A Dunkard Valley History Cache
From the time of the first settler’s arrival until the 1820s this area was known as Hampshire town. The land here was granted to John Baldwin and Brice Worley and squatters were common along the banks of Dunkard Creek. David Black arrived here in the early 1800’s and eventually was able to secure 160 acres of land that would eventually make up the town that would be named after him. On February 3, 1830 the General Assembly of Virginia passed an act establishing the town and naming it Blacksville.
This is the main intersection in town. It at one time had a stop light. The north-south road led between Pittsburgh and Clarksburg and was given the name Lafayette Street, the east-west corridor connected Morgantown to Wheeling and was named Washington Street ( Route 218 and Route 7 respectively).
The southwest corner of this intersection was home to one of the more prominent buildings in town the Strosnider Hotel. It was built in 1844 by Moses Strosnider and lasted thru numerous owners until it burnt in 1985. The southeast corner belonged to the Lantz family. William Lantz established a general mercantile store in the 1840’s it operated into the 1920’s. The Home located here now was built in 1955 by Williams grandson. Williams home is the next building down built in 1865 it is now occupied by a bank. The northeast corner housed a building owned by A.I. Strosnider. It was built for the manufacture and sell of boots and shoes. During the early 1900’s J.A. Phillips and Son operated a general merchandise business. In the 1920’s a movie theater was located in the building. The lot now stands empty. The nortwest corner was originally owned by William Tagard. In 1902 a large brick building was built here. This served as the home to the Dunkard Valley Bank and a hardware store on the first floor and The Red Onion Lounge on the third floor. The bank closed in 1931 and Bells Market eventually moved in.
STEALTH REQUIRED WATCH FOR MUGGLES
Strosnider Hotel
Looking South between Stosnider hotel and Lantz property
JA Philips store
Dunkard Valley Bank
Looking north on Lafayette