My Name Is Alexandra Flohr and I Want to Take You on a Tour of Historic Main St. in Grafton

Dear Readers,

My name is Alexandra Flohr and I want to take you on a tour of historic Main St. in Grafton to honor our heritage. I will not be able to give you all the history of every building, but I can give you a taste. If you like what you see you can visit the Taylor County Public Library and read more in the Taylor County Historical and Genealogical section.

The first white men came to Taylor County in 1751. They were David Tygart and Robert Files. In 1753 the Files Family was killed by Native Americans, except their son. Their son fled to the Tygart’s home and all escaped. In 1761 Willie Childers, Joseph Lindsey, and John and Sam Pringle deserted the British Army to become hunters and trappers. This was the case for many of the first residents. Many hunters and trappers would deplete the land and move on. The first permanent settler in Taylor County was in 1766, Thomas Merrifield in Booths Creek and it goes on from there.

Taylor County was established January 19, 1844 from Monongalia County. Grafton was chartered March 15, 1856 and named for John Grafton, civil engineer for the B & O Railroad. Main Street buildings became historic landmarks in 1984.

During the 1900s Grafton was full of activity mostly due to the railroad. 1910 Grafton had about 12,000 residents and seven to eight miles of paved roads. We had the best water supply around from the Tygart River. Grafton had an electric street car line in the middle of the street. Grafton was also known for being the most lit town around. Grafton has also had its share of disasters, like floods and fires.

I hope you enjoy the tour! The Grafton Hotel and the B & O Railroad Depot

These buildings were built by John T. McGraw, contractor and financier. The ground was first leveled January 1, 1852 for the depot and completed on Christmas Day, 1853. Grafton received its first passenger train on June 22, 1852. A new passenger train station was dedicated on September 28, 1911. During the hub of activity in the 1900s, Grafton received about 33 passenger trains per day. We have had many special guests come through our train station including, Franklin Roosevelt in 1944 and Harry Truman in 1948. The last passenger train came through on May 1, 1971 Engine #12 which had once carried President Lincoln’s body after his assassination. The Grafton Hotel was originally called The Willard Hotel after John McGraw’s friend and president of the B & O Railroad, Daniel Willard. The ground was broken for the hotel on September 21, 1910 and the hotel was finished on April 12, 1912. It was a very luxurious, seven story building with ballrooms and marble floors. Unfortunately, business slowed and the hotel was only used for the train crews from the sixties through the eighties. The hotel closed in the mid- eighties and became vacant. The Vandalia Heritage Group owns it now. The Masonic Temple

The Masons in this area formed September 26, 1860. They moved to this building on January 14, 1878 and changed their name to Grafton Lodge #15. They had a fire here on August 2, 1893 and were back in the rebuilt building on March 12, 1894. The Masons consist of the merged York Rite and Scottish Rite.

Cohen Building

This is the location of the first bank in Grafton in 1873, Citizens Savings Bank, which merged with Grafton Bank which is now First National Bank. In 1876 August Pollock bought this property and had a men’s clothing store with a community center on the second floor. James Love bought it and added more stock to the store. An interesting fact to this is Mr. Love’s son, Dr. Earnest Love, was among many things postmaster of Grafton and was a driving force in getting the post office built here at the end of Main St. Dr. Love was hit by a car and died on January 12, 1932. This building also housed Rite Aid.

The Brinkman Block

George Brinkman started building his “city within a block” March 12, 1876. He originally started with three buildings from 1876-1879. His building stretched from McCrorys five and dime to Archdeacons. He had eleven children. He had many businesses in his buildings including his bakery. People often commented that he did not have to leave his block for anything. The buildings are now occupied by a video store, a dentist, and an art gallery. Some other owners in the past have been Halls Floor Covering, Nancy Bartlett Florist, and Pettrey’s Shoes.

Taylor County Courthouse Before this courthouse was built in 1882, court was held in Brinkman’s Hall. The first session was held November 1878. The jail was in the basement of the courthouse until 1928. The annex was built in 1976.

The Grafton Post Office

Grafton had a lot of mail due to all the train traffic. The first post office to serve Grafton, Virginia was established on April 1, 1854. They broke ground for this building on June 1, 1913 and the corner stone was laid on Tuesday December 2, 1913. The building was occupied on December 26, 1914. The Bonafeed Building

This three story building with light brick and dark brick trim was built in 1926. The architecture was interesting for the time. It now houses Mountaineer Legal Services, Attorneys at Law. Heritage Park

This caboose (C2445) was set here May 19, 1985. The caboose was built in Keyser, WV December, 1941 and is painted in a fifties theme. There was a large building here that housed The Grafton Banking and Trust. The Loar Building

Adolphus Armstrong, a clerk of courts for many years, had this building built in 1902. William R. Loar was a prominent photographer in Grafton. Loar’s family inherited this building. The Joliffe Building

George L. Joliffe had an American Bazaar in this building around 1889. It was also owned by Lee Evans who had a furniture store which closed in 1978 after being in business for 81 years. Now this building and the M & M Bank building are owned by the Taylor County Historical Society.

The Merchants and Mechanics Building

This property has had a colorful history. In the 1860s it was owned by William Cole who was a cabinet maker which easily transitioned to coffin maker. He never had a robbery the papers said. The Merchants and Mechanics Savings Bank organized May 21, 1891 and moved 1893. Unfortunately, the bank failed during the Great Depression. This building has housed many businesses and apartments over the years, including a newspaper business and dentist. Perhaps one of the most famous was Loars Jewelers. Loars had a lot of business because they inspected the watches for the B & O train crewman. Loars closed on December 23, 1984. There was a big fire in this building in 1937 and they were back in the building in 1947.

The Gough Building This building has been occupied by the American Legion #12 from 1960 through 2010. The building was just sold a couple of weeks ago to be made into apartments.

International Mother’s Day Shrine Originally this was Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church built in 1873. May 15, 1962 the name changed to the International Mother’s Day Shrine. The reason behind the change is Anna Jarvis asked President Woodrow Wilson to establish a day to honor mothers. He agreed to this in 1914. This church was special to this cause because Anna’s mom, Anna Reeves Jarvis, was a Sunday school teacher here for 25 years. Mrs. Jarvis lived in Taylor County during the Civil War and gathered other mothers to help the soldiers in their efforts, especially with food and clothes. Mrs. Jarvis always thought there should be a day to honor mothers, so her daughter set out to make it so. After the holiday became known, Anna Jarvis was upset with the commercialism of the event and tried to get rid of the holiday. Fortunately, we still can celebrate this holiday today. The Elks Lodge #308

The Elks organized in 1864 and were instituted on June 29, 1895 and chartered on July 11, 1895. They bought this property in November, 1901 and July, 1902. They formally opened March 24, 1913. One of their first community efforts was to raise money for the flood victims. They raised $260 in their first hour.