Buckhannon Central Residential Historic District
The Buckhannon Central Residential Historic District [‡] was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
The Buckhannon Central Residential Historic District is located in Buckhannon, Upshur County, West Virginia. The district consists of primarily single family residential homes along with some secondary buildings such as garages and storage outbuildings. Buckhannon is the county seat of Upshur County and is located in the north-central section of the county. The county is located in north-central West Virginia. Buckhannon is situated below a large oxbow of the Buckhannon River which is directly north and east of the neighborhood. Buckhannon is located east of Weston and south of Clarksburg, West Virginia. It has a current population of approximately 5,639 as of 2010 and is home to West Virginia Wesleyan College which is located east of the historic district along College Avenue.
The area contains approximately 110 acres. West Virginia Wesleyan College dominates the eastern side of the neighborhood with all of the residential areas located to its south and west. The residential neighborhood located to the south of the college was originally known as South Buckhannon and was a separate incorporated town until 1920 when it merged with Buckhannon proper. A more industrial neighborhood and the Buckhannon River are located directly to the north of the District.
Lot sizes within the district are generous and mature trees line the streets. Most front yards are small but side and rear yards, large. There are several individual residences that have very large lots and include small gardens and swimming pools and there are numerous outbuildings within the district. Street amenities include the 1960 cobra style street lights, iron fences, stone walls, picket fences and several small parks. Alleys are numerous within the district and allow for easy access to garages and outbuildings.
There are 424 primary resources in the District. The District's boundary generally follows Madison Street on the north, East Main Street on the east, College Avenue to the southeast, and South Kanawha Street to the west. Almost all of the resources within the District are single family residences. Exceptions include several churches, schools, parks and a few commercial buildings. The district retains its neighborhood ambiance and it continues to represent the evolution of the built environment in a residential district.
Many of the residences still retain their pressed metal shingle roofs and rock-faced and panel-faced concrete block foundations as well as many decorative architectural elements such as scrolled brackets, dropped finials, decorative porch posts and patterned shingles. There are a few historic iron fences and stone walls outlining the property lines. The residences are densely packed but with generous side and rear yards and the streets are lined with mature trees and extensive landscaping.
There are several parks within the district: Jawbone Park at the southwest corner of Madison and South Florida Streets; the triangle park in front of the Charles Gibson City Library building; and a new skateboard park at the southeast corner of Madison and South Florida Streets. Jawbone and the triangle park likely date to the late 19th century as there are newspaper accounts of 4th of July events within Jawbone Park that date to that time period and the triangle park at the junction of Sedgwick and East Main Streets is shown on the 1930 Sanborn Fire Insurance map. Jawbone Park is named for the creek which is named for the shape of the creek as it passes through Buckhannon and it is centrally located between the residential neighborhood and Buckhannon's downtown. It has recently been renovated with a modern sculpture of "Chief Buckhannon" and his son along with landscaping with trees, shrubs and flowers as well as benches and a modern gazebo for events. The triangle park is basically a traffic island that separates Sedgwick Street from East Main Street as it travels east and it has been landscaped with low shrubs and flowers as well as three mill stones.
West Virginia Wesleyan College is located along the eastern side of College Avenue from Meade Street, originally called Seminary Street, to the south and to the north at the Buckhannon River and Lumber Street. The District houses many of the administrative and academic faculty as well as students of the college. South Kanawha Street forms the western boundary of the district and was historically known as "Quality Hill." Many homes of significant individuals of the time period such as judges, lawyers, and other professional gentlemen are located within this area. College Avenue is not named for Wesleyan College, but rather for the historic, non-extant, Normal and Classical Academy. Meade Street was originally called Seminary Street as a reference to the Academy.
There are a number of churches within the district: the Liberty in Christ Church on South Florida Street, 1873; a former church building on South Florida Street, ca.1900; the First United Methodist Church on South Florida Street, 1910; the First Baptist Church on Hart Avenue, ca. 1911; the Church of the Transfiguration on South Kanawha Street, ca. 1980; the Chapel Hill United Methodist Church on South Kanawha Street, ca. 1980; the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church on Latham Street, 1919; and the Church of Christ on Madison Street, ca. 1980. All but the modern church buildings were built in the Gothic Revival style and have brick facades.
