Tag: Tygart Valley Homestead

Randolph County Homestead School Reopens As Community Center

The Tygart Valley Homestead Association in Randolph County is celebrating the opening of a new community center inside their historic school building that first opened in 1939. The school was originally part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal Homestead projects.

After high winds damaged part of the roof at the Tygart Valley Homestead in 2017, the Randolph County School Board closed the school. 

But one year later, the local community association bought the building from the federal government for a nominal fee of $1. 

The community raised more than $30,000 to repair the roof, and they plan to make more improvements to preserve the historic structure.  

Roseann Rosier, secretary for the Tygart Valley Homestead Association, said part of the value of the school building is in its history.

“So when the county closed the school, we decided to try, and fail, rather than not try at all,” she said.

The Tygart Valley Homestead was once visited by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Roosevelt was devoted to resettlement communities that were built across the country, including Arthurdale in Preston County and Eleanor in Putnam County. 

Credit Farm Security Administration
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Resident of Tygart Valley Homestead with his child

The Homestead Association is hosting a celebration all day on Saturday, August 31 to honor the 80th anniversary of the opening of the school. It’s also the grand opening of the new community center, featuring a new walking trail and a small museum. Rosier said they will be serving a pulled pork lunch and are screening a new documentary about the Tygart Valley Homestead community. 

Tygart Valley Homestead Celebrates 75th Birthday

The Tygart Valley Homestead Community in Randolph County is celebrating its 75th anniversary this weekend. The Roosevelt Administration built the town of Dailey during the Great Depression to give out-of-work West Virginians a second chance. But the community is now struggling to hold on to that history and to their school building.

During the 1930s, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was personally very devoted to the resettlement communities that were built across the country. She visited Arthurdale in Preston County and the Tygart Valley Homestead.

The vision for these Resettlement communities was to offer work and housing to hard working white Americans who were victims of the Great Depression. Residents had to apply to be offered a job and relocate their families to a resettlement community. No African Americans were selected for the communities.

And the Tygart Valley Homestead was perhaps one of the most successful of the Resettlement communities.

Credit Dan Schultz/ Traveling 219
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Tygart Valley Homestead School

To celebrate its 75th anniversary this weekend, an Eleanor Roosevelt impersonator will travel to the homestead school.

Sonny Knaggs is organizing the celebrations, which begin Friday evening and continue into Sunday afternoon. Although the main purpose of the events will be to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the homestead, Knaggs says the local Tygart Valley Homestead Association is worried about whether the historic school, once visited by Eleanor Roosevelt, will be able to remain in operation. Repairs are needed, including a new roof and electrical upgrades. The future of the school, which teaches 145 kids, Kindergarten through 5th grade, will be discussed this weekend.

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