The McDowell County Courthouse is a historic courthouse in

Welch, West Virginia Welch is a city located in McDowell County in the State of West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,590 at the 2020 census, however the 2021 census estimate put the population at 1,914, due to the McDowell Prison complex in the north ...

. It was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on August 29, 1979.

History

The courthouse was built in two phases. The first part was built in 1893 in the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

style. It was the earliest independent work of architect Frank P. Milburn, then practicing in

Kenova Kenova is a city in Wayne County, West Virginia, United States, situated at the confluence of the Ohio and Big Sandy Rivers. Located near a tristate border, the city's name is a portmanteau of Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia (Va). Founded in ...

. Milburn would go on to be prolific designer of courthouses in the southern states. He reported that the original brick design had been built in stone, and that the jail had been turned around, but stated that "the contractors had done a good job of which they could justly be proud." Due to space constraints, the county decided to build an addition in 1908. W. E. & E. L. Shufflebarger of Bluefield were the architects chosen, and the complementary addition was completed in 1909. It was built to the north of the original structure. On in the courthouse yard, John Hardy, a black railroad worker, was hanged for murdering a man in Eckman, WV, then known as the Shawnee Coal Camp, over a gambling dispute. This January 19, 1894, execution was the subject of a song: "John Hardy," which remains a staple of folk, blues, and bluegrass music. John Hardy is thought to be the original John Henry On August 1, 1921, detectives from the Baldwin-Felts agency assassinated Matewan Police Chief Sid Hatfield on the courthouse steps. At that time, Hatfield was a major labor leader within the coalfields of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. His association with the

United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...

and Mary Harris 'Mother' Jones were nationally known. This act set the confrontational tone for labor relations within

References

Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Government buildings completed in 1894 County courthouses in West Virginia Frank Pierce Milburn buildings Romanesque Revival architecture in West Virginia National Register of Historic Places in McDowell County, West Virginia Jails on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Clock towers in West Virginia {{McDowellCountyWV-NRHP-stub