Significance
George R. Latham was a significant figure in Buckhannon's early history. He was born near Haymarket, Virginia, studied as a lawyer, and was admitted to the bar in 1859 when he began his practice in Grafton, Virginia (now West Virginia). He served as Delegate to the Wheeling Convention in 1861 and served as a Captain in the Union Army of Company B, 2nd WV Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which he organized. He was later promoted to Colonel and then served in the US House of Representatives from 1865-1867. Later positions included consul to Melbourne, Australia from 1867 to 1870; Upshur County School Superintendent from 1875 to 1877; and supervisor for the first census division of West Virginia. He was also a farmer in Upshur County and maintained his home on Madison Street until his death in December 1917. He is buried in the Heavner Cemetery in Buckhannon.
Latham's home is the oldest home within the District and the only Greek Revival style residence in the neighborhood. The house consists of two, 2 story, side-gable wings attached via a 1 story wood portico with bracketed frieze and slightly battered wood columns with plinths and caps. The southwest wing was built in ca. 1866 and the northeast wing in ca. 1879. Gray's 1879 map of the house includes the Latham house with its current configuration with an additional rear section. By 1930, the Sanborn Fire Insurance map does not show the rear section but does show the current portico configuration. The current gable wing/addition on the rear appears to have been a separate kitchen dependency which at some point was attached to the main house. Other than those changes noted, the house remains in as-built condition and is the only example of early Greek Revival style in the district.
The Civil War was not a major factor in Buckhannon's history but the Central Residential Historic District did serve as the encampment grounds for Union General McClellan's troops. There was also an encampment site north of Main Street between Washington and Spring Streets in 1863. McClellan established his camp in Buckhannon in order to control the supply lines traveling along the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, Buckhannon's Main Street. For the most part, Upshur County was a strong supporter for the Union but of course, there were Confederate supporters as well. Buckhannon saw many raids throughout the War and there was one small skirmish known as the "Battle Hill," now known as Water Tank Hill, with the Confederates winning the battle.
The Central Residential Historic District began as John Smith's farm with a few other residences located in the area. On March 28, 1892, John L. Smith deeded streets and alleys to the city of Buckhannon for public use along with delineating Smithfield Street to be 40 feet wide with nine parcels along it. This began the annexation of the neighborhood from his farm. The Berlin Addition consisting of half blocks was established in 1903 from portions of Smith's farm. Ellen E. Smith, widow of John Smith, deeded additional land to the city for development on May 11, 1905. Other additions followed including Midway Addition and Arnold Addition until the neighborhood we see today was established. John Smith's original house remains in the district today (5 Third Avenue). The house was built ca. 1874 and is one of the oldest houses within the District.
The Smith House, ca. 1874, is shown on all the early maps of Buckhannon including Gray's 1879 map and later Sanborn Fire Insurance maps. The "Plan of Buckhannon Upshur County 1871" map does not show the Smith House so it is presumed the house was built between 1871 and 1879 when it appears on Gray's map. The house is the original house within the neighborhood. It is a large 2 story, rear facing "L"- shaped plan house and is shown as such on Gray's map. The house originally had a 2 story, front porch as evidenced by the second story door, but many of the existing decorative elements such as the existing front entrance porch, the bracketed frieze, etc. likely date to the early 1900s. The house is considered an "I"- house type with some Italianate detailing.
Along with all the businesses, churches, schools and other endeavors, Buckhannon worked to improve its infrastructure. Main Street was first paved in 1888 through a bond issue and Main Street was paved with bricks on a bed of sand. Prior to the paving, all the streets were mud. South Kanawha Street, also known as Quality Hill and the Staunton to Parkersburg Turnpike, was paved with stones, and stone walls lined the roadway at the turn of the century. Quality Hill became the place to build a home on and live. Natural gas was provided to the town's residents via nearby gas wells, and the river along with private wells provided water. South Buckhannon, considered a separate town until 1900, was the location of the Buckhannon Electric Light and Water Plant and once incorporated, supplied these utilities town-wide. The Civil War had brought the first telegraph to the region, and by 1922 the first residential telephone was installed in the Stuart/Young House by Mr. G.O. Young. The secondary streets were first paved in the 1920s as automobiles became more common, and by the late 1930s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was updating the streets and installing new sidewalks within the district.
The Buckhannon Central Residential Historic District has grid-oriented streets with modest to moderate size houses and modest lawns, rear and side yards. The neighborhood is walkable, adjacent to downtown and the college, and accessible to major transportation routes. It is also laid out in a relatively flat bottomland, thus allowing for the lot sizes and architectural styles exhibited.
