You are here

Preston County Courthouse

-A A +A
1932–1934. Southwest corner of Main and Price sts.
  • (West Virginia Collection within the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

This WPA-era building achieves a modicum of distinction because of its locally quarried facing material: deeply striated sandstone of a distinctive yellow cast. The courthouse is rectangular and stands two stories above a raised basement. Shallow pilasters separating the bays rise above the cornice to provide a bit of interest to the roofline. Fenestration infills seem less intrusive than is often the case when original windows are altered.

On the lawn, a tall obelisk supporting a standing figure of a solider is inscribed, “In memory of the soldiers and sailors of Preston County 1861–1865.” One of the state's most imposing Civil War memorials, it was begun in 1895 and completed in 1903.

Writing Credits

Author: 
S. Allen Chambers Jr.
×

Data

What's Nearby

Citation

S. Allen Chambers Jr., "Preston County Courthouse", [Kingwood, West Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/WV-01-PR1.

If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.

SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.

,