Three Old St. Albans Buildings, Three Different Fates, One October Saturday

On Saturday, Oct. 10, the St. Albans Historical Society holds its Fall Festival at Morgan's Kitchen, a log kitchen the Society dates to 1846. That same morning, the long-vacant former Parkway Supermarket property reopens as a Tractor Supply. Meanwhile, the Lantz Lumber Company building at Fourth Avenue and Sixth Street, which the Society's guide dates to 1907, is waiting on a private demolition planned for early to mid-October.

Taken together, the three buildings show something about the town. In St. Albans, a building's age and history have not decided whether it lasts. The deciding questions have been who owns it and whether anyone has a use for it that can be paid for. The log kitchen and the supermarket each found that combination. The Lantz building has a National Register listing, a City government that wanted to take it, and a historical society president who called it a "silent sentinel." It never found that combination.

Saturday, Oct. 10, Hour By Hour

The day begins before the ribbon cutting and runs past sundown.

1. 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Kenny Sutton Memorial Bass Tournament launches from Roadside Park and Sutton Landing at 612 MacCorkle Avenue. Entry is $120 per boat.
2. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The St. Albans Historical Society holds its Fall Festival at Morgan's Kitchen, 2600 MacCorkle Ave., with music, food, arts and crafts, and apple-butter making.
3. 9 a.m. The City and the St. Albans Area Chamber of Commerce hold Tractor Supply's grand opening and ribbon cutting at 203 Pfaff St. Food trucks, a petting zoo and other family activities are on the schedule.
4. 7:30 to 10 p.m. The St. Albans City Park Haunted Trail runs its second night. Admission is $5, and the trail also opens Friday, Oct. 9, and the following weekend.

The festival and the ribbon cutting overlap all morning, so you can easily get to both.

The 1846 Kitchen Lasted Because Someone Took It In

Morgan's Kitchen is not originally from St. Albans. The Historical Society says John Morgan Jr. built the log kitchen in 1846 on Morgan Plantation, near what is now the John Amos power plant site in Putnam County. Local history holds that it cooked for, and served as a hospital for, Union soldiers wounded in the nearby Battle of Scary Creek.

The kitchen stood in the way of the John Amos plant's construction. In 1972 it was moved to St. Albans, and today the City owns it and the Historical Society maintains it. That arrangement is the whole reason it is still standing. When the cabin's original site was needed for something else, someone took ownership and kept a purpose for it.

Saving it took ongoing work, and the work is still going. In May 2025, WOWK reported that no restoration had been done since the 1970s. Ellen Mills Pauley, president of the Historical Society, listed the repairs then: "The logs need to be treated for bugs, there's some deterioration on some of the logs, some of the chinking needs to be replaced. Some of the hearth needs to be leveled up." Delegate Walter Hall presented $10,000 in community grant money for a project expected to take three years. It was set to start in summer 2025 with the roof, windows and chimney.

That makes the Fall Festival one of the few regular chances to see the inside. The Society's guide says the kitchen opens to visitors on summer Sundays and to groups by appointment. Anyone who wants to sell at the festival can contact Patty Swango, the Society's vendor contact.

The Supermarket Site Came Back Because A Retailer Wanted The Space

The former Parkway Supermarket property shows the same pattern in a commercial setting. A use came first, and the building followed. On Dec. 5, 2025, the City announced Tractor Supply as the property's new anchor. It described the site as long vacant and said the store would offer merchandise residents had been traveling elsewhere to buy since Kmart closed.

The opening took longer than first planned. The December announcement forecast late spring or early summer 2026, and the ribbon cutting now falls on Oct. 10, several months later. Mayor Scott James summed up the reopening in the City's September release: "Seeing this property welcome customers again is an exciting moment for St. Albans."

A smaller version of the same story happened on Kanawha Terrace this summer. The Gazette-Mail reported that Montanaro Cakery & Macarons closed its 2424 Kanawha Terrace shop to move to 1822 Kanawha Terrace because demand had grown. It planned a soft opening July 22 through 24 and a grand opening July 25. The bakery's own website now lists the 1822 Kanawha Terrace address and weekly hours. Here again, a business that needed more room ended up in an existing St. Albans building.

The Lantz Building Had History And A Willing Taker, But No Use Anyone Could Fund

The three-story brick building at Fourth Avenue and Sixth Street was built in 1907 by the St. Albans Building Co. for a wholesale grocery that never opened. That is how the Historical Society tells it. The building later housed the St. Albans Opera Co., then George Weimer & Sons Building Materials Co., and finally Lantz Lumber Co. The Society says it was reportedly the first building in town with an elevator.

By the usual measures of preservation, it qualified. On Sept. 3, the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office confirmed that the building is a contributing resource to the St. Albans Railroad Industry Historic District, National Register No. 100005412. It also had an institution willing to take it on. The City says it began working with the owner 12 to 18 months ago. It helped secure Brownfields grant funding for a structural assessment and an asbestos survey, and a separate test of the roof found no asbestos. When the property was being sold, the people handling the sale offered to donate the building. City staff began the administrative subdivision needed to separate it from the larger parcel, planning to pursue grants and private investment for redevelopment. Before the transfer went through, the owner chose demolition.

The cost of a new use was the obstacle. Mayor James told the Gazette-Mail that problems with the elevator shaft and the building's southeast corner meant bringing it up to code and making it usable would probably cost $12 million to $15 million. Put that next to Morgan's Kitchen, a three-year restoration that began with a $10,000 grant. Both buildings had a public owner ready to step in. Only one needed an amount of money that could be raised.

"The City did not choose demolition. We pursued a way to preserve the building, including a potential transfer that would have allowed us to seek grants and private investment. When the owner chose a different course, our responsibility was to consult the State Historic Preservation Office, respect the rights of the property owner, and make sure the work proceeds through the proper permit process." Mayor Scott James, in the City's Sept. 15 release

Because no state or federal money is involved, SHPO confirmed the demolition does not need review under Section 106 or West Virginia Code 29-1-8. As of the City's release, no final date had been set. The contractor still needed a demolition permit and is expected to notify the City before equipment arrives. The City says it will announce confirmed timing and any public impacts.

The building also shelters animals. WOWK reported on Sept. 30 that dozens of feral cats have lived there for more than a decade. Volunteer Allie Hall said rescuers had stopped feeding the cats so they could trap them, but still did not know the demolition timeline.

Where The Rest Of October Happens

The other October dates are spread across City Park, Olde Main Plaza and Kanawha Terrace.

Oct. 17 works much like Oct. 10, with a City Park afternoon, a downtown cook-off and the Haunted Trail's last night all in one day. City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 5 and Oct. 19 at 51 Sixth Ave.

If you've ever wondered what your own older St. Albans home would be worth next to the buildings in this story, Faith Realty & Co. can help you find out. Our family team follows these neighborhood changes closely, and we're glad to sit down with you and talk through what they mean for your street. Get Your Free Home Valuation whenever you're ready.