Morgan's Kitchen in St. Albans is shown on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. The building, built in 1846, was part of settler John Morgan Jr.'s 600-acre Putnam County estate. It was relocated to St. Albans in 1972.
Morgan’s Kitchen in St. Albans is shown on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. The log building, which once served as a field hospital for soldiers during the Civil War, is set to be restored after the St. Albans Historical Society received a $10,000 state grant.
Morgan's Kitchen in St. Albans is shown on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. The building, built in 1846, was part of settler John Morgan Jr.'s 600-acre Putnam County estate. It was relocated to St. Albans in 1972.
RICK STEELHAMMER | Gazette-Mail
Morgan’s Kitchen was built in 1846 to serve the family of settler John Morgan Jr. on his 600-acre Putnam County farm along the Kanawha River at what is now Appalachian Power’s John Amos Plant. The 179-year-old cabin is about to get some long-overdue repairs and stabilization work.
On Thursday, Delegate Walt Hall, R-Kanawha, presented a $10,000 Local Economic Development grant check to the St. Albans Historical Society to begin a repair program for the log structure, which now rests on a grassy strip of land in St. Albans.
“I just thought it was about time to show this building some love,†Hall said, after handing the check to St. Albans Historical Society President Ellen Pauley.
The history of the kitchen
Morgan built the kitchen and an adjacent, larger, log farmhouse on a tract of land he bought from James Craik, George Washington’s physician, personal friend and frequent traveling partner. Kitchens were often built separate from larger residences in pioneer days to reduce the risk of losing a home to fire, and to prevent unbearable summertime indoor heat.
On July 15, 1861, the kitchen served as the mess hall — and the Morgan farm a campground — for Union troops led by Gen. Jacob Cox on the day preceding the nearby Battle of Scary Creek, which ended in a Confederate victory. After the battle, the Morgan farm and its kitchen were used as a field hospital for wounded federal soldiers.
In 1972, Morgan family descendant Sid Morgan donated the log kitchen to the City of St. Albans in order to save it from possible demolition as the new John Amos plant expanded.
“It was trucked to this site in 1972 by Hal Turley, and basically, nothing’s been done to it since then,†said Pauley. “The St. Albans Historical Society was created to become the entity to receive the donation of the kitchen.â€
Morgan’s Kitchen in St. Albans is shown on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. The log building, which once served as a field hospital for soldiers during the Civil War, is set to be restored after the St. Albans Historical Society received a $10,000 state grant.
RICK STEELHAMMER | Gazette-Mail
What’s next
The Morgan’s Kitchen Restoration Project, to be funded through the grant, will begin the work of log restoration and re-chinking, plus repairs to the windows and chimney.
Hall said he hopes to secure $5,000 grants during each of the next two legislative sessions to complete the project.
The building has been furnished with period cookware and utensils, as well as rustic tables, a storage chest and a bed. Black char smudges on the kitchen’s ceiling attest to its more than a century of cooking use.
The kitchen is the site of the annual Morgan’s Kitchen Fall Festival on the second Saturday of October.
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