Garvey House on the New River Gorge

The Garvey House has been welcoming visitors to the New River Gorge since 1984. The five-bedroom, three-bathroom residence was the first bed-and-breakfast in the region and has since been a favorite lodging destination for hikers, bikers, climbers, paddlers, and sightseers. As a residence or vacation rental, it’s ideally suited to the region’s high-adventure lifestyle.

OVERVIEW

Built about 1900, this five-bedroom, three-bathroom residence is among the best-preserved examples of high-style residences commissioned for corporate officials in the New River Gorge region at the turn of the century. The spacious residence of more than 3,000 square feet boasts uncommon architectural highlights, including massive stone foundations, an off-kitchen root cellar, and a more than an acre of gardens that include small ponds, patios, a gazebo, rock walls, and stone benches. The property may be found eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as a result of its architectural integrity and its extensive gardens.

As a residence, retreat, or vacation rental, it benefits from its location in a national park gateway community. A mile from the boundary of the park, it enjoys particular appeal for its proximity to famous cultural and natural resources. The region is one of the most popular destinations for rock climbing in the U.S., and climbing areas are located only four miles from the door. Hiking trails, including the Endless Wall Trail, one of the nation’s most popular hiking trails, are fewer than five miles away. The New River Gorge Bridge and the Canyon Rim Visitor Center are fewer than 10 miles, and Fayetteville, the chief shopping and dining destination for many park visitors, is only 15 minutes.

ATTRIBUTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

• Five bedrooms; three full bathrooms; two ensuite bedrooms
• More than 3,000 square feet of living space
• Kitchen/breakfast space with root cellar
• Housekeeper’s quarters (used as innkeeper’s quarters)
• Formal gardens and rock gardens with ponds, gazebo
• Possible eligibility for the National Register restoration funding
• Proximity to national park recreational sites
• Proximity to Endless Wall, Beauty Mountain
• 10 miles from New River Gorge Bridge

ABOUT THE NEW RIVER GORGE NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE

The nation’s newest national park, the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve attracts more than three million visitors annually, according to recent travel bureau estimates. Hiking, biking, angling, hunting, kayaking, camping, and sightseeing are popular draws throughout the park, though it may best be known as a destination for rock climbing and whitewater rafting. Both climbing and whitewater rafting are extremely popular in the park near the Garvey House.

LOCATION

Google Coordinates: 38.047736, -80.990169
Address: 52 Garvey Manor Lane, Winona, WV 25942
Elevation Range: 1,920 to 2,000 feet above sea level

HOME AND OUTBUILDINGS

The residence includes more than 3,000 square feet of interior living space with an unfinished basement, an off-kitchen root cellar, and a screened rear porch. A fifth bedroom with a walk-through closet and en-suite bathroom is accessible through the kitchen wing and was formerly a housekeeper’s quarters, though it now serves as private quarters for the innkeeper.

Roof, Windows, Foundations

The windows are in good historical condition and most are outfitted with screens and storm windows. The shingled roof shows no obvious signs of moisture intrusion, though the age of the last shingling is unknown. The stone foundations and concrete pads in the basement show no obvious signs of significant water intrusion.

First Floor

Highlights on the first floor include a sunroom entrance area of more than 300 square feet, a kitchen of more than 300 square feet with a breakfast space with an adjacent root cellar, a formal dining room with built-in cabinetry and a bay window, and a formal living room with a fireplace and bookshelf surrounds and a pocket-door entrance into the dining room. A first-floor bedroom with an en-suite bath is a favorite of guests who desire additional privacy.

Living Room: 14 x 12
Stair Hall: 12 x 8
Sunroom: 13 x 23
Dining Room: 15 x 16
Kitchen: 17 x 12
Breakfast Nook: 18 x 8
Master Bedroom: 24 x 14
Master Bath: 14 x 8
Root Cellar: 11 x 6

Second Floor

The second floor boasts three bedrooms with large window spaces that admit plentiful light—a noteworthy benefit to guests who enjoy the night air in summer.
Upper Stair Hall: 12 x 8
Bedroom: 12 x 12
Bedroom: 12 x 14
Bedroom: 12 x 14
Bath: 12 x 8

Innkeeper’s Suite

A fifth bedroom with a walk-through closet and ensuite bathroom on the second floor is accessible through the kitchen wing and was formerly a housekeeper’s quarters, though it now serves as private quarters for the innkeeper.

