Courtesy of WVU Extension West Virginia University Board of Governors approved a $4.25 million budget to update Jackson Lodge, located at  WVU Jackson’s Mill in Lewis County.

A charitable gift to WVU Extension will result in significant improvements for Jackson Lodge at WVU Jackson’s Mill.

During its most recent meeting, the West Virginia University Board of Governors approved a $4.25 million budget to update the lodge located on the 500-acre event facility located near Weston, in Lewis County.

The funds are coming from the WVU Extension Foundation by way of the Mary Jane Glasscock WVU Jackson’s Mill Improvement Fund.

The work will constitute the first improvements to the lodge since it was built in 1968 and will result in renovations to the lodging rooms on the upper levels while incorporating a new visitor’s center on the ground floor.

Comprehensive upgrades are expected to include the installation of new life safety systems, a modern elevator and other ADA accessibility improvements.

Mechanical and tech upgrades will include a new HVAC system, updated electrical system, enhanced lighting, expanded data infrastructure and network equipment, security cameras and audiovisual equipment.

The new visitor’s center is intended to welcome guests and highlight the historic and cultural significance of the Jackson’s Mill property, which has been managed by WVU since the 1920s.

Established in 1801, Jackson’s Mill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

It’s not only the site of an early grist mill – and later a sawmill – it was the boyhood home of Confederate general Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. 

The property became home to the first state 4-H camp in the U.S. in 1921 and was used to train Naval Air cadets during World War II.

Today, the property is dotted with more than a dozen educational, recreational, event and lodging facilities.

Those facilities include a dining hall patterned after Mount Vernon, the building that housed West Virginia’s exhibit at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, an assembly hall, the McWhorter Cabin constructed in the 1790s near neighboring Jane Lew, numerous cabins, and even an emergency airstrip.

Among the property’s newer amenities is the Robert Hayhurst Shooting Sports Complex. Built in 2020, the facility is the home to the West Virginia 4-H Shooting Sports Program.

For more information, check out jacksonsmill.wvu.edu.