OAK HILL, W.Va. — The proposed demolition of nearly 20 historic structures within the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is being brought back up on the table for discussion.
The New River Gorge National Park Service will hold a meeting Tuesday evening in Oak Hill to provide the public with more information about the proposed demolitions and take comments.
The NPS is proposing a series of investments to upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure, renovate visitor facilities in the park, rehabilitate several historic structures, and remove other historic and non-historic structures that have become a hazard to visitors. It’s part of an overall project funded by the Great American Outdoors Act’s Legacy Restoration Fund that aims to improve visitor experience and reduce environmental impacts to the New River watershed.
Eve West
New River Gorge National Park Chief of Interpretation Eve West said the Environmental Assessment for a project to demolish up to 19 historic structures in the park as well as one modern addition to a historic structure is part of that overall project, and it’s following requirements set by the National Environmental Policy Act.
West said people attending Tuesday’s meeting can expect a full agenda laying out the project.
“We’re going be providing information initially to the public, we’ll be talking about the project and some of the elements of it, and talking about the alternatives to the Environmental Assessment,” she said.
West said most of the structures up for proposed demolition are in the historic area of Thurmond in the northern end the park, but a couple are in other areas as well. They include:
. Charles Ashley Garage
. Charles Ashley Outbuilding
. May Bagoski House
. Harold Smith House
. Wedzel Young House
. Tom Kelly House
. Thurmond Ice House
. McGuffin Garage
. Erskine Pugh Rental House
. Philip A McClung/Meadows House
. Sidney Allen Ward House
. James Humphrey Sr. House
. Marilyn Brown House
. Dun Glen Building
. Dun Glen Ark
. Dun Glen Mini Ark
. Dun Glen Boat Storage Rack
. Prince Brothers’ General Store
. Brookside Pool Chemical Treatment Building
. Vallandingham House Addition
The EA identifies that many of these structures came into the National Park Services’ possession through land acquisition within established park boundaries and were not intended for reuse by the NPS.
West said they will give three alternatives on what the NPS can do with the structures during the meeting Tuesday.
“One is no action, the second is to demolish all proposed excess historic structures, and then the third is to retain proposed excess historic structures that have a high potential for reuse,” she said.
West said the main objective behind the proposed plan is to address deferred maintenance needs within the park and eliminate yearly maintenance.
She said by removing these unnecessary structures, it will enable them to focus more of their resources on making advancements that actually serve more of their overall purpose.
“What we’re trying to do is put emphasis on those buildings and structures that are the most important, the most prominent and tell the story the best,” West said. “So, instead of spreading our resources so thin, we will be able to focus our resources on the most important historic and cultural elements in the park.”
She said most of these structures they want to remove have also become overgrown safety hazards that have been subject to trespassing and vandalism.
West said many of them are just structures like outbuildings anyways that don’t serve as much of a historic or cultural significance.
“You know, there are some houses, there are some buildings, but a lot of them are also outbuildings and garages, and most of these structures are in a state of deterioration, a lot of them aren’t built to last to begin with,” said West.
The proposed project is currently in the planning and design phase and could be potentially subject to change.
The meeting for the proposed demolitions will be at the New River Convention Center in Oak Hill at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. West said people can also visit their website to learn more about the project and fill in their comments there if they don’t get a chance to make it out to the meeting.