About Us
The Kanawha Valley Historical & Preservation Society was founded
in 1972 both as a locally active historic preservation organization and
as a regional umbrella for the many local groups interested in their own
particular history. Our purpose is to CELEBRATE the history of the
Kanawha Valley, to PRESERVE that history as it is reflected in the built
environment and in artifacts, documents and images, and to ADVOCATE
historic appreciation and education. Early on, the Society reached
beyond Charleston with efforts to save buildings associated with Booker
T. Washington in the eastern part of Kanawha County and the BUFFALO
ACADEMY to the west in Putnam County.
Like many all-volunteer organizations, the Society has had its
periods of inaction, but over the years has designed and printed several
very popular "walking tour" brochures and produced educational programs
for public school use. In the last several years the Society continually
worked to save the MacCorkle mansion SUNRISE, installed an eight-picture
display of West Virginia’s past Capitol buildings in the present State
Capitol rotunda and participated in the exemplary renovation and reuse
of the 1836 McFARLAND/HUBBARD HOUSE, 1310 Kanawha Boulevard, E.
Both as a part of and a reflection of a nationwide increase in
interest in history and perhaps because of contention surrounding its
teaching, Preservation Societies have grown in prominence in recent
years. The membership of the Kanawha Valley Historical & Preservation Society has tripled to around 390 in this decade. We have been and will
continue to be instrumental in drawing public attention to such matters
as upgrading Charleston’s unique 1939 MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM; defending
the 1940 KANAWHA BOULEVARD; stopping the demolition of the 1921 YWCA
Building; opposing the assault on the West Virginia Archives and most
recently have undertaken to record and document the Charleston area’s
“Catalog Homes” (the pre-cut houses supplied by Sears-Roebuck, Minter
Homes of Huntington, WV and others), to sponsor an audio documentary,
traveling exhibit and public forums on the explosive 1974 “Textbook War”
and to defend the iconic Art Deco Quarrier Diner in downtown Charleston.
We also maintain an office and telephone
message center for public inquiries, etc. and cooperated in the design
and publication of the Kanawha-Putnam County Directory of
HistoricalOrganizations and a full-color East End Tour Guide. We have no
membership requirements beyond very modest dues and operate with a very
open, publicly oriented structure. We wholeheartedly invite active
participation from any individual or group willing to help tackle the
ever-growing challenge of preserving the hard evidence of success and
failure in our incomparable common heritage.
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