Former Presbyterian Manse

Open Saturday and Sunday
Construction on this Federal-style four-square home began in 1858 and was completed in 1860. The house stands close to where the Old Union Church once stood. The lost was conveyed by James Kuykendall and his wife, Ann, by deed dated July 29, 1858, to Garrett VanMeter, Samuel Alexander, Felix Welton, Samuel McMechen, and Solomon VanMeter, trustees of the Moorefield Presbyterian Church, to build a home for the pastor.

The Rev. W.V. Wilson was living in the new Manse by 1860. Wilson was an avid Southern sympathizer and his stay was shortened by the war when he and his family were forced to flee along with many of the congregation. He never returned.

The Manse, as well as the Presbyterian Church on Main Street, was occupied by both Confederate and Union armies during the Civil War. Both facilities were used as hospitals, stables, offices, and whatever each army needed at the time.

One of the outstanding features of the house was a double staircase, the kitchen staircase for servants’ use, and the front staircase for family use. The family staircase had more elaborate scrollwork on the trim. Another notable feature of the house is the use of exposed support rods running flush with the living and dining room walls in the front of the house and through the bedroom and kitchen in the back. Normally these rods, which are used to eliminate bowing in the brick, were placed inside the walls of the house. The Manse is the only house in the areas to have the treatment exposed on the walls.

The manse was restored during a three-year project that began in 1987 to return it to its Federal look.

It was the home of eleven Presbyterian ministers in Moorefield from 1860 until 2004 when the stately old home was sold. Only the first minister of the church and the last two never lived in the home.

Open Courtesy of Amanda Hatfield See/Boone and Donald and Susan Hatfield

Location: 123 North Elm Street, Moorefield