- Charles Town Mining, Manufacturing, and Improvement Company Building
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Charles Town Mining, Manufacturing, and Improvement Company Building
Location: Ranson, West Virginia Coordinates: 39°17′40″N 77°51′38″W / 39.29444°N 77.86056°WCoordinates: 39°17′40″N 77°51′38″W / 39.29444°N 77.86056°W Built: 1891 Architect: Holmes, Julius C. Architectural style: Romanesque Governing body: Local NRHP Reference#: 01000779 Added to NRHP: August 2, 2001[1] The Charles Town Mining, Manufacturing, and Improvement Company Building in Ranson, West Virginia is a Romanesque Revival building that now serves as Ranson's City Hall. It was built for the Charles Town Mining, Manufacturing and Improvement Company (CMM&I) in 1891 as its headquarters. The CMM&I sought to develop industry in the area that in 1910 became the City of Ranson. The company was formed in 1890 by Roger Preston Chew, Frank Beck, Forrest W. Brown, T.C. Green, W.F. Lippitt, A.W. McDonald and B. C. Washington, with Chew as president. Using 850 acres (3.4 km2) of land purchased from the Ranson family, a planned community was laid out by D.G. Howell, a Washington, D.C. landscape architect and civil engineer. In 1891 the 3½ story headquarters was built, designed by J.C. Holmes.
By 1893 the CMM&I was facing hard times, possibly as a result of the Panic of 1893, and the headquarters was sold to the Board of Education of Charles Town, and served as Charles Town High School from 1893 to 1912. The school was sometimes known as the "Keyhole School" after its distinctive entrance, and as the Wright Denny School. In 1917 the Board of Education sold the school to former mayor Gerard D. Moore, and upon his death the property went to H.C. Getzendanner for $4500. Part of the building was used as a confectionary and the north half became the Ranson Post Office. In 1936 the City of Ranson bought the building for $3000 as its City Hall, although apartments occupied the upper floors until the 1970s.[2]
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ Geoffrey Henry and Jared N. Tuk (April 10, 2001). National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Charles Town Mining, Manufacturing, and Improvement Company BuildingPDF (4.94 MB). National Park Service
U.S. National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Lists by county Barbour • Berkeley • Boone • Braxton • Brooke • Cabell • Calhoun • Clay • Doddridge • Fayette • Gilmer • Grant • Greenbrier • Hampshire • Hancock • Hardy • Harrison • Jackson • Jefferson • Kanawha • Lewis • Lincoln • Logan • Marion • Marshall • Mason • McDowell • Mercer • Mineral • Mingo • Monongalia • Monroe • Morgan • Nicholas • Ohio • Pendleton • Pleasants • Pocahontas • Preston • Putnam • Raleigh • Randolph • Ritchie • Roane • Summers • Taylor • Tucker • Tyler • Upshur • Wayne • Webster • Wetzel • Wirt • Wood • Wyoming
Other lists Categories:- Post office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia
- Buildings and structures in Jefferson County, West Virginia
- Buildings and structures completed in 1891
- Romanesque Revival architecture in West Virginia
- City halls in West Virginia
- Mining in West Virginia
- Defunct schools in West Virginia
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, West Virginia
- Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia
- West Virginia Registered Historic Place stubs
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