Join Us June 20th through June 23rd
“Spirit, that made those heroes dare, to die, and leave their children free”. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Gilmer County Historical Society is a 501-c-3 non profit organization located in Glenville, West Virginia. We own the Holt House property which consists of a late Victorian era frame house and a modern metal annex building we use as a library and meeting hall. We are totally operated by volunteers. Our income is from memberships, donations, grants, funds awarded by the county and city, and sales of books and things in our gift shop.
The Holt House was designed by Abraham Lincoln Holt and a local architect, Adam West. Construction began in 1901. Mr. Holt was a local attorney. He and his wife Clara had 3 children: Helen, Elizabeth, and a son who died in childhood. Helen Holt married Robert Mollohan who became a United States Congressman; their son Alan also was a US Congressman. After Mr. Holt died, Mrs. Holt had some remodeling done to the house, enclosing part of the porch into a sunroom and installing a stairway to the 3rd floor, which was made into an apartment where Helen and Robert Mollohan lived. (This is now used for storage and to house old land and property books that were discarded by the county).
The annex was originally built as the dining hall and kitchen for the senior center, so we have a nice working kitchen, rest rooms and a large meeting room. The Gilmer County Farm Bureau uses our annex for meetings and we open it for other organizations for a donation. Our genealogical library is in the main room in the annex. We hold living history events and other events in this room as well.
At the present time, we are open Wednesdays from 11 AM to 3 PM and for special events and special requests. We are located at 302 E. Main St, PO Box 235, Glenville WV 26351. You can email us at [email protected] or give us a call and leave a message: 304-804-2054.
We build funds through Gift Shop sales, Craft sales, Book sales, donations, grants, County and City funds.
Another top fundraiser is the dues paid yearly by members. $5 Student, $20 Individual, $25 Family, $350 Lifetime Individual, $400 Lifetime Family.
Our 2023 fundraising goal is to collect monetary contributions for immediate repairs, utilities and expenses incurred from the use of the Historic Holt House and Annex building by its members and community. We are Collecting, digitizing, storing and protecting Gilmer County’s historical documents and artifacts. We hold Yard Sales and Bake Sales. Watch for dates as to when this will be scheduled.
With the support from the counties families and businesses, we can all reap the benefit. We will tell your story to the world, recorded directly from the people who lived it. We’ll strive to gather our history piece by piece, as accurately as we can. Appalachian culture is a rich and unique lifestyle we don’t want to loose with time. Be a part in preserving it.
Thank you in advance for your contributions. Your artifacts and donations will be handled with integrity and respect in honor of the people who came before us and for those who have yet to come.
Hope you enjoy our site. Hope you join us to make it even richer! Please stop back by soon.