The three oldest houses within the district are the George Latham House, ca. 1866; the Simpson/Collins House, ca. 1870; and the Westfall/Hart House, ca. 1870. The Latham House is the only example of early Greek Revival style in the district. The Greek Revival style dates approximately from 1825 to 1860 so the Latham House is a later example of the style.
The Westfall/Hart House, ca. 1870 retains most of its original architectural integrity and elements. It is a 2 story, front facing "L" shaped plan house with 2 story, projecting, three-sided bay on the side. It has clapboard siding with corner and bracketed frieze boards. Decorative elements include scrolled corner brackets and cut-out vergeboard with central dropped finial in gable end. It has a 1 story, hip roof, wraparound porch with curved corner and Tuscan columns on a scallop shingled balustrade and a stone foundation. The Westfall/Hart House is considered to be an "I"- house type with Queen Anne style detailing and is a contributing resource.
The Greek Revival style is considered to be within "romantic" house styles that were developed in the United States from the early 1800s to late 1800s and were a trend of architectural fashions developed by Andrew Jackson Downing in his book "Cottage Residences." Romantic styles also included Gothic Revival and Italianate styles. There are no Italianate style nor Gothic Revival style residences within the district but all the historic churches within the district are in Gothic Revival style. These include the Liberty in Christ Church, 1873; a former church building, ca. 1900; the First United Methodist Church, 1910; the First Baptist Church, 1911; and the African Methodist Episcopal Church, 1919. All have brick facades, steeply pitched roofs, square towers and Gothic shaped pointed windows with hoods. The largest example is the First United Methodist Church. It is a very large hip roof church building with projecting gable bays, a large square corner tower and an attached residence. It has a red clay tile roof with stone coping and a red brick facade. The tower has a crenellated parapet with stone coping and brick buttresses with stone shoulders. All openings have stone lintels and sills. There is a large 1 story, arcaded Gothic style stone opening with a large Gothic style stained glass and wood filigree window on the front with stone hood and stone still. The attached residence is a 2 story, hip roof with same roof as church and gable dormers, interior red corbelled brick chimney, and decorative front porch. There is also a modern addition which houses a school. The church is in excellent condition.
The next trend or fashion in architecture is known as the Victorian era. Victorian styles were popular during the reign of Britain's Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901, but in the United States this era was from approximately 1860 to 1900. Victorian styles include Second Empire, Stick, Queen Anne, Queen Anne Cottage (a subtype of Queen Anne), Shingle, Richardsonian Romanesque and Folk Victorian. The styles were allowed to proliferate due to the growth in railroads, industrialization and newer construction techniques such as balloon framing which was a lighter alternative to heavy timber framing. Most Victorian styles are based on medieval examples and include steeply pitched roofs, varying textures and colors and "gingerbread." Although the Stick, Shingle and Richardsonian Romanesque styles are not represented within the district, there is one Second Empire style example. This is the former Forman Surgical Hospital building, 1904, located on South Florida Street. It is a 3-1/2 story brick building with a symmetrical facade and a centered entry. The facade is dominated by a double-gallery veranda with Tuscan columns and a delicate balustrade with attenuated wood balusters. It has a stylized mansard roof terminating in a hipped roof penetrated by hipped and gable dormers, some finished in scalloped shingles and including a dormer on the facade with a Palladian window. Fenestration is flat-topped, without notable ornament. It has a red brick facade and a stone foundation. It has been converted to apartments. It has some Colonial Revival detailing so is not a pure Second Empire style building; however, it does illustrate the style within the district and is in excellent condition and retains the majority of its character defining elements.
