By 1818, the National Road connected Cumberland, Maryland, with Wheeling, Virginia, through southwestern Pennsylvania. Although it passed north of Preston County, its traffic created nearby markets for the county’s farmers and merchants. Oren F. Morton later described the road’s taverns as buyers of local farm produce and associated its busy years with Brandonville’s growth. Connections to this neighboring transportation corridor helped shape the economy of northern Preston.
Research status: Verified to source
Additional source
Hagans Homestead nomination — Preston’s feeder-road connections, pp. 7–8
Henry Grimes built the stone structure near present-day Aurora as a residence in 1825–1827. Standing beside the corridor that became the Northwestern Turnpike, it was later converted into the Red Horse Tavern and remains one of the area's oldest buildings.
Research status: Verified
Citation / research lead
National Register of Historic Places, Red Horse Tavern additional documentation, Section 8; Brookside Historic District nomination, Section 8, p. 12
The former Grimes residence was converted into a tavern in 1841 to serve traffic on the Northwestern Turnpike. Operated at different times by George Hauser, Hiram Hanshaw, and William H. Grimes, the Red Horse Tavern remained a significant local stopping place until 1882.
Research status: Verified
Citation / research lead
National Register of Historic Places, Red Horse Tavern additional documentation, Sections 8 and 9
After the March 1869 courthouse fire, McCafferty, Smalley & Menear constructed a new two-story brick courthouse in Kingwood for $11,000. Completed in 1870, it served the county until it was torn down in 1933 for construction of the present courthouse.
Research status: Verified
Citation / research lead
National Register nomination, Kingwood Historic District, Section 8, p. 33
The Preston County Herald began publication in Kingwood in 1870. It was renamed the West Virginia Argus in 1877 and operated from the Bishop Building until 1945.
Research status: Verified
Citation / research lead
National Register nomination, Kingwood Historic District, Section 8, pp. 29–30
Wilmer P. Vale bought 329½ acres from William Stone in 1882 and added two adjoining parcels in 1884 and 1885. Named Brookside for nearby Rhine Creek, the property developed into Aurora's largest resort complex, with a large hotel and cottages along the former Northwestern Turnpike.
Research status: Verified
Citation / research lead
National Register of Historic Places, Brookside Historic District nomination, Section 8, pp. 13–14
Business owners and community leaders secured a charter for the Terra Alta Bank on October 21, 1891, establishing Preston County's second bank and the first to serve the eastern part of the county. Directors were elected on November 13, and the bank opened in temporary quarters in May 1892.
Research status: Verified to source
Citation / research lead
National Register of Historic Places nomination, Terra Alta Bank (1997), section 8, p. 2
The permanent Terra Alta Bank building opened in October 1893 after construction began the previous year. The three-story Italianate commercial building at East Washington and Latrobe streets was constructed by Gakes Brothers and Sharp and became one of downtown Terra Alta's largest structures.
Research status: Verified to source
Citation / research lead
National Register of Historic Places nomination, Terra Alta Bank (1997), section 8, p. 2
After acquiring the town of Bretz and its adjacent coal mine from the West Virginia Coal Company in 1906, the Elkins Coal & Coke Company began constructing a bank of 400 beehive coke ovens.
Research status: Verified to source
Citation / research lead
National Register of Historic Places nomination, Elkins Coal and Coke Company Historic District (1978), section 8, p. 3
The Elkins Coal & Coke Company's Bretz plant entered full production in 1907. The Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad connected the operation with its principal customer, the Maryland Steel Company plant and shipyard at Sparrows Point near Baltimore.
Research status: Verified to source
Citation / research lead
National Register of Historic Places nomination, Elkins Coal and Coke Company Historic District (1978), section 8, p. 3
By March 4, 1909, Alpha had purchased the Buckhorn Portland Cement Company’s plant at Manheim. That day’s Preston County Journal reported the completed transfer and plans for $250,000 in repairs before operations resumed. It described a daily capacity of 1,500 barrels and a payroll of 200 men, with further expansion contemplated. The purchase began a new chapter for the works following Buckhorn’s shutdown and receivership. Later National Register documentation connects Alpha with Manheim’s development as a company town providing employee housing, electricity, and water.
Research status: Verified to source
Additional source
Downtown Rowlesburg Historic District, National Register nomination (2005), Section 8, p. 41: Alpha purchase and company housing
Branson Haas purchased more than 400 acres from the McBride estate in 1922. The property included Brookside Woods—the old-growth hemlock forest associated with the resort—as well as surrounding farmland, and Haas became a determined advocate for preserving the forest.
Research status: Verified to source
Citation / research lead
National Register of Historic Places, Brookside Historic District nomination, Section 8, pp. 18–19
Kingwood High School was constructed in 1922 in the Neo-Colonial Revival style. Morgantown architect Francis J. Simmons designed the building, which later housed Central Preston Senior High School and Central Preston Middle School.
