35. Christian Clise House

100 W New St., built as a log house c. 1786 by Christian Clise, who purchased the lot from Abraham Shepherd in 1785. Clise sold the house in 1790 and moved to Lexington, Va., where he and his son built and operated an ordinary. Succeeding owners including the Cookus and McCauley families enlarged the house, adding a center hall, siding, and unique architectural details. On January 21, 1892, near the front steps, a rejected suitor shot a popular town belle. Removed to the parlor of the house (then owned by Methodist minister A.A.P. Neel), the victim died, as outraged townsmen sought the killer. Sentenced to hang by a Charles Town court, the killer was found dead in his cell before the execution. Some allege that the house is haunted by the ghosts of that long ago tragedy.

36. Community Building and Fire Hall

SE corner of King and New Sts. Built in 1912, this red brick building of Gothic design with a square steepled tower at one corner housed the fire department and served as a community building, town hall, jailhouse, basketball court, sometime movie theater, and a gathering place for church suppers, bazaars, and entertainments by various religious and civic groups. After the fire company moved to a new fire house on Route 45 in 1987, the building remained empty for a time and now is privately owned.

 

37. Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church

SW corner King and Washington Sts. Officially chartered in 1743, this is the oldest continuous congregation in town. In the early 1780s, the congregation built a log church on the corner opposite the present site and shortly thereafter replaced it with a frame building on the same site. When the frame building burned in 1831, the church traded its former lots for the current site. The structure dates from 1836. A plain red brick building, it has a belfry and cupola atop the front gable. As the largest building in town at the time of the Battle of Antietam, the church served as a primary hospital for the wounded. During much of the 19th century, across King Street on the south side of Washington and near the Town Run, a large building known as the Virginia House served as the home of the Fayman family, makers of wool and fur hats.

 

38. Stone Row

S side of E New St, between King and Princess Sts. The long two-story building has been called Stone Row for generations. Built in the early 1790s, it began as Philip Shutt’s Brewhouse. Irish workingmen building the C&O Canal in the 1830s enjoyed “Shutt’s Cream Beer.”

39. Shepherd District Free School

SE Corner of New and Princess Sts. One of the two public schoolhouses in town built by the state of Virginia in 1848, it continues to serve the cause of education as office space for Shepherd University professors. It is believed to be the oldest free schoolhouse in West Virginia.

 

40. Tolliver's Hotel and Ice Cream Parlor

SE corner of Princess and German Sts. Owner J. Matt Tolliver seems to have been the downtown area’s first successful black businessman. His name appears in the town records during the years 1877 to 1908. After his popular restaurant burned in 1894, he built this brick building, where he ran a hotel and ice cream parlor. From 1899 to 1909 the town granted him an annual hotel license.

41. Hodges Building

SW corner Princess and E German Sts. A large brick structure and residence from the early 1800s to the 1880s. Resident families included three generations of the Reinhart family, then the Line family. From 1854 until his death in 1858, it was the home of the Honorable Henry Bedinger, the first U.S. Ambassador to Denmark. In the 1880s, G.T. Hodges established a large general store in the front corner room. The old entrance is still visible from the Princess Street side.

42. Yellow Brick Bank

NE corner of German and Princess Sts. In 1906 Jefferson Security Bank removed an older brick building from this site and erected the current structure, a modified Beaux Arts style building. When the bank moved in 1975, new owners converted the old bank into a restaurant.

 

Host Your Gathering at the Historic Entler

The Entler and its lovely garden are a favorite spot for weddings, parties and other events. Historic Shepherdstown & Museum is a Colonial landmark, built in 1786. The house just to the west of the building burned down in 1912, but the foundation remains and has been transformed into the lovely stone wall of the Evie Van Ryzin Memorial Garden, a favorite spot for weddings, parties and other events. The building was for many years known as the Entler Hotel, and the Globe Tavern also served up many a drink on this spot. In the 20th century, the building was a men’s dormitory for Shepherd College, quarters for Navy and Air Force Cadets, and apartments for Shepherd faculty.

Today the building houses our town’s Museum and hosts events such as weddings, parties, art exhibits, and other social gatherings. We would be pleased to assist you in hosting your next event! For more information, please contact the museum at (304) 876-0910.

Pricing

Hourly Rentals:

  • $35.00 per hour
  • ($25.00 for nonprofits – must provide IRS determination letter)
  • You must include enough time for setup and cleanup after the event
  • A $50 cleaning fee will be added to your rental.
  • This price includes use of the reception room. Payment of the $200 security deposit with a signed rental agreement will secure your date.

If you would like to include the porches, garden and/or kitchen:

  • $125 – porches and garden
  • $50 – catering kitchen use fee

For more information, please see our rental agreement and policies documents.

All-Day Rentals (weddings and receptions):

  • 9:00 a.m. to midnight
  • $500 per day
  • This price includes use of the reception room. Payment of the $200 security deposit with a signed rental agreement will secure your date.
  • (Cleaning & catering kitchen fee is included in the price.)

If you would like to include the porches and garden (this is recommended for parties of 50 or more):

  • $125 – porches and garden

For more information, please see our rental agreement and policies documents.

Art Shows & Exhibits:

Please contact the office at (304) 876-0910 for more information. Rates are based on the number of days of your exhibit and the number of participants.

 

Room Dimensions, Chairs, Tables, etc.

  • The main reception room is 30′ x 23′.
  • The front foyer is 30′ x 12′.
  • Seven (7) round 48″ tables
  • Six (6) 6′ banquet tables
  • Sixty (60) folding chairs
  • One large buffet serving table.
  • Reception Room Maximum Occupancy (does not apply if porch and gardens are also used):
    • With tables and chairs – 48
    • With chairs only – 102
  • a wheelchair ramp for access through the front door is available upon request. An additional security deposit is required.

When the Historic Shepherdstown office receives your deposit and signed rental agreement, your date is officially secured on the calendar. Final rental fee is due, payable to Historic Shepherdstown, at least 30 days before the function. If payment is not received 30 days prior to your event, the date will no longer be guaranteed and the room will become available for another reservation; your security deposit will not be returned.

 

Cancellation and Refund Policy

  • If a cancellation occurs less than 30 days in advance of the function, the security deposit will not be returned.
  • If a cancellation occurs 30 days or more in advance of the function, your security deposit will be refunded.
  • If the premises is not left in good condition, or if damages occur, some or all of your security deposit will be held to pay for damages, necessary breaking down and storing of tables and chairs or cleaning trash out of garden and porch areas.

Agreements and Forms

The following are rental applications and agreements for your reference. You can view them online or download a PDF version of the documents.

Entler Hotel Rental Agreement and Application Download PDF
Entler Hotel Rental Policies Download PDF
Entler Hotel Rental Rules and Regulations Download PDF
Alcoholic Beverage Agreement Download PDF
Art Show Rules and Regulations Download PDF

 

43. Gray Lodge

203 E German St, adjacent to the Yellow Brick Bank. A complex of three structures built for the Shepherd family as a town home, including a small rectangular brick building (which served as a doctor’s office from c. 1850 to 1890), a carriage house (converted into a tea room and tourist inn c.1920), and a Greek Revival brick house with iron grill work on the front said to have been brought from New Orleans by a member of the Shepherd family. Author Willa Cather spent a summer at the Gray Lodge working on a novel.