Bedroom: 16 x 14
Bath: 6 x 8
Walk-Through Closet: 11 x 6

Workshop

Presently a workshop, this 12 x 28 dependency south and to the rear of the Garvey House includes a fireplace and was once part of a larger building that may have been a residence for a gardener.

Gazebo and Gardens

The Garveys in the early 1900s established extensive gardens, incorporating boulders and fieldstones that outcrop throughout the area. With the help of a long-time gardener, Mrs. Garvey directed the construction of rock walls, steps, and benches, incorporating an outdoor fireplace, two fish ponds, an ornamental well, a tiered kitchen garden, and a 12 x 12 gazebo built of hewn timbers.

UTILITIES

The property was formerly heated by a propane-fueled furnace that will require repair. Ancillary wood stove and fireplace heat are being used in season.

Water/Sewer: West Virginia-American Water
Electricity: Appalachian Power Co.
Telephone: Frontier Communications
Internet: Frontier Communications
Cellphone Coverage: Varies with providers

ZONING

The property is located in an unincorporated rural area of Fayette County. Please refer to the Fayette County Commission and Fayette County Health Department for zoning requirements.

PROPERTY TYPE/USE SUMMARY

The property since the 1970s has operated as a residence and commercial bed-and-breakfast.

MINERAL RESOURCES

West Virginia law provides for separate ownership titles for surface rights and mineral rights. This property is being conveyed as surface only.

BOUNDARIES AND SURVEY

The property is being sold by the boundary and not by the acre.

DEED AND TAX INFORMATION

Deed Information: Fayette County Deed Book 617; Page 258
Acreage: 1.6 acres +/-

Real Estate Tax ID / Acreage / Taxes
Fayette County (10), New Haven (1)
Tax Map 62: Parcel 105

2021 Real Estate Taxes: $1,032.23

ACCESS/FRONTAGE

The property fronts on Lansing-Edmond Road (Rural Route 82). Access is by Garvey Manor Lane, which crosses the frontage, and by a rear driveway kitchen entrance, both of which are graveled.

PUBLIC & PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Public schools in Fayette County usually divide students into elementary, middle, and high school levels. Divide Elementary School, at Lookout, is a drive of only four minutes from the property. Midland Trail High School and its adjacent middle school are on US-60 at Hico, a drive of about 10 minutes. The county’s vocational school is at Oak Hill, about 25 minutes. Several private schools within the Fayette County School District operate in the region, and homeschool programs are supported.

HIGHER EDUCATION

West Virginia University maintains a campus at Beckley, a drive of about 45 minutes to the south, and Concord University, Bluefield State College, and New River Community & Technical College maintain secondary campuses at the Irma Byrd Higher Education Center near Beckley. New River Community & Technical College also operates a campus 30 miles to the north of Winona at Summersville. The largest medical school in the state, the W.Va. School of Osteopathic Medicine is an hour’s drive away at Lewisburg. The state’s largest university, West Virginia University, at Morgantown, with more than 25,000 students, is a drive of about two hours to the north.

HEALTHCARE

The nearest hospital to the property, Plateau Medical Center is a 25-mile drive from Winona at Oak Hill and includes 25 beds and an emergency care unit. Summersville Regional Medical Center, affiliated with West Virginia University, includes 101 beds and an emergency care unit and is approximately a 30-mile drive. At Beckley, Raleigh General Hospital, with 300 beds, and Appalachian Regional Hospital, with 173 beds, also include emergency rooms and are both approximately 45 minutes away. A Veterans Administration Medical Center is also located at Beckley. Chief state medical centers are located at Charleston and Morgantown, 1.5 and 2.5 hours from Winona respectively.