Research status: Verified
Citation / research lead
National Register nomination, Kingwood Historic District, Section 7, p. 18 and Section 8, p. 31
Colonel Theodore Roosevelt Jr., eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt and a decorated World War I veteran, reportedly addressed an audience in the Kingwood High School auditorium during a West Virginia Republican campaign tour. The Kingwood Historic District nomination dates the appearance to October 19, 1928; contemporary local newspaper confirmation is still being sought.
Research status: Captured · not verified
Citation / research lead
National Register nomination, Kingwood Historic District, Section 8, p. 31
The Terra Alta Bank operated under depositors' agreements and State Banking Commission restrictions from December 5, 1931, through January 16, 1936. Federal deposit insurance protected deposits up to $5,000 beginning in October 1933, helping it remain the only bank in Preston County to stay solvent through the Great Depression.
Research status: Verified to source
Citation / research lead
National Register of Historic Places nomination, Terra Alta Bank (1997), section 8, p. 3
Preston County dedicated its present Art Deco courthouse in Kingwood after an all-day program on August 25, 1934. The sandstone building cost $113,500.90, and former Kingwood attorney John Barton Payne delivered the dedication address.
Research status: Verified
Citation / research lead
National Register nomination, Kingwood Historic District, Section 7, p. 9 and Section 8, p. 31
A Civilian Conservation Corps camp began on Preston County Country Club property at Caddell, near present-day Camp Dawson. First known as Camp Fairfax and later as Camp Preston, it was fully operating by September. Its planned work included roads on Caddell Mountain, forest cleanup, and a telegraph line; the camp became the predecessor of Camp Rhododendron.
Research status: Verified to source
Citation / research lead
National Park Service, New Deal Resources in West Virginia, Section E, pp. 6–7
During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration constructed concrete sidewalks along several Kingwood streets. Work began on Beverly Street in 1935, continued on Price Street and Brown Avenue in 1937, and reached High Street in 1940. Surviving examples are reminders of the federal work-relief program’s lasting influence on the town’s streetscape.
Research status: Verified to source
Citation / research lead
National Park Service, Kingwood Historic District National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Section 8, pp. 4–5
Following the state’s purchase of the forest land in March, 45 Civilian Conservation Corps men established a tent camp at the old Keefover Homestead while another 90 men traveled daily from Camp Preston. By June they had opened a rough but passable route from West Virginia Route 73. Camp Rhododendron crews went on to build roads, trails, picnic shelters, staff buildings, stonework, and the overlook and walkway during the CCC era.
Research status: Verified to source
Citation / research lead
National Park Service, New Deal Resources in West Virginia, Section E, pp. 6–9
Branson Haas sold the 118.5-acre tract containing Brookside Woods to the State of West Virginia for $13,000. The State Conservation Commission established Cathedral State Park, and Haas remained there as caretaker until his death in 1955. A separate 7.5-acre parcel was acquired later for park facilities.
Research status: Verified
Citation / research lead
National Register of Historic Places, Brookside Historic District nomination, Section 8, pp. 18–19
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad depot at Tunnelton closed its doors to passenger service after selling its final passenger tickets. Freight handling continued into the 1980s, but the 1968 closure marked the end of the depot’s long role as a passenger gateway for central and southern Preston County.
Research status: Verified to source
Citation / research lead
National Register nomination, Tunnelton Railroad Depot, Section 8, pp. 3 and 9
Aurora artist Lewis E. Stemple prepared the March 1973 National Register nomination for Red Horse Tavern. The historic stone building was entered in the National Register of Historic Places on July 2, connecting Stemple's artistic legacy with preservation of Aurora's turnpike history.
Research status: Verified
Citation / research lead
Lewis E. Stemple, National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form: Red Horse Tavern, March 1973; National Register listing date, July 2, 1973
The Arthurdale Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on February 1, 1989. The designation recognized the surviving New Deal community plan, homesteads, public buildings, industrial structures, roads, and other historic resources.
Research status: Verified to source
Citation / research lead
West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office, Preston County National Register listings; National Register nomination
After 98 years in its 1893 building, the Terra Alta Bank opened a modern facility on State Route 7 on June 24, 1991. In June 1993, the former bank building was sold to the Preston County Historical Society for ten dollars and became the Preston County History House.
Research status: Verified to source
Citation / research lead
National Register of Historic Places nomination, Terra Alta Bank (1997), section 8, p. 3
The 139-acre Brookside Historic District near Aurora was entered in the National Register of Historic Places. The district connects the surviving Brookside resort properties—including Gaymont, cottages, the farm, and Red Horse Tavern—with Cathedral State Park and the history of transportation and mountain tourism along U.S. Route 50.
Research status: Verified
Citation / research lead
West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office, National Register list for Preston County; Brookside Historic District nomination