West Virginia is the home of some beautiful historic buildings. A number of these buildings have connections with a famous Washington, DC architectural firm, A. B. Mullett & Co. A. B. Mullett was the Supervising Architect for the Treasury Department following the war in 1865 and remained in the position for 10 years before entering private practice. Some of Post Offices were in various West Virginia cities, such as Parkersburg. Many no longer exist, making way for modern structures, mostly not as soundly built. In private practice he designed the Castle in Bath, WV known as Berkley Castle. His company was headed by two of his sons whom he trained before his death in 1890. His son Tom, used to enjoy fishing and other sporting activities in West Virginia. Charles Town, WV was a favorite area.
Charles Town now has an historic district with two buildings by Tom. One is the Opera House which was saved and restored by local citizen effort. It is now a gathering place for local theater presentations all well received and attended by Jefferson County citizens.
Across the street from the Opera House is the old county jail which held those who protested during the coal mining uprising for coal miner rights. The jail is solidly constructed with no evidence of any structural deterioration, no earthquake disturbances even though it is very close to some underground caves in the region. The foundation is still solid. The walls have no signs of cracks. Still for over ten years the Jefferson County commissioners have tried to have it torn down, even hiring a company to carry out the demolition for a cost well below what it would actually cost to remove this solid structure.
A group of citizens formed an organization for the preservation of local heritage and obtained a court order to save the jail at least until there is an official review to prove the nature of its contributing to the historic neighborhood. The group known as JCPASH [http://www.savethejail.org/jcpash.html] gathered in Georgetown in Washington, DC December 13, 2003 to tour another of Tom Mullett’s buildings, the famous Potomac Boat Club[http://www.rowpbc.net/ ] which had several members in the USA Olympic rowing team winning in the 2004 summer Olympic games. Some features in this building are similar to some used in the roofing structure of the old Jefferson County Jail. Tom also made use of aspects of A. B. Mullett’s patent for jail design and construction which was the first one to put the prison cells on the inner bearing wall instead of the outer walls which makes escape from the cells nearly impossible. It would be a shame to lose an early example of a structure of this patent in design since the original jail for which it was invented was destroyed forty years ago with the destruction of the old DC Jail.
Since this Jefferson County Jail structure is a great contribution to the historic character of the Charles Town neighborhood, a serious review would have to recommend saving this structure. One concern is how it could be used. Fortunately the Federal Government regulations have a greater variety of productive reuse options than ever before. The repurposing of the jail can take for in a variety of ways.
Recently a college student from George Washington University selected the Charles Town Jail as her Master’s Degree project in Design. Repurposing the jail into a multi-use cultural site, she thought of it as an attractive building that could be a center for artisans after the fashion of the Torpedo Gallery in Alexandria, VA which is now a tourist attraction bringing greater economic strength to the artists who participate in the Gallery. The exhibit of her work was at the Dimock Gallery in Washington December 10 through 19, 2003.
This is not the only repurposing that can be done with this structure and Denise Maksimowitz has not even made use of the home section of the building… only the jail section. Those architects and engineers and citizens of West Virginia who can come up with a good plan for the use of the old jail building should submit their ideas to the Jefferson County Commissioners and as soon as the Commissioners sign a contract with the official Historic Review committee, should send copies of their ideas, wishes and interests for this old jail to the committee. The Commissioners would benefit from knowing how many citizens of West Virginia, and especially of Jefferson County have a real interest in preserving this structure which is much better built than anything that could go up in its place today, helps to preserve the historic community now listed (which is a great tax benefit to the community) and could bring a renewed and broader interest of visitors to Charles Town beyond those who come there for the horse races.
Some communities have turned jails into bed and breakfasts, popular restaurants that even leave the cells in place but make them more attractive and comfortable than they ever were in actual use, or museums. The local coal miners would like this option. It could be added office space for the local school board which is much needed and has been requested by some members of the school board. The residence could be used as a community wide space for renting entertaining areas for people who do not have homes large enough for a fancy party but would like to have a party in a lovely large home. Many historic houses in Washington DC and Georgetown especially, have been restored and rented out by individuals, by small clubs that do not have large enough spaces for fund raising projects, for charity receptions, and similar community events of a more social nature where a large home would be perfect if one were available.
At present the building is not handicap accessible but the rear of the building can easily be accommodated with appropriate ramp accesses and an elevator attached to the back section between the house and jail wings.
Citizens really have a voice. They elected two new commissioners in November 2004 to replace two who were making it difficult to save the jail. There is now a 4 to 1 majority in favor of saving the jail. Architects and engineers can have an opportunity to present their ideas offering potential for future work in restoration and repurposing the building. Artisans and charitable organizations as well as county offices can speak up to present their desires for space usage. Citizens spoke by vote and now the commissioners are in a position to prevent this wonderful building from being lost. In Hartford. Connecticut and Springfield Illinois citizens did not speak up 70 years ago and lost Mullett buildings in their communities. They discovered after demolition that nothing they could build even 70 years ago could not match the strength of the foundation and superstructure of what was destroyed and many locals in those areas still regret the loss of a very valuable building asset.
Congratulations to the citizens in West Virginia!