The Inter-Mountain photo by Taylor McKinnie A Kump Education Center tutor helps a local student with a worksheet on Thursday afternoon.

ELKINS — The Kump Education Center is celebrating the Kump House’s centennial anniversary through on-going events and community work.

Built in 1925, the Neo-Federal Revival home of former West Virginia Governor Herman Guy Kump has been the location of the Kump Education Center since 2010.

With 2025 being the house’s 100th birthday, the Kump Educational Center has offered several events and momentous occasions throughout the year.

In June, the Center teamed up with the Log Cabin Quilt Guild for a pie auction and heritage quilt exhibition. The spring event saw guests partake in live music, refreshments, free house tours and Arboretum walks. Guests were also given the chance to see the Kump House’s new barn quilt, which commemorated “Fannie’s Crazy Quilt,” a quilt made by Fannie Logan Scott, the mother of former First Lady Enda Kump.

During the 87th Mountain State Forest Festival in late September, early October, the Center offered daily Centennial Tours as part of the festivities. The Kump Center was in for a delightful surprise with the Forest Festival this year, as Sterling Anne Kump of Moorefield, the great-great granddaughter of H.G. Kump, was crowned Queen Silvia LXXXVII.

“That was just a gift,” Kump Education Center Executive Director Dr. Heather Biola told The Inter-Mountain this week. “We didn’t have any idea that it would be a Kump queen… Governor Kump helped, in the early days of the Festival, with the Distinguished Guest’s Dinner.”

On Oct. 16, the Kump Education Center began another year of its Targeted Tutoring program, which focuses on helping fourth- and fifth-graders from local schools with their studies through traditional tutoring methods, as well as through healthy snacks, social interactions and more.

“I really think coming here and getting those ideas is helpful for students to realize that you don’t have to be big and you don’t have to be rich to make a difference,” Biola said. “H.G. Kump and his brother put each other through law school. They paid for one and then for the other… (As children) they lived on a farm and they were required to memorize a page of the dictionary. Even if they missed school to work in the (farm) field, their parents wanted them to keep building their vocabulary.”

Throughout the month of December , the house will be decorated and open to the public for Christmas at the Kump House tours.

The Kump Center is able to continue its work on both the house and for the community through donations of peoples’ time, expertise or financial contributions. One way people donate to the Kump Center is through donations from their IRA.

“West Virginia Wills Week is a great time to think about giving future contributions proactively to ensure what you want your gifts to accomplish,” Biola told The Inter-Mountain. “Supporting Kump Education Center is a good way to hand down the historic legacy of learning and teaching that is so important for all local families.”

The Kump Education Center is a qualified charitable distribution (Q.C.D.), meaning that they are able to receive donations through a donator’s IRA required minimum distribution (R.M.D.).

“If you are over 70, you might consider making a donation from your IRA required minimum distribution to save tax dollars now,” Biola said. “You may also want to discuss making a bequest in your will to reduce the inheritance tax burdens on your children and grandchildren by planning ahead.”

If someone is interested in making that type of donation, they can call Biola at 304-637-7820 to start the conversation about options for including Kump Education Center in the estate planning process.

To learn more or to contact the Kump Education Center, email kumpec@gmail.com or visit kumpeducationcenter.org.