Customhouse - Wheeling, West Virginia
Posted by: Groundspeak Charter Member BruceS
N 40° 03.853 W 080° 43.323
17T E 523703 N 4434921
Historic former federal customhouse and courthouse which is the site of many events which led to the formation of the State of West Virginia.
Waymark Code: WMK0D9
Location: West Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 01/24/2014
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member ddtfamily
Views: 1

The CUSTOMHOUSE, 1526-8 Market St. is a four-story building of smooth gray stone, owned by the Conservative Life Insurance Company.  Constructed about 1854 to serve as post office and customhouse, the building is of modified Classical Revival architecture, having many narrow deep-set windows and an arcaded portico with red granite Corinthian columns across the principal facade, which is approached a well-worn flight of stone steps.  A highly decorative cornice encircles the top of the building.  During the War between the States the building rivaled the courthouse as a public center, and its steps were constantly crowded with men discussing war, politics, and the new-State movement.  In the Federal courtrooms on the second floor the Constitution Convention was held, which formed the first organic laws of West Virginia.  In these same rooms citizens were later required to swear anew their allegiance to the Union.  The building served as headquarters for Governor Pierpont until his offices were removed to Alexandria, Virginia, in 1863, and nearly all sessions of the legislature of the Restored Government of Virginia met here.  Ammunition  and arms were stored here for Federal troops during the entire war, and to the duties of the port surveyor were added those of custodian of the arsenal.-West Virginia: A Guide to the Mountain State, 1941, pg. 287.

The building now known as West Virginia Independence Hall is now owned by the State of West Virginia.  It is operated as a museum highlighting the architectural and historic significance of the building.  It has been restored to its 1859 appearance, which is its year of construction.  It is listed as a National Historic Landmark for its significance in the formation of the State of West Virginia in 1863.
Book: West Virginia

Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 287

Year Originally Published: 1941

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