PRESTON COUNTY POORHOUSE

PRESTON COUNTY POOR FARM (Kingwood, West Virginia)
Submitted by Kim Varner klvarner@yahoo.com
	"My parents, brother and I lived in the Preston County Poor House located in Kingwood WV. My parents moved there in 1973 when my father took a job with the Preston County Board of Education. His job was Caretaker of the farm and night watchman of the vocational school and bus garage. My brother and I grew up on the farm. My parents moved away two years ago to get their own place." Kim
	Here we fast forward time! TIME TRAVEL CODE Black & White = taken in 1963 Colored = taken in 2000

"The "Walnut Crest Lodge" Poorhouse ... was built in 1877. It is built of red brick, has a slate roof and the interior woodwork is all oak, including the three staircases. The building is presently being used by the Preston County Board of Education for storage purposes." Marion Scott

	Here we see the barn. (Hmmm. Did that tree grow fast or what!?)
Below we have a long shot view of the barn and the calf barn. The barn is still in use today; the calf barn is used as a wrestling room for the high school.

Note: The very tiny pictures below with a border are "thumbnails"; click on them to enlarge them.

The buildings pictured to the far right are no longer there.	hog barn then	hog barn now	corn cribs (and water shed) looking from the barn	chicken coops in back

Now looking down the road where the corn crib and other buildings once stood.		chicken coops gone

This is a view of the back of the main building. The white porch was an integral part of the building. It is interesting to note that on the inside wall there was what appeared to be a serving window through which food may have been served to people waiting on the porch.