Wenonah Avenue
An "old timer" standing on the corner of Wenonah Avenue and Main Street in 1940 would have been amazed at the changes to the town since the turn of the century. Pearisburg experienced rapid commercial growth throughout the first half of the twentieth century and many wooden buildings, both commercial and residential, gave way to substantial modern buildings.
St. Elizabeth's Hospital, where I was born, occupied the second and third story of the three story building in the middle of the block. The hospital was founded in 1924 by Dr. W.C. Caudill, who delivered me. The hospital moved to a new building on the outskirts of town in 1950, and became Giles Memorial Hospital.
One of only two surviving antebellum structures in Pearisburg, the Western Hotel, on the corner of Wenonah Avenue and Main Street (Route 100), is the first building on the right in the photo above. Built in 1827 as a two and a half story residence and ordinary, the building has undergone many changes over the years, but much of the original fabric survives, including interior woodwork from the Federal period on the second floor and the original staircase leading to the third floor "ballroom." The other antebellum building is the Giles County Courthouse, which dates from 1836. (More about the courthouse on Friday.)
This is the present day view of the Western Hotel from Main Street. The Giles County Courthouse is in the background.
I remember Wenonah Avenue in the 1950s when Pearisburg was a busy small town with stores and business up and down the street and cars lining the sidewalk. The 1940 photograph reminds me of how it looked then. In 2011, most of the buildings have survived and the town is neat and clean. But like so many small towns across the country, downtown Pearisburg has lost its place as the center of a closely knit community. I miss it.
Tomorrow: The house behind the bank
These are great, it is so interesting to see changes and non changes we take for granted with a lot of history behind those doors.
ReplyDeleteThanks Don. The buildings right around the court square are registered as a National Historic District, and they are mostly pretty well preserved, at least on the outside. Yes, lots of history within those walls.
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