CLIMATE

The New River Gorge sustains a microclimate more typical of warmer and more southerly latitudes, due partly to the sheltering nature of its valley. Though the river may appear a cool mountain stream, by the time it reaches the gorge it has already traveled more than 300 miles from the summits of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina and has heated over that distance. As its warm microclimate accommodates a longer growing season, it is a preferred location for gardens. It immediate area remains relatively free of heavier snows that blanket the surrounding highlands. Mean annual precipitation at the property is estimated at 37 to 47 inches, mean annual air temperature at 50 to 52 degrees, and its frost-free period at 140 to 170 days.

ECOLOGY

The property and adjacent national park is the largest remaining example of unfragmented mid-latitude forest in the world, a globally significant resource, according to the park service. The temperate climate of the Allegheny Mountains, with their deeply dissected gorge walls and side canyons, contributes to the moist, cool conditions favorable for the growth of the mixed mesophytic forest, considered to be the best example in the nation. This continuous span of primarily mixed deciduous forest is approximately 60 miles long by two miles wide, making it one of the largest in the nation.

The park is one of the few sites in West Virginia with thousands of acres of relatively flat undeveloped plateaus, while in the bottom of the gorge can be found miles of roadless bottomlands and riparian habitats. These unfragmented forests include several rare forest types, including the critically imperiled Appalachian flatrock community, as well as rimrock pine forest, cliff communities, river scour prairie, and eastern hemlock forest.

At the edge of a large region of forest, mammals of many species frequent the area, including deer, raccoon, opossum, grey squirrel, and ground squirrel. Bear and bobcat are infrequent visitors.

The region is also renowned for its variety of songbird species. The following have been observed on the Garvey House property: Cardinal, Blue Jay, Towhee, Grossbeak, Chickadee, Grey Catbird, Snow Bunting, Indigo Bunting, Carolina Wren, Mourning Dove, Brown Thrasher, Cedar Waxwing, Tufted Titmouse, Chipping Sparrow, Red-breasted Robin, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-Winged Blackbird, White Breast Nuthatch, Red-breasted Grossbeak, White-throated Sparrow, Gold and Purple finches, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Owl, turkey, and hawk have also be observed in the forest at the rear of the property.

SURROUNDING AREA

Winona and the Garvey House are located in the northern district of the New River Gorge Region in southern West Virginia. Formerly among the most productive coal mining regions in the U.S., it is now a world-renowned destination for outdoor recreation, particularly where rock climbing and whitewater rafting is concerned.

The following cultural and recreational resources are located within 20 highway miles of the property. Further information on each follows.

2 miles from Nuttallburg Hiking Trails
3.9 miles from Beauty Mountain Climbing Area
4.1 miles from Nuttallburg National Historic District
4.3 miles from Endless Wall Hiking Trail
6 miles to Camp Washington-Carver
7.2 miles from Babcock State Park
9.2 miles from New River Gorge Bridge
10 miles from Historic Fayetteville
12 miles to Hawks Nest State Park
15 miles to Gauley River National Recreation Area
17 miles to Summersville Lake

Winona

Developed by coal-mining interests in the late 1800s, Winona boasted more than 1,000 residents in the early 1900s, though it’s now home to just more than 200, according to the 2010 Census. It may be classified as a ghost town. Only a handful of houses remain, though businesses operating in the town once included a drug store, general merchandise stores, a dry goods store, a meat market, a pool room, a millinery, a barber shop, hotels, a lodging house, and a movie theater. The town and its post office were named for Winona Gwinn, eldest daughter of William Gwinn, who operated a hotel. Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the “Father of Black History,” began teaching public school at Winona, where he worked from 1898 to 1900.

The town may now be best known for its proximity to some of the most remarkable cultural and recreational attractions in the gorge. Two of its most popular rock-climbing areas are located within eight miles of the community—Endless Wall and Beauty Mountain. Babcock State Park and Camp Washington-Carver are fewer than seven miles. The Nuttalburg National Historic District and its hiking trail network are accessible only by way of Keeney’s Creek Road, which descends from Winona to the New River.

