In the early 1900s, Henry Gassaway Davis and the Elkins Board of Trade had such a strong belief that one building would provide a major boost the local economy that they contributed funding toward its construction. That structure still stands today and over the years has served as a self-sustaining residence for hundreds.
On Sunday, the West Virginia Independent Order of Odd Fellows Home will celebrate its centennial and its 85th homecoming. More than 200 former residents, officers, former officers, dignitaries and guests are expected to join the one-day celebration.
According to Charlotte Zimmerman, president of the board of directors, prior to the disbandment of the railroads there were "thousands of people who gathered at the annual homecoming event." This is further evidenced by the several photographs in the home's business office.
First dedicated on Sept. 22, 1910, the building originally sat on 100 acres of property donated by well known industrial magnate and philanthropist Henry G. Davis. Over the years the self-sustaining estate grew to 277 acres supporting a dairy farm and the several crops necessary to operate the farm. A huge garden and orchard supplied the vegetables, fruits and other food items for the more than 200 residents housed there during the height of the home's occupancy. The estate has since shrunk to 177 acres.
The primary purpose of the home was to provide care for the elderly, orphans and children of IOOF members and members of the lodge who could not financially take care of themselves. At the outset, only the men who were members of the IOOF and their families were eligible for the organization's benefits. Later the home's laws were changed and extended eligibility to Rebekah members and their families, as well.
According to newspaper accounts from the autumn of 1926, the institution cared for 195 children and 10 adults, its maximum capacity. With the advent of Social Security and the numerous other retirement programs available to those who would have been eligible for residency, the home now houses only five occupants and has a staff of 11. Charlotte Zimmerman, president of the board of directors, oversees day-to-day activities and is assisted by day supervisor Patricia Chewning.
According to the historical records, the estimated cost of original138-room home was $60,000. An article in the Sept. 11, 1960, Herald-Advertiser, a Huntington newspaper published only on Sundays, stated that the total cost of the home and the dairy farm was $266,365. It was expanded in 1921 to 200 rooms to accommodate additional residents and relieve overcrowding.
The home was built through the influence of Henry Gassaway Davis who was a member of the organization and who also offered to contribute an endowment to the state lodge if the home were to be located in Elkins. It was considered to be such a boost to the local economy that the Elkins Board of Trade provided further inducement to the project by raising $10,000 toward its construction. The laying of the cornerstone ceremony was conducted on Aug. 21, 1908.
According to a local newspaper report on July 3, 1909, the building was one of the largest construction projects in the early years of Elkins. The dimensions were 128 feet-by-149 feet with 88 rooms, 247 windows requiring five tons of sash weight, 266 doors, 34,000 square feet of flooring of which 6,000 squrae feet were mosaic tile, 19,000 square feet of metal ceiling, 16,000 square yards of plastering, radiators weighing 31,000 pounds, 800,000 bricks, all of which made 414 railroad carloads of material used in its construction. The porch is 408 feet long and 12 feet wide without a splice in a board. The building was and is still heated by natural gas from a gas well located on the property.
The bakery still houses the machine that mixed the dough and the original gas-fired oven that baked the countless loaves of bread for its residents. The home also included a canning room and several potato and apple bins. The bins are still in existence although now they hold artifacts of the past. The cannery is used for storage of some of the furniture that originally graced the old Victorian Home.
As residents became fewer and fewer, the home began to deteriorate. An article published in the Sunday, Sep. 11, 1960, issue of The Herald-Advertiser quoted Mike Casey, a Cabell County member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge as saying at the 50th homecoming that " ... the Order plans to raze the 50-year-old Victorian structure for replacement by a modern one-story building that would be easier on the aged residents." This, of course, did not happen but the home continued to deteriorate until the mid-1980s when refurbishing began. Zimmerman, who at the time was a member of the board of directors, said "The roof had begun to leak and had caused damage all the way to the basement. We began the restoration work by working on one room at a time. We finished the restoration in the fall of 2008."
According to Zimmerman, the home is maintained solely from the interest of an endowment and donations.
"The interest from the endowment can only be for the care of the residents and maintenance of the home," Zimmerman said. "We received no funding from any government agency, local, state or national."
This year's centennial and homecoming celebration will begin at 11 a.m. with a panoramic photo by "Gem Photography" of Beaver. Welcome and introduction of members of the board of directors will be at 11:45 a.m. Invocation and lunch at noon will be followed by speeches by officials of the lodge and the rededication ceremony. Homecoming activities will follow.
No one seems to know exactly when "Odd Fellows" first came into being but legend has it that they have been around in various groups since Ancient Rome. The name came from the fact that the members were "odd" in that they would share what little worldly goods they had with those less fortunate. The Odd Fellows to which the fraternity now relates originated in England during the 18th century and were well established in such organizations as the Manchester Unity. This was a time of great migration to the new and prosperous America and many of these immigrants were Odd Fellows belonging to the various orders in England.
Thomas Wildey, the founder of Oddfellowship in America, was one such immigrant who had come from England in 1818 and worked as a coach builder in Baltimore, Maryland. He had met another English Odd Fellow by the name of John Welch and they wanted to meet other Odd Fellows in order to form a lodge in Baltimore. Wildey ran ads in the Baltimore paper asking that Odd Fellows meet with him at the Seven Stars Inn on the night of April 26, 1819. Besides Wildey and Welch, three other Odd Fellows showed up for the meeting. At this first meeting they obligated themselves, elected Wildey as Noble Grand and applied to the Manchester Unity for a charter for Washington Lodge No. 1 - Baltimore. The charter was issued and dated Feb. 1, 1820. At that time there were other Odd Fellow groups meeting in Boston, Halifax and New York City but none were chartered before Washington Lodge No. 1. This then is why April 26, 1819, is considered the founding date of the Order in America.
Some of the Order's humanitarian endeavors include operating homes for the aged and orphans, high rise apartments for low-income senior citizens and nursing homes. The Odd Fellow's World Eye Bank and Visual Research Foundation, which endowed $625,000 to Johns Hopkins Hospital for research in 1961, continues to contribute to this program, supports an education foundation that has assisted thousands through college, supports thousands of youth activities and community service programs throughout the world and contributes to disaster areas. It sponsors thousands of youth activities and community service programs throughout the world, sponsors an annual United Nations Pilgrimage for youth to New York City, honors our military dead each May with a pilgrimage to the Tomb of the Unknowns, sponsors a float in the New Year's Rose Festival Parade at Pasadena and built and maintains the gates to the International Peace Garden located on the United States/Canadian Boarder.
The mission of the IOOF is to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphans.
Copyright The Inter-Mountain, all rights reserved.
