MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The oldest stone building in Monongalia County will have its history shown in a museum exhibit.

The Morgantown History Museum announced that an exhibit that commemorates the history of the Old Stone House will be open to the public at the end of January. The opening of the exhibit will be celebrated with a reception on Friday, January 31, starting at 6:00 p.m. that will include members of AmeriCorps who worked on the exhibit, representatives from the Morgantown History Museum, as well as the Service League of Morgantown, who will provide refreshments that are sold.

“Old Stone House is the oldest stone house in Mon County, there is only one other building that we know of that is older than that, and that’s the building left over from Fort Kern,” said Museum AmeriCorps member Sarah Potter, who helped develop the exhibit. “So this is the oldest dwelling in Mon County,” she said.

Located in downtown Morgantown, the Old Stone House has served in a number of capacities since it was built in 1795 by Jacob and Elizabeth Nuze. In its now 230-year history, it has served as a private residence multiple times, as well as a tavern, a temporary courthouse, a church, and as a proprietor of close to half a dozen different businesses. Now currently used by the Service League of Morgantown, the Old Stone House continues to serve as a community landmark with a history that will be reflected by the things made at the building over the past 200 years that will be shown at the exhibit.

“There’s so much cool stuff,” said Potter on WAJR’s Talk of the Town. “A lot of it is on loan from the Service League, they brought some Thompson pottery (made at the Old Stone House in the 1800’s), the Service League has also loaned us Joseph Shackelford’s (a former owner of the building who hosted church at the Old Stone House after he was forced to not host sermons) study bible, which he would’ve used to host services,” she said.

The members of the Service League of Morgantown who will be in attendance at the opening of the exhibit will serve refreshments during the reception, including the custom-blended Old Stone House spiced tea. This is aimed to not only show how the historic building is used today but also commemorate the 90-year anniversary of the Service League of Morgantown, which has used the Old Stone House as a local shop since its inception. As one of the longest-serving tenants of the building, the organization, mainly comprised of Morgantown area residents, was more than willing to help celebrate the Old Stone House exhibit.

“When it was opened the first time (in 1935), they had a little tea shop there, they served tea and cookies and lunch, and it just grown through the years,” said Service League of Morgantown member Iris Smith. “So we’re proud of having been here for almost 90 years,” she said.

The exhibit that commemorates the Old Stone House will be hosted at the Morgantown History Museum until the end of May 2025. All the antiques that will be shown in the exhibit are on loan from the Service League of Morgantown, with the exhibit expected to be open at the same time the museum is normally open Wednesday through Friday and on the weekends. With the reception free to attend, exhibit creators and Old Stone House tenants alike hope Morgantown residents stop by and learn about some local history.

“We’ve also got some hand-painted signs from the Service League, and we don’t have any examples, but we will have some replicas by local artist Blanche Lazzell, who was very popular in the modernist movement,” said Potter.

The Morgantown History Museum is open between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. during the weekdays. On Saturday and Sunday it’s open from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

 

 

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