One of the most common styles represented in the district is the Queen Anne and Queen Anne Cottage styles. Many of the examples contain Queen Anne style detailing and elements rather than being representations of the pure style. The Queen Anne style fits firmly within the Victorian styles and was popular in the United States from approximately 1880 to 1910. Queen Anne Cottage style is a subtype of Queen Anne and both share steeply pitched roofs, often hip gables; the use of shingle cladding or multiple facade materials; 1 story porches, often wraparound; and lots of decorative spindlework, vergeboard, brackets, etc. The style is well represented on Central Avenue, College Avenue, Florida Street, Kanawha Street, Main Street, Meade, Sedgwick Street and Smithfield. One of the best known examples of the style is the Arnold House, ca. 1900, located at 82 South Kanawha Street. It is a 2-1/2 story, hip roof house with projecting 2-1/2 story, gable bay on the side and gable and hip dormers and 3 story, corner tower with pyramidal roof with finial. There is a side gable bay with partial return cornice and frieze with brackets and dentils. There is a 2 story, curved corner tower with scalloped wood shingle and clapboard siding facade. The house has 1/1 windows with simple surrounds; Roman grille upper sashes on dormer windows; a 1 story, wraparound porch with Tuscan columns and spindled balustrade; and transom over the double entrance door. There is an elongated oval window on central, front of second floor with compass point keystones and a porte cochere on the side with same components as porch. While the house is considered Queen Anne style it has some Colonial Revival detailing in the porch components. The house is not only striking for its architecture but for its association with Elizabeth Arnold, whose husband was the son of Laura Jackson Arnold, sister of "Stonewall" Jackson of Civil War fame. Laura Jackson Arnold had a special bedroom in the house and lived there until her death in 1911. The house remained in the Arnold family until 1960. The Arnold House was designed by Draper Camden Hughes, architect, and was built by Rolandus Post, Bob Coyner and Dr. Orne Post.
The last Victorian era style within the district is the Folk Victorian style. It is characterized by its simple "I" or "L" shaped form with brackets and vergeboard at the eaves and spindlework on the front porch and was popular from 1870 to about 1910. Examples within the district date from 1888 to ca. 1915 with the majority of the examples located on College Avenue. The Dahlheim House located at 5 College Avenue is the oldest example in the district, 1888. It is a 2 story, front facing "T" shaped plan house with a pressed metal shingle roof with large central decorative finial. It has clapboard siding and 1/1 windows with bracketed surround. The front gable end has a sunburst pattern at the top, brackets along the lower eave and spoked brackets at each gable corner on both floors. There is a 1 story, hip roof, wraparound porch with slightly battered square wood columns on a non-original enclosed brick balustrade with rusticated concrete cap.
Revival styles followed Victorian era styles. These are styles based on the more traditional styles built in Europe and early on in the New World. The styles generally date from the last decade of the nineteenth century up to as late as ca. 1955. The Revival styles include Colonial Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival (a subtype of Colonial Revival), Neoclassical and Tudor Revival. The most common Revival style in the district is Colonial Revival which dates from about 1880 to 1955 with the most examples on South Kanawha Street. A good example of the Colonial Revival style in the district is the Stuart/Young House, 1907, located at 48 South Kanawha Street. It is a 3 story, imposing red brick-finished residence with a symmetrical three bay facade and a centered entrance suggestive of a central-passage interior plan. There is a Palladian window centered on the second story of the facade and a large gable dormer penetrates the slope of the roof above. An open porch extends across the facade, supported with square wood pillars, trimmed with small modillions under the eaves, and enclosed within a solid brick railing. The house has a slate roof, brick facade and stone foundation. The lot is a large corner lot with brick entrance pillars and a separate garden lot.
There are two Dutch Colonial Revival style houses within the district. This style is a subtype to Colonial Revival and its most distinguishing feature is a gambrel roof; both examples have gambrel roofs. The first example is the U.G. Young House, ca. 1900, 77 South Kanawha Street. It is a 2-1/2 story, five bays wide residence finished in shingles and rock-faced stone, with a laterally-oriented gambrel roof and an imposing wraparound 2 story veranda on the facade and side elevation. There are Palladian windows in the pediments of the gables and wall dormers on the facade. There are several rock faced stone chimneys. Fenestration is generally flat-topped, with some art glass. This home is not only architecturally significant for its style but also for its architect, Draper Camden Hughes, and for its association with prominent lawyer and one time State Senator, U.G. Young. Young had the home built around the turn of the century for an estimated cost of between $15,000 and 20,000 with a total of thirty rooms, including the basement. The Young family sold the home in 1938 when it became a funeral home for many years. It has since been sold to another owner as a residence who has restored its former grandeur. The home is situated on a large lot elevated above Kanawha Street.
