The Driving Tour

"The Breezes," the Tudor Revival style Frank S. Easley house, was designed by Alex Mahood and built in 1919.  Mr. Easley served as president of the Bluefield Coal and Coke Company.  Local residents recall the peacocks that strutted around the grounds.  Throughout the years, the house has remained in the Easley family.

The Spanish Colonial Revival house was designed by Alex Mahood and built in 1924. for W.A. Bodell, owner of West Virginia Heating and Plumbing Company.  The business served a three-state area.  He was also president of Acme Motor Company

This lovely Mediterranean house was designed by Alex Mahood and built for the L.G. Toney family in 1920.  Dr. Richard Vair Shanklin purchased the home in 1946.  It passed to his son, Dr. James R. Shanklin, and remained in the family until the early 1990's.

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Image credit: Hal Brainerd Photography

This grand D.E. French house was built in 1919 for West Virginia State Senator D.E. French. Senator French was an attorney and president of First National Bank of Keystone.

Image credit: Hal Brainerd Photography

Designed and built by local architect Robert Sheffey in 1920, this Federal Style house is associated with long-time owner R.H. Moore.  The Moore family occupied the house from 1926 to 1981.  Mr. Moore was an officer of the Jewel Ridge Coal Company.

Image credit: Hal Brainerd Photography

The stately Mitchell house has graced Albemarle Street since its construction in 1915.  Designed by architect John Kingsbury, the house was originally owned by Michael S. Stupalsky, businessman and Bluefield city treasurer.  H. Milnor Mitchell, president of Bluefield Bottling Company later purchased the property.

Known as Alex Mahood's Bluefield masterpiece, the Garrett house was constructed in 1915.  Set atop a hillside, the Georgian Revival mansion with its ornate oversized portico was the perfect place to view the budding South Bluefield neighborhood.

This Alex Mahood gem was built in 1916 for Captain D.H. Barger.  A three-story open staircase graces the center hall of the Colonial Revival house.  Dr. Wade H. St. Clair later purchased the home.  Dr. St. Clair was one of three local physicians who began the Bluefield Sanitarium.  The Sanitarium has evolved into the Bluefield Regional Medical Center.

Built in 1926, Alex Mahood designed this Mediterranean Revival house for Edgar S. Pedigo.  The house enjoys the distinction of being the home of a West Virginia political dynasty.  John and Elizabeth Kee, long-time owners of the house, both served in the US Congress.  Their son Jim, succeeded his mother.  Between the three, the Kee family-controlled West Virginia's Fifth Congressional seat for forty years.

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Image credit: Hal Brainerd Photography

The "Oaks" was constructed in 1908 for Judge Joseph M. Sanders. Judge Sanders was elected as Bluefield's second mayor in 1891. 
He served on the West Virginia Supreme Court and one term as a State Senator. Robert Sheffey, an architect, designed the massive Four Square style home. It is possibly the largest Four Square in West Virginia, boasting more than 8,000 square feet. Dr. R.O. Rogers later purchased the house. Dr. Rogers was one of the three physicians responsible for building the Bluefield Sanitarium.

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Image credit: Hal Brainerd Photography

Alex Mahood designed this large Colonial Revival style house for John T. Wilson, president, and treasurer of Winco Block Coal Company. It was built in 1926.

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Image credit: Hal Brainerd Photography

This Tudor Revival house truly represents the style of the period of development of the coal baron houses in Bluefield. Thomas H. Cooper built the house for his bride in 1925 for $28,000.00. Alex Mahood served as an architect. An English castle owned by Mrs. Cooper's family was the inspiration for the design. The Cooper family is directly associated with the development of Bramwell and Coopers, West Virginia. Some of the bricks protruding beyond the facade of the house contain coal dust from the family coal mines.

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Image credit: Hal Brainerd Photography

Alex Mahood designed this gracious Colonial Revival house. It was constructed in 1922 for Arthur Kingdon. Laurence E. Tierney, Jr., a Yale graduate, and his wife, Katharine, later purchased the house.  Mr. Tierney served as president of Flat Top National Bank.  He was an advisor to Presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson. The Tierney family name is synonymous with the development of Bluefield and the coal industry.

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Image credit: Hal Brainerd Photography

The picturesque Neo-Classical style Arthur Kingdon house was designed by Alex Mahood and built in 1928.  Arthur Kingdon, an attorney, and stockholder in the West Virginia Coal Realty Company, built and occupied many of the most beautiful homes in Bluefield.  Walter C. Shunk, a coal operator, later owned the house.

Image credit: Hal Brainerd Photography

Considered the most unique house Robert Sheffey designed in Bluefield, the Edna and Sidney Kwass house is a perfect example of the International style of architecture.  It resembles a ship with its porthole windows and follows this theme throughout the interior of the house.  This style is very rare in West Virginia.  The house was constructed in 1935.  It is said to have been inspired from plans from the 1932 World's Fair.

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Image credit: Hal Brainerd Photography

This Tudor Revival home was built in 1928 by Dr. E.W. Horton.  The architects were M.J. Garry and R. A. Sheffey.

The Bluefield Centennial Fountain is located in the park at Edgewood Road and Mountain View Avenue (1889-1989). The fountain was erected by the Men's Boxwood Garden Club in 2005.

Renamed in the 1960s for Elizabeth Kee, West Virginia's first woman U.S. Representative (1963-1965).

The Bluefield Historical Society worked with the Memorial School in 2005. This school was designed by architect Alex Mahood in 1925 as a memorial to the soldiers who lost their lives in past wars. The students toured the homes in their historical district, prepared a brochure on their school, and were treated to refreshments at one of the historic homes.

The Bluefield Historical Society teamed up with teachers at Bluefield Intermediate School in 2006 and escorted 41 fourth graders through the College Avenue and Country Club Hill Historical District.  The students were treated to refreshments at one of the historic homes.

The childhood home of Dr. John Forbes Nash, Jr.,
who was the winner of the 1994 Nobel Laureate in Economics. Dr. Nash's life was portrayed in the movie, A Beautiful Mind.