Rotary Club learns about Battlers Knob
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Cheri Sturm, manager of Battlers Knob, the former site of Alderson-Broaddus University, spoke with the Rotary Club of Elkins, giving the group an update the various uses of the Philippi location.
Craig Phillips purchased the former Alderson-Broaddus University property in January 2024. "It's kind of a joke in the family because when we came home from the auction that day, we parked in front of the large building there and he kind of looked around and said, 'honey, I just spent all of your inheritance,'" said Sturm, who is Phillips' daughter.
Whenever Philippi was mentioned, A-B was what always came to Phillips' mind. When the school closed, that changed, and a huge void was felt by all of those who lived in the area. The businesses in town suffered from the loss of the students, who at one time numbered over 1,000, along with the 150 faculty and staff who were employed by A-B at the time of its closure. Many of the employees were forced to seek employment outside of Barbour County and many had to relocate. "There was a huge void in Philippi, it just wasn't the same anymore," added Sturm.
The Phillips family was concerned about the future of the facility and the potential impact on the community. There were rumors that the property would be turned into a drug rehabilitation facility or a housing facility for immigrants. While those facilities are certainly needed, Sturm commented, their family did not feel that the center of Phillippi was the proper place for such facilities. "We felt that protecting our community was very important as Barbour County has always been home," said Sturm. "We still don't have a plan in place, we go day by day, but our hearts are there and we're doing our best to make it come back to life."
The property consists of 180 acres with 28 large buildings. "We try to think outside the box every day and say, 'what can we do,'" said Sturm. They receive many suggestions about how the property can be utilized, many that have not been considered and many that are simply not realistic. The Phillips family takes all of the suggestions that seem viable and work toward bringing them to life. One of the biggest struggles for such a large property is maintenance and upkeep, followed by the utilities that are quite large. Currently, there are six maintenance staff who work to keep the grounds maintained and manicured.
There are a number of businesses leasing space in the former business office building, including 4-H Extension, the domestic violence and WIC offices, family resource center, Comparion Insurance , the Philippi Mennonite church, Nestors auction house and Kid Care daycare facility.
Battlers Knob has partnered with West Virginia Wesleyan College to provide a limited number of nursing classes to provide an LPN to BSN program. The classes are being held in the medical building where A-B housed its nursing and physician's assistants programs. The end goal of the partnership is to revive the physician's assistants program by 2028.
A program under consideration is a trade school. "We think that it's very much needed. We just haven't been able to get with the right people yet to be able to get that up and running," said Sturm. "That is in the back of our minds that we would like to do at some point."
They are also working with the State of West Virginia to provide some foster care programming at Battlers Knob. "Foster care in West Virginia is in desperate need of housing and different things for the kids. We are talking with the State but it's not positive enough to say we're going to do that yet but it's looking like we may be able to work something out with them to help the foster program," added Sturm.
The facility is available for events and, according to Sturm, there is a wedding nearly every weekend throughout the summer and fall, especially in the beautiful chapel that is located on the campus. Several conventions have been held on site, including the West Virginia Beekeepers Association and the West Virginia State Basketweaving convention. Housing in the former dormitory buildings, food service on site and ample meeting space are available for those types of events. Athletic events such as wrestling and basketball tournaments are held in the coliseum [the former Rex Pyles Gymnasium] and space is also utilized by a gymnastics program.
Over the summer, many band camps, football camps and soccer camps were held at Battlers Knob. The dormitories and athletic fields are available for those camps along with food service for the participants. "Those things kept us very busy during the summer months," said Sturm. Additionally, the West Virginia Leviathans, a semi-pro football team from Buckhannon uses the football facility.
The summer also saw many mission groups using Battlers Knob as a homebase while working in the surrounding area (Philippi, Weston, Buckhannon). Some additional groups used the facility while working in Lewis and Upshur counties during recovery efforts from the recent flooding that took place in July.
Two dormitory buildings have been transitioned into short-term living. Travel nurses working at Broaddus Hospital along with coal miners who want to shorten their daily commute take advantage of these facilities. While many have suggested offering long-term rental of the units, they are not made for long-term living because they are still in their dormitory configurations. In order to create apartments, quite a bit of work would be required. Another difficulty relating to apartment living is the shortage of parking spaces. There would be room for 480 residents in the 3 buildings but there is only one small parking lot with space for about 75 cars. "If we turn all these buildings into apartments, where are people going to park. There are obstacles with everything that we just kind of have to feel our way through," said Sturm.
The former alumni center has been converted into a motel with fourteen rooms. Many times, the entire facility will be rented for a family reunion, a party or a wedding. "It is also rented by the night via AirBNB and or directly through Sturm @ 304-613-7180. With the closing of the Mountaineer Inn, Battlers Knob Inn is the only commercial lodging in the area.
In the long term, the Phillips family is continuing to look for more opportunities to make use of the property. "We never had a plan from day one so we, every day, see what opportunities arise and see what we can do with those opportunities and try to move forward," concluded Sturm.
More information about Battlers Knob can be found at https://battlersknobwv.com/ or by visiting their Facebook page (Battlers Knob LLC). Sturm can be reached at cheri.sturm@yahoo.com or 304-613-7180.
Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change - across the globe, in their communities, and in themselves. Visit www.Rotary.org to learn more about Rotary International, visit the club's Facebook page - Rotary Club of Elkins – or contact 2026-2027 club president Karen Wilmoth at wilmothk@gmail.com for more information about the Rotary Club of Elkins.