose square footage because of (Americans with Disabilities Act ) requirements."
Architects studying the potential placement of a courthouse annex believe the site of the Arnold-Edwards House would be the best fit for the annex. The current courthouse has run out of available space, and the county is paying more than $24,000 annually to rent storage space for records it is mandated to keep and for offices for the Economic Development Authority and the County Commission.
Commissioners in 2008 were considering putting the annex across town at a former grocery store property on West Second Street, but that idea met with stern resistance because residents and employees wanted the convenience of one-stop shopping when it came to county services.
The house currently is home to the West Virginia University Extension Service, though a portion of the porch has been blocked to public access because of its deterioration. There are several other cosmetic and engineering repair needs to the building, which could drive up the remodeling costs to $700,000. A new courthouse annex has been estimated at between $4 million and $6 million, and it would house the magistrate's court, prosecuting attorney, health department, County Commission and other departments that have become isolated from the courthouse because of space deficiencies.
The house is also believed to be the home of Alexander Scott Withers, the man who wrote "Chronicles of Border Warfare," a treasure trove of stories of the earliest settlements in the area and of the conflicts pioneers faced with Native American tribes not wanting to move from their territories. Withers, however, lived in what is now Bridgeport when he wrote the book and only lived in the house later in his life.
"I think we can satisfy the needs of the historical people," Rinehart said. "I see the need for the annex. We are just wasting money by renting areas to store records. The magistrates don't have their own courtroom, and it's sad and pitiful that our prosecuting attorney has such a poor office."
The prosecuting attorney's office recently went a while without having heat, a repair that ran more than $800 when it was completed.