LOCAL ATTRACTIONS

Nuttallburg Hiking Trails / 2 miles

Seven hiking trails managed by the National Park Service wander the gorges of the New River and Keeney Creek near Winona, providing hikers access to more than six miles of trail that vary from easy to strenuous. The Keeney’s Creek Rail Trail, which also accommodates mountain biking, was closed by a rock slide but is being repaired.

Beauty Mountain and Endless Wall Climbing Areas / 4 miles

The cliffs along the rim of the gorge attract tens of thousands of rock climbers annually and are among the most popular destinations for climbing in the U.S., ranking alongside Moab and Yosemite. The Garvey House has been a preferred venue for climbers visiting Beauty Mountain and the Endless Wall, two of the most popular climbing areas in the gorge.

Nuttallburg Mine and Ghost Town / 4.1 miles

Thousands of tourists annually visit historic Nuttallburg, where the National Park Service has preserved and restored a ghost town and mines in a remote national historic district. The only motor vehicle access to the site is through Winona, though hikers and kayakers may also access the site by the New River and on trails.

Endless Wall Trail / 4.3 miles

Readers of USA Today elected this cliffside hiking trail only four miles from the Garvey House the most popular hiking trail in the national park system. Along with the nearby Long Point Trail, this 2.4-mile trail skirts the rim of the New River Gorge, providing access to breathtaking scenic vistas. Another 20 miles of hiking trail wander through the gorge area near Fayetteville and the New River Gorge Bridge.

Camp Washington-Carver / 6 miles

Perhaps best known as the location of the annual Appalachian String-Band Music Festival, this complex of historic buildings hosts a series of festivals and gatherings year-round. Held in early August, the string-band festival hosts more than 3,000 musicians and string-band music lovers from 50 states and more than 20 foreign countries.

Babcock State Park / 7.2 miles

Home of the Glade Creek Gristmill, one of the world’s most photographed scenic landmarks, this 4,000-acre park adjoins the national park and includes 28 cabins, 52 campsites, and more than 20 miles of hiking trails. The park restaurant and gift shop are highlights for Garvey House visitors. Corn meal and buckwheat flour made at the Glade Creek Grist Mill are available for sale.

New River Gorge Bridge / 9.2 miles

One of the best-known landmarks in West Virginia, the New River Gorge Bridge spans the New River Gorge only minutes from the Garvey House. The adjacent Canyon Rim Visitor Center, managed by the National Park Service, welcomes more than a million visitors annually. Daring visitors are welcome to walk the catwalk beneath the bridge more than 850 feet above the river.

Historic Fayetteville / 10 miles

At the heart of the northern New River Gorge region, charming Fayetteville boasts a collection of shops and restaurants sure to entertain visitors. The town of some 3,000 residents is also the seat of government in Fayette County. More than 20 miles of national park trails encircle the town, which also includes the area’s chief shopping district, including a Walmart, Lowe’s, and other chain stores and restaurants.

Hawks Nest State Park / 12 miles

This scenic park on the rim of the New River Gorge may best be known for its overlook of the New River and for its aerial tram, which descends and ascends from the park lodge to the river. The park’s restaurant and 31-room lodge have been greeting guests since the 1970s. A recently restored log-build park museum now serves as a convocation center.

Gauley River National Recreation Area / 15 miles

Managed by the National Park Service, this national recreation area protects 25 miles of the scenic Gauley River and four miles of the equally beautiful Meadow River, both of which are world-renowned as destinations for whitewater paddling. The Gauley in autumn is one of the best-known destinations for whitewater rafting in the world.

Summersville Lake / 17 miles

The largest lake in West Virginia, this 2,700-acre reservoir is among the most popular vacation lakes in the state, welcoming thousands of boaters, anglers, and campers annually. Cliffs that rise along its upper coasts also attract rock climbers, and in conjunction with the cliffs at the New River Gorge and along the Gauley River makeup one the largest rock-climbing destinations in the U.S.