The next Revival style noted in the district is Neoclassical. Neoclassical style is characterized by 2 story tall porticos with classical columns and a balanced facade with a center entrance door flanked by window openings. The style dates from 1895 to 1950. One of the examples is the Stockert Youth Center/Public School, 1909, located on East Main Street. It is an excellent public building example of the style. The other example in the district was a private residence originally but is currently a funeral home. This is Judge McWhorter's residence known as "Gray Chimneys," ca. 1907, 95 South Kanawha Street. It is a 3 story, side gable house with parapeted end walls and a large 2 story, gable portico on the front. There are two interior brick chimneys and end parapet walls incorporate end partially engaged chimneys. End gable dormers flank the portico and have scrolled pediments, partial returns, scallop shingles and Palladian windows. Gable ends have dentils, brackets and scalloped shingles. Portico tympanum also has Palladian window and paired Corinthian columns and pilasters. The house has a gray brick facade with wide dentiled and bracketed frieze, 8/1 windows, most with stone jack arch lintels with keystones. There is a 1 story, entrance porch with Tuscan columns on first floor and spindled balustrade on second floor with paneled corner newel posts with acorn finials and a 1 story, end gable side porch with decorative elements. Gray Chimneys was designed by Draper Camden Hughes for Judge J. C. McWhorter. The home took two years to complete at a cost of $15,000 and has 22 rooms with a fireplace in each room. McWhorter was a law partner to U.G. Young, and it is said that when they shared an office they also shared a table, one on either side. The home stayed in the McWhorter family until 1948 when Mrs. Pauline Bennett (daughter to the Judge) sold the house to the Poling family who converted the residence to a funeral home.
The last Revival style in the district is Tudor Revival style. This style was popular from about 1890 to 1940 and its character defining elements include a steeply pitched roof, usually a side gable with a cross gable; massive exposed chimneys, often with decorative accents; half-timbering in the gable ends; a catslide roof entrance bay; often semi-lunette entrance doors and surrounds in a gabled entrance bay; and tall narrow windows, often grouped and multiple panes. Examples are spread throughout the district although there are several examples on South Kanawha and Meade Streets. A fine example is the Adams House, ca. 1930, 11 Sedgwick Street. It contains almost all of the character defining features of the style with a steep 2 story, side gable roof with projecting, 2 story tall, entrance bay with catslide roof. It has a large exposed red brick chimney on the front and an end gable dormer on the front. It has a red brick facade and 6/6 windows with brick lintels and sills and shutters. It has a soldier course water table and a brick foundation. It also has a matching red brick garage located to the rear.
The next American style/type to become popular in the United States is the Four Square. It is really a house type rather than a style although often called a style. The Four Square or "Transitional Pyramid" or American Four Square was a response to the more ornate Victorian era styles and the Revival styles popular through the last half of the nineteenth century. Four Squares date from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s and incorporate elements of the Prairie and Craftsman styles. They are also often "dressed up" with Colonial Revival and other detailing. Basically they are a square box with four rooms above, four rooms below, dormers and a full-width front porch. Four Squares often have hip roofs with a central hip or shed dormer; some examples have dormers on three or even four sides. The type was easy to replicate so it was often found in Sears and other kit house types which were shipped throughout the country via railroads. The Four Square type is the most common house within the Buckhannon Central Residential Historic District. Concentrations of the type are found on Elizabeth Street and on the eastern end of Main Street. A good example of the type is the Halle House, ca. 1915, 36 Hart Avenue. It is a 2 story, hip roof house with hip dormers. It has a wide frieze board and elongated oval window on second floor, central front, with compass point keystones. It has a rock-faced concrete block facade with red mortar. Decorative rockfaced concrete block with circles of flowers separate the two floors. The house has 1/1 windows with smooth concrete sills and a 1 story, hip roof, wraparound porch with square posts. The porch components are not original but the house retains its decorative elements and original configuration.
The Craftsman Bungalow style was developed at about the same time as the Four Square house type, although a bit later, from 1905 to 1930. Gustave Stickley, a furniture maker, developed the style along with house plans in his book "The Craftsman" and the emphasis was on handcrafted features. These features include roof beams that pierce the exterior, low pitched roofs with large eave overhangs, decorative beams or braces in the eaves and front porches with square and often battered columns. Often, there are also large stone exposed chimneys and novelty-style windows. Examples are spread throughout the district but there are small concentrations on Florida and Meade Streets. A good small example of the style is the Douglas House, ca. 1925, 1 Elizabeth Street. It is a 1 story, end gable house with cross gable projecting bays on the side. There is a gable dormer on the front and the gable ends have scalloped shingles, knee braces and divided tripartite windows. The house has narrow clapboard siding with fishscale shingles in gable ends and on dormer. There is a 1 story, wraparound porch with very battered and paneled wood posts on brick piers and a wood railing between the piers with 4/1 windows with simple hoods and surrounds; leaded glass upper sash. The house has many of the features which define the Craftsman style.
