The Friends of the Shepherdstown Riverfront has disbanded as of Spring 2015. Much has been accomplished at the Mecklenberg Warehouse to stabilize and restore the building. The Corporation of Shepherdstown can now take the next steps to continue the upgrades and to find a suitable use for the building.
This website will no longer be updated or monitored. Historic materials concerning the Warehouse have been transferred to the Historic Shepherdstown Commission. Many people deserve credit for the work that has been accomplished at the Warehouse including: Jim and Ann Ludwig, Diana Suttenfield, Shep Scott, Richard Jentsch, Fran Cox, Davitt McAteer, Dale Walter, Bob Reynolds, Keith Alexander, Tom Conant, Mina Goodrich, Tyra Guyton, Meredith Wait, Linda Shea, Eddie Sampson, Alan Levitan, Amanda Whitmore, Steve Ayraud, Corporation of Shepherdstown staff and the many Shepherdstown area residents who donated money to the restoration of the building.
| April 9, 2015 |
54. Town Run Waterpower Area and Tobacco Warehouse
From the corner of Princess and High Sts, N Princess makes a steep descent to the Potomac. Town Run falls here through a steep ravine where once gristmills, sawmills, manufacturing mills and warehouses took advantage of the water’s power. The only building left is the tobacco warehouse, authorized by Virginia’s General Assembly in 1788. The large stone building perhaps replaced an earlier wooden structure c.1800.
55. Ferry Landing and Bridge Tollhouse
at the bottom of N Princess St. At the river’s edge, one stands at the border between West Virginia and Maryland. Here too is the former ferry landing, still in use as a boat ramp. The old piers in the river supported several bridges from 1849- 1936. The former bridge tollhouse, built in 1850, remains as a private residence.
56. Getzendanner's Corner
SE corner, Princess and High Sts. The site of Getzendanner’s mill in late 1790s, the current structure on the corner dates to 1920 and exemplifies the architectural style of service stations in the early automobile age. The front part has been enclosed and the pumps have been removed. The two houses abutting the former service station on High St. were associated with a cotton mill that operated on the site before the Civil War. In 1930, the service station added a miniature golf course on the south side of the property. The service station closed in the 1980s. Where cars formerly stopped for service, patrons now enjoy a restaurant.
57. Weltzheimer's Tavern
109-113 N Princess St. A combination brick and clapboard building. Here, according to local lore, in November, 1790, Nathaniel Willis published the Potowmak Guardian and Berkeley Advertiser, the first newspaper in what is now West Virginia. Willis had participated in the Boston Tea Party of 1773. Between 1795 and 1823 first Frederick Weltzheimer and then his widow Catherine operated a tavern here in the brick section and let rooms in the wooden section.
58. Little House and Miniature Farm
W side of Princess St. between German and High Sts. Built in1929 as a Shepherd College teacher training project largely through the efforts of education professor Florence Shaw. The farm includes a small limestone cottage in full detail, near the street. Behind the house and across Town Run is a miniature dairy barn. At one time the grounds included tiny gardens and fields. Here too, Town Run drops beneath Princess Street and descends towards the Potomac. Much loved by local children, the Little House is often opened for special events.
59. Chapline-Shenton House
101 N Princess St, adjacent to Yellow Brick Bank. Built in the late 1790s in the Federal style, this was the in-town residence and law office of the Hon. Thomas Van Swearingen, Esq. from 1817 until his death in 1822. He spent his summers at Bellevue, the family estate outside of town on Shepherd Grade Road. He represented this region in the Virginia Assembly from 1814 to 1816 and in the U.S. Congress from 1819 to 1822.
Goodbye – Friends of Shepherdstown Riverfront Disbanded
The Friends of the Shepherdstown Riverfront has disbanded as of Spring 2015. Much has been accomplished at the Mecklenberg Warehouse to stabilize and restore the building. The Corporation of Shepherdstown can now take the next steps to continue the upgrades and to find a suitable use for the building.
This website will no longer be updated or monitored. Historic materials concerning the Warehouse have been transferred to the Historic Shepherdstown Commission. Many people deserve credit for the work that has been accomplished at the Warehouse including: Jim and Ann Ludwig, Diana Suttenfield, Shep Scott, Richard Jentsch, Fran Cox, Davitt McAteer, Dale Walter, Bob Reynolds, Keith Alexander, Tom Conant, Mina Goodrich, Tyra Guyton, Meredith Wait, Linda Shea, Eddie Sampson, Alan Levitan, Amanda Whitmore, Steve Ayraud, Corporation of Shepherdstown staff and the many Shepherdstown area residents who donated money to the restoration of the building.
| April 9, 2015 |
Tank/Piping Removal Work Complete!
The tank and piping removal work at the Warehouse is complete and a new floor has been installed. Photo below also shows prototype kayak racks in place.
For additional photos see the Warehouse Renovation Gallery.
| August 25, 2015 |
Steel Tank and Piping Removal Underway
Work to prepare Shepherdstown’s historic Tobacco Warehouse for adoptive re-use continued in August, 2014 as Conservit, Inc. donated its labor to remove steel tanks, pumps, and valves from the warehouse. This was an important step in efforts to make the warehouse available as a paddle boat storage facility in 2014.
The photo shows Billy Grove from the Corporation of Shepherdstown with Conservit employees working on the project on August 6, 2014.
For more photos see the Warehouse Renovation Gallery.
| August 25, 2014 |
Historic Waterworks Report Available
FOSR member Tyra Guyton has completed the report of the waterworks operations at the warehouse from the 1920’s thru the 1970’s. The report includes photos of the equipment and excerpts from interviews with former employees at the facility.
| July 11, 2013 |