the Farmhouse around 1920

In 2004 we frequented various B & B's in PA, VA and WV. It was around this time we decided to become Innkeepers. We started asking a lot of questions about the business and through that we have met a great group of people that were more than willing to talk to us and offer help and advice; advice which we are still taking advantage of! We searched the areas around Pocahontas County that offered a strong tourism draw, offered good attractions and a visitor's bureau that promoted the area. We fell in love with Pocahontas County and bought the farmhouse in October 2006.

The farmhouse originally had a kitchen, living room, parlor and entertainment room downstairs, and four bedrooms, bath and a kitchen upstairs. A new kitchen was added and the old converted into a dining room. Little did we know what we would run into! The construction techniques in the late 19th century are a lot different than now, with tongue and groove wood siding inside and out. The framing was mill cut lumber with true 2 x 4 dimensions creating challenges for rework and rebuilding!

The house had carpeting throughout, which was removed. The house had paneling throughout the first floor, which was removed in the new dining room and the new common room. The paneling in the new bedrooms was wormey chestnut and was so beautiful that we decided it should be left alone. The first floor bath was very small and had to be enlarged, moving the sink and toilet to make them accessible. The bath upstairs included a claw foot tub, which we have kept, but everything in this room had to go. Actually, all of the plumbing was abandoned and all new drain and water lines were added. The hot water heat for all the bathrooms is on a hot water heater that is separate from the hot water heat in the kitchen. Wiring for the baths had to be added for lighting and outlets. The back bedroom had at one time stairs from the common room but had been removed and sealed off before we purchased the house. We opened the ceiling and added the stairs, allowing us to have private access to our quarters.

Dunmore has always been a farm community, but also has roots in a flour mill, which until the 1930's, was located just down the street from the house. The area has seen a gas station and several grocery stores come and go, but the community and the people here are long time residents and are the friendliest and most helpful that we have met!

That's a little of the farmhouse and community history. We are learning more every day about the original owners, construction and stories of how this small community has come about.

Came see us, and we can take you through the history from the late 1880's.

This is from an original picture taken in 1891, probably in early June timeframe, judging from the hay stacked in the fields in the foreground. The Methodist Church is the predominant building in the picture, but our farmhouse is also visible to the the left of the Church. The brown building in the middle of the picture is the housing for the flour mill that was here and established the town of Dunmore. The mill and its functioning has long since been gone, but the town that surrounded it is still alive and well.