Also represented in the district is the Art Deco style. It features streamlined designs with smooth wall surfaces and geometric lines and accents as well as geometric motifs and vertical accents. There is an excellent example of Art Deco style in the district: the Charles W. Gibson Memorial Library, located at 105 East Main Street and constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1941. The building is a 1 story, flat roof, public library building. It has metal roof coping and a red brick facade. There are ribbon corner windows with smooth stone sill course and metal canopy above and a tall Art Deco style concrete entrance surround with curved edges and rectilinear accents. Glass block sidelights flank the entrance door. "PUBLIC LIBRARY" is incised in the concrete above the door. The library illustrates the style through the ribbon windows and the vertical emphasis of the entrance surround. It is still used as a city library building.
There are several house types within the district as well including the I-house, hall-and-parlor, central passage, gable-front, pyramidal-roof, and bungalow. Interspersed within the district are also some minimal traditional and ranch houses constructed outside the period of significance. The hall-and-parlor house is one of the earlier types found in the district and is composed of two rooms arranged side by side and accessed through one exterior door.
"I" houses developed from hall and parlor types through the addition of a second floor. "I"- house types are common throughout the district with concentrations located on South Kanawha and Meade Streets and they range in date from ca. 1870 to ca. 1940. While the "I" house often has an "I" configuration, the name is derived from its identification and pervasiveness in Indiana, Illinois and Iowa. The "I" house type also lends itself easily to additions, alterations and numerous decorative detailing. Houses with an original "I" configuration often evolve into "L" or "T" houses with the addition of additions. It should be noted that in some of the descriptions, a house is described as an "L" or a "T" and this describes the floor plan/configuration rather than a type. These examples were built in those configurations originally rather than starting out as an "I" house with additions added to them. Virginia and Lee McAlester in A Field Guide to American Houses note that typical house plans include front-facing L plans or rear-facing T plans, etc. The Manspeaker House, ca. 1900, on Meade Street is a good simple example of the style. It is a 2 story, front facing "T" shaped plan house. It has clapboard siding with corner boards; scalloped shingles in gable ends. There are 1/1 windows with wide surrounds and scrolled corner brackets. It has a 1 story, wraparound porch with Tuscan columns on an enclosed balustrade and a gable pediment entrance. It is in as-built condition with minimal changes.
There is one example of the central-passage type in the district: the Cole/Bailey House, ca. 1900, located at 66 South Kanawha Street. The central-passage is similar to the hall and parlor type but with a passage or hall between the two rooms. It is usually two stories tall as well. The plan was developed by the British and was common on the East Coast as settlers arrived and replicated the design. The Cole/Bailey House is a 2-1/2 story, gable house with a central end gable dormer on the roof ridge flanked by end gable dormers with partial returns, wood shingles and vertical 3/1 windows. There is a 2 story, three-sided, projecting bay on the side and the gable ends have wood shingles and brackets in frieze. It has clapboard siding with corner boards and 1/1 windows with simple surrounds; shutters on the front. There is a 1 story, hip roof, central porch on the second floor with brackets, wood shingle balustrade and square wood posts with caps and a 1 story, hip roof, full length, front porch with very battered columns and pilasters on an enclosed wood shingled balustrade. The entrance door has sidelights. The house has Colonial Revival and Craftsman style detailing. The house is in excellent condition and retains its character defining features.
The gable-front house type is one of the more common vernacular types within the district. A gable end is the principal facade on this house type and it can be 1 story or 2 story. Construction dates range from 1898 to ca. 1965. Examples are scattered throughout the district with concentrations on College Avenue, Meade and Smithfield Streets. A small example of the type is the Bryant House, ca. 1920, at 60 South Florida Street. It is a small one and 1-1/2 story, end gable house with cove siding with corner and frieze boards and 1/1 windows with simple surrounds. It has a 1 story, shed roof, entrance porch with turned posts.
‡ Adapted from: Jean Boger, Assistant, Michael Gioulis Historic Preservation Consultant, Inc., Buckhannon Central Residential Historic District, Upshur County, WV, nomination document, 2011, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.
Street Names
3rd Avenue • Arnold Avenue • Baxter Street • Bobcat Lane • Central Avenue • College Avenue • Elizabeth Street • Elm Street • Florida Street South • Hart Avenue • Kanawha Street South • Latham Street • Lightburn Street • Lincoln Street East • Madison Street • Main Street East • Meade Street • Sedgwick Street • Smithfield Street • Victoria Street East
