The Prince Brothers General Store in Prince, Fayette County, is shown on Feb. 22, 2024. The building is scheduled for demolition by the National Park Service.
The Sidney Allen Ward House, located in the Thurmond Historical District of the New River Gorge Park & Preserve in Fayette County, is to be demolished by the National Park Service.
The James Humphrey Sr. House, located in the Thurmond Historical District of the New River Gorge Park & Preserve in Fayette County, will be demolished by the National Park Service.
The Prince Brothers General Store in Prince, Fayette County, is shown on Feb. 22, 2024. The building is scheduled for demolition by the National Park Service.
KENNY KEMP | Gazette-Mail file photo
A Finding of No Significant Impact by National Park Service officials will allow New River Gorge National Park and Preserve to demolish at least 13 historic buildings within the park, including 11 within the Thurmond Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Also on the demolition list is the Prince Brothers General Store, in the Fayette County community of Prince. The store opened in 1872, the year before the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad began operating through the New River Gorge. It continued serving customers until 1984, shortly before it was acquired by the Park Service.
In December 2023, the Park Service announced a plan to demolish 19 deteriorating structures in the park, saying they had become a financial burden to maintain, while also posing safety risks to the public.
The Prince Brothers General Store, with its adjacent post office, was a beehive of activity during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Courtesy photo
Following two public meetings and two public comment periods on the proposal in 2024, the number of buildings targeted for demolition dropped to 13, although three structures could be razed later if viable lease proposals are not received. Those properties are the Dun Glen Boat Storage Rack and the Dun Glen Mini Ark, used by whitewater outfitters before Park Service ownership, and the Tom Kelly House, in Thurmond.
Removed from the original list of 19 structures to be demolished were the Marilyn Brown House and Thurmond Ice House, both in Thurmond, and the Dun Glen Ark, another former outfitter structure, which the Park Service also will consider leasing, located across the New River from Thurmond in Dun Glen.Â
The FONSI ruling — signed by Steven Sims, the acting regional director of the Park Service on July 18 — marks the final decision by the agency on the fate of the historic buildings, according to a news release from New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
The Sidney Allen Ward House, located in the Thurmond Historical District of the New River Gorge Park & Preserve in Fayette County, is to be demolished by the National Park Service.
The FONSI decision "follows a comprehensive evaluation" of the demolition proposal that took into account the "National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act compliance processes," according to the release.
Eve West, the park's chief of interpretation, said demolition of the 13 properties now listed for razing likely would begin during the winter of 2026-27.
Buildings to be demolished at that time in Thurmond include the:
Wedzel Young House
Sidney Allen Ward House
Harold Smith House
May Bagoski House
Charles Ashley garage
Charles Ashley outbuilding
Erskine Pugh rental house
James Humphrey Sr. House
McGuffin garage
Philip A. McClung/Meadows House
The James Humphrey Sr. House, located in the Thurmond Historical District of the New River Gorge Park & Preserve in Fayette County, will be demolished by the National Park Service.
Courtesy photo
Also slated for demolition, in addition to the Prince Brothers General Store, are the Dun Glen Building/Ranger Station, at Dun Glen, and the Camp Brookside pool chemical treatment building near Sandstone, in Summers County, a modern addition to the historic log Vallandingham House at the south end of the park.
Reaction
A local preservation group is happy for the compromise.
"The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia is encouraged by the National Park Service's decision to compromise on the proposed demolitions by retaining and offering leasing opportunities for several historic properties," said Danielle Parker, the alliance's director.
"While we remain disappointed that the Prince Brothers Store and Dun Glen Ranger Station were not included in the leasing pool, this outcome represents a meaningful win for public advocacy and historic preservation," Parker said. "The door is now open to save and restore more irreplaceable sites for future generations."
