One of the last
standing company houses in the county went on the auction
block Saturday, Nov 7 2020. Most in the county know the place
as the Newt Bragg house. The house sits on the banks of the
Elk where Buffalo Creek merges into the Elk. Hands down, this
site has the best potential for growth due to setting right
beside the new ERTS State Park.
But, the surrounding land was not for sale, just the crumbling remains of the highly visible structure from yesteryear. Here's a couple snap shots from before the start of the 2pm auction.
But, the surrounding land was not for sale, just the crumbling remains of the highly visible structure from yesteryear. Here's a couple snap shots from before the start of the 2pm auction.
Here's the way we
understand it... The Elk River Foundation (ERF) purchased the
house, buildings and land a few months back. They have already
leased some of the property to the WV DNR for a fenced in
maintenance facility. ERF wanted to raise some $$$. Instead of
tearing the wood structure down, they decided to host the
auction.
On the 7th, Dave Pierson was the sole bidder. His bid came in at $250.00 No, we didn't forget the extra zeros, a plain $250. The catch was, the structure had to be moved or torn down in 90 days. The bid was not accepted and the auction was over in a jiffy and a half.
Now, the important part.
After the auction, members of that Foundation were speaking causally . They spoke of finding grant funds (historical maybe) to rehab the place and make it into some kind of ERTS trail hub, snack shop, tourist trap. We hope that happens.
But, there's always a but, the part about trying to land historical grants, at best, that's a very long shot. The paperwork is overwhelming and govt funds come at a very slow pace.
Other suggestions might be, tell the Govt to stuff it and instead, with about $50K from private sources, the place could be remodeled enough to look original but be safe. Heck, just meeting Fed specs, engineering, design, feasibility studies.... the list goes on.
Where do you come up with $50K or so? No one had an answer but it sure makes since. If they try to jump the hurdles for Federal $$$, it will take forever to meet all the Fed laws, it would surely be in the $250,000 range, and, with all the competition for those dollars, it may never happen.
Something is always better than nothing. Maybe it will happen some day
AW
On the 7th, Dave Pierson was the sole bidder. His bid came in at $250.00 No, we didn't forget the extra zeros, a plain $250. The catch was, the structure had to be moved or torn down in 90 days. The bid was not accepted and the auction was over in a jiffy and a half.
Now, the important part.
After the auction, members of that Foundation were speaking causally . They spoke of finding grant funds (historical maybe) to rehab the place and make it into some kind of ERTS trail hub, snack shop, tourist trap. We hope that happens.
But, there's always a but, the part about trying to land historical grants, at best, that's a very long shot. The paperwork is overwhelming and govt funds come at a very slow pace.
Other suggestions might be, tell the Govt to stuff it and instead, with about $50K from private sources, the place could be remodeled enough to look original but be safe. Heck, just meeting Fed specs, engineering, design, feasibility studies.... the list goes on.
Where do you come up with $50K or so? No one had an answer but it sure makes since. If they try to jump the hurdles for Federal $$$, it will take forever to meet all the Fed laws, it would surely be in the $250,000 range, and, with all the competition for those dollars, it may never happen.
Something is always better than nothing. Maybe it will happen some day
AW