Contact: Executive Director 304-645-3398 Margaret Hambrick, Secretary 304-646-2439

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Founded in 1963, the Greenbrier Historical Society is dedicated to community enrichment through education and preservation of the history and culture of the Greenbrier Valley. The Greenbrier Historical Society is a regional organization that serves the West Virginia counties of Greenbrier, Monroe, Summers, and Pocahontas.

West Virginia Historic Preservationists Honored at Annual Awards Ceremony Lewisburg, WV - The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia announced this year’s historic preservation award recipients at its annual awards banquet at the Clingman Center for Community Engagement in Lewisburg.   Each year, the Alliance solicits public nominations and votes on award winners that represent the most outstanding and exemplary historic preservation projects around the Mountain State. Preservationists, supporters, and friends gathered with the Alliance’s Board of Directors and staff on Saturday to celebrate the 2023 award winners. President of the Greenbrier Historical Society, Janice Cooley, said, "The Greenbrier Historical Society is pleased and excited that the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia has recognized one of our projects and one of our own through this year's WV Historic Preservation Awards.  Clifford Gillilan is a valued member of our Board of Directors and lends his exceptional expertise to the planning of many of our projects as well as the ongoing work of maintaining our facilities.  He is currently a member of our Library/Enslaved Quarters planning group as we work to restore those buildings as significant historical assets in Lewisburg.  We are happy to have his abilities recognized across the state.”  Rodney Collins Preservation Achievement Award Clifford Gillilan, Lewisburg, W.Va   Clifford Gillilan has been a major force for decades as the contractor in charge of restoring and maintaining many of the earliest homes in the Lewisburg area including the historic Renick House (1980s), Lewisburg Hotel, and the Old Stone Church where he oversaw the roof replacement and significant updates to the adjacent education building. Clifford also saw that every inch of the historic Montwell home, a Jefferson Street landmark in Lewisburg, was touched lovingly and skillfully in the two-year project. Thanks to Clifford, Oak Terrace and Merry Hill, two well-known, very large homes of the early 20th century, have also been carefully preserved.  Without knowledgeable, ambitious skilled artisans like Clifford, many of Lewisburg’s unique cultural resources may not have been preserved. We appreciate his dedication to his craft! Cooley also said, "The Friends of the Blue Committee, as an arm of the Greenbrier Historical Society, has pursued the restoration of the Blue Sulphur Springs Pavilion for 10 years.  It was a monumental project to renovate this exceptional remnant of the sulphur springs culture of the 1830s to the 1850s in this area.  We are excited to be able to open it to visitors as well as for scheduled events.  The members of this committee are very deserving of this award." Most Significant Save of an Endangered Property Award  The Friends of the Blue Committee for the Blue Sulphur Springs Pavilion Restoration Project, Alderson, W.Va.   The Blue Sulphur Springs Pavilion, located in Blue Sulphur Springs near Alderson, was listed as an Endangered Property by the Alliance in 2013 at the request of the Greenbrier Historical Society (GHS).  Mrs. Rebecca Lineberry donated the structure and surrounding property to the Greenbrier Historical during March of that year leading to the formation of the GHS’s “Friends of the Blue” Committee, which led the restoration under the auspices of GHS. Friends of the Blue Committee members are Alex McLaughlin as chair and Cathy Bolt, Irma Smith Cadle, William “Skip” Deegans, Margaret Hambrick, and Ray and Lynn Tuckwiller.  The committee has remained intact throughout the project and committed 10 years to seeing this project completed. Many other experts and funders contributed to the project success including: the Mills Group, an award-winning architecture firm in West Virginia, which was selected to conduct the Historic Structure Report and all subsequent design and contract oversight work. A successful Kickstarter Campaign raised over $25,000 from small donors all across the country. Grant support included the State Historic Preservation Office, a division of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History, Randall Reid-Smith, Curator and Susan Pierce, Deputy Director, provided incredible financial and moral support as well as technical guidance. The James F. B. Peyton Foundation through Angus Peyton donated greatly toward the effort. Excellent contractors included Allegheny Restoration, Buckeye Construction, and Schleiff Construction.  Drs. Kim and Stephen McBride lent their archaeological expertise. The final result is the breath-taking restoration of the 1838 Blue Sulphur Springs Pavilion that was completed in 2023.  Other individuals and groups receiving awards include: Heritage Tourism Award  Steve & Harriet Pearson, Shepherdstown, W.Va. for the Shepherdstown Opera House  Community Preservation Award   Morgantown Historic Landmarks Commission & Main Street Morgantown  Best Use of Historic Tax Credits Award   Lloyd & Denise Scalph, Fayetteville, W.Va. for Preserving & Repurposing the Old Esso Station  Randy Weaver, Arthurdale, W.Va.  Historic Landscape Restoration Award   Sharon Workman, Bramwell, W.Va. for Oak Hill Cemetery   Archaeology Award   Summers County Historic Landmarks Commission for their Frontier Forts project   AmeriCorps Award  Dr. Kathleen Thompson, Fairmont, W.Va.  Michael Gioulis Downtown Preservation Award   Charles Town Now, Charles Town, W.Va.  Bob Weir Craftsperson Award   Joshua Adamo, Adamo Building Arts, Lewisburg, W.Va.  Dr. Emory Kemp Lifetime Achievement Award   Carol Stevens, Alum Creek, W.Va.  PAWV also presented Preservation Persistence Awards whose recipients received $1,000 cash intended to support their costs in preserving properties recognized as endangered, or at-risk of being lost, in the state of West Virginia. This year’s recipients were:  Rebecca & Jesse Juarez for the Bowers Mansion, Mannington, W.Va.   Arthurdale Heritage, Inc. for the Arthurdale School Buildings, Arthurdale, W.Va.   The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV) is the statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to historic preservation in our Mountain State. It also administers the West Virginia Saving Historic Places Grant and the Preserve WV AmeriCorps National Service Initiative. For more information, visit www.pawv.org. Founded in 1963, the Greenbrier Historical Society is dedicated to community enrichment through education and preservation of the history and culture of the Greenbrier Valley. The Greenbrier Historical Society is a regional organization that serves the West Virginia counties of Greenbrier, Monroe, Summers, and Pocahontas. Photo captions : The Blue Sulphur Springs Pavilion whose restoration was guided by the Friends of the Blue Committee. Montwell, home of Paul and Mary Lindquist, whose restoration was guided by Clifford Gillilan.

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