Most Tri-Staters know about the antique shopping in Old Central City, but like many of those antiques, there’s much more than meets the eye. The area is chock full of antique stores and museums with nothing but love for antique cars, trains, radios, TVs, technology and the ever-changing life down on the farm.
Known today as the “Antique Capital” of the Tri-State (Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia), Old Central City and its outlying neighborhoods on the west side of Huntington have an amazing history steeped in industry, community and architecture.
In an effort to share the area’s rich history, we have worked up a history-filled 2.5-mile walking tour.
It rambles from the heart of Old Central City along 14th Street West, over to Ritter Park, up to the 9th Street Historic District (Huntington’s smallest) and back to 14th Street West.
You’ll encounter some amazing current history from the resurrection of Old Central City and stories from the old Ragtime Lounge, which helped birth the music career of Billy Ray Cyrus to the amazing smells coming from the block-long Heiner’s Bakery, which makes more than 50 kinds of bread and buns.
We’ve also pointed out some of the area’s rich architecture such as the copper-domed Second Presbyterian Church, which is also home to the KYOWVA Genealogical and Historical Society that got the 9th Street West Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
There’s a wonderful collection of houses along 9th Street, formerly called St. Cloud, an unincorporated subdivision created in a park-like setting in the days of the Camden Interstate Railway, the electric streetcar system that connected the Tri-State.
There are also fascinating business stories.
Some are from decades past, such as the now-defunct but once huge Fesenmeier Brewery. Other places are cooking up fresh history daily — like Central City Cafe, featured last year on The Food Network show, Guy Fieri’s “Diner’s, Drive-ins and Dives.”
Thanks to the previous research and support of local experts such as author Lola Miller and her book “Old Central City,” as well as Debbie Campbell and the KYOWVA Genealogical and Historical Society and Steve Fesenmaier (no relation to the Fesenmeier Brewery folks but who wrote a great history on the place).
Local historian and author Don Daniel McMillian added some colorful stories, and some facts were culled from piles of The Herald-Dispatches from decades past.
The Central City walking tour
(1) Opened in spring of 1996, the Central City Gazebo has been used for a wide range of community events including gospel sings, square dances, art exhibits, band concerts and even weddings. Available for rental to the public, the Gazebo hosted its first wedding (Lynn Hudson and John Gallaher) on May 28, 1996. U.S. Senator, Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said, “Now, this is a gazebo” at the dedication service. A large flagpole was dedicated to the memory of Bob and Mayme Chapman, early supporters of the Central City reunions.
Go online at www.centralcitymarket.com to inquire about renting the gazebo.
From the Gazebo, take a left and start walking toward Washington Avenue, and walk past the Heiner’s Bakery to the corner of Washington Avenue and 14th Street West.
Stop at the corner, and enjoy the smell of fresh-baked bread. If the timing is right (Thursday evenings or Saturdays), stroll over and check out the amazing car collection of Jim Taylor.
(2) J. Taylor Auto Collection. Located at 1404 Washington Ave., the J. Taylor Auto Collection is the newest museum in Huntington.
Inside the spacious museum see Jim Taylor’s impressive collection of automobiles from 1914 on. It features Model T’s, Model A’s a rare 1930 V-16 Cadillac Limousine and a 1936 Chrysler Convertible among others. The museum is housed in the old D.E. Abbott Company building. The Canadian-raised Abbott visited Huntington and stayed for 70 years. The photographer, who freelanced for Harper’s Magazine, ran a business that enlarged portraits and did framing as well.
The museum is free and open to the public from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays. It is also open by appointment.
Call 304-522-2864 or go online at www.jtaylorautocollection.com.
If it’s not a Thursday or Saturday or you don’t have time, continue the walking tour. Cross 14th Street to get a closer look at the mammoth, block-long, regal red-blocked Heiner’s factory.
(3) Heiner’s Bakery, 1300 Adams Ave. Like other amazing regional culinary success stories such as Bob Evans Farm, Heiner’s Bakery started with one man, hard work and a dream. Charles W. Heiner started baking at age 15, working as an apprentice at Schnieder’s Bakery for seven years. From a rented hotel room, he and is wife Kate, labored to turn out bread loaves, buns, rolls and pies and would deliver, while still warm, door to door to guests staying in the Central City Hotel.
Four years later, the brand gained popularity, and the Heiner’s relocated to a white-framed building on Washington Avenue.
The rest is fresh-baked history. The family grew the business from 200 pounds of bread a day in 1905 to more than 12,000 pounds in 1930 to 50,000-60,000 in 1991.
In 1996, the Heiner’s family sold the Bakery to another family operation, Earthgrains. Five years later, Sara Lee acquired Earthgrains, which included the Heiner’s brand, and the Bakery expanded its line to include Sara Lee’s variety of whole grain, white and wheat breads.
Today, Heiner’s distributes nearly 100 products and makes about 50 on-site, including Heiner’s white, wheat, diet, French/Italian, rolls, buns (party, sliders, footlong, New England Coney and sunny), Sara Lee Soft and Smooth breads, white, 100 percent wheat, whole grain, whole grain white, multi-grain, diet, honey wheats, breakfast breads, bagels and Earthgrains rye.
Three production lines bake 9,000 buns an hour and 800-plus buns a minute. If you’ve got time, you can take a 45-minute walking tour, to see how the bread is mixed, shaped, baked, cooled and bagged.
Heiner’s Bakery is open for tours 9 a.m. to noon, Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 1 through May 31.
Also, buy fresh bread and other baked goods at the Heiner’s store, located at Washington Avenue and 13th Street.
Go online at www.heinersbakery.com or call 800-776-8411 or 304-523-8411.
Turn around and head back up 14th Street West.
(4) Cavendish/Cyrus Hardware Company now Hattie and Nan’s Antique Market, located at 521 14th St. W. Call 304-523-8844. Open Monday through Sunday. Closed Wednesday.
The Cavendish family was one of the most prominent families of early Central City. They built homes and one of the early department stores at 13 Adams Ave. that was opened in 1904 by J. Rankin Boone and then bought by the Cavendishes in 1911.
The Cavendish-Cyrus Hardware Store opened in 1928 and included the hardware section of the Cavendish Brothers Department Store. Evan and Peggy Cyrus and their daughter Sally kept this store open until 1995.
(5) Central City Cafe, 529 14th St. W. Opened and operated by David Luther, the history-filled cafe’s walls are lined with old newspapers, historic photographs and memorabilia from Old Central City.
Started in 1993 with six tables and five stools, the cozy cafe that specializes in home-cooked comfort food and a large variety of sandwiches and soups has been making some history of its own.
In 2008, the cafe was featured on The Food Network show, Guy Fieri’s “Diner’s, Drive-ins and Dives,” as well as mentioned in Fieri’s first cookbook of the same title.
Central City Cafe is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is closed on Sunday. Call 304-522-6142.
The cafe is also the place in Central City to buy The Herald-Dispatch from the street-placed newspaper rack.
(6) Central City Market. Located at 555 14th St. W., the market is home to the Farmer’s Market and the Senior Center.
From June to October, the Central City Market is packed with farmers from a 75-mile radius of Huntington selling a variety of West Virginia products, hard-to-find foods, flowers, plants and fresh produce.
In 2009, the market celebrates its 12th year.
There’s also a spring flower market as well at the market, whose bell tower contains a bell donated by Mike and Henriella Perry of Heritage Farm Museum and Village.
There’s a great photo opportunity inside the Senior Center. Get your photo made sitting in the Paul Bunyan-sized chair.
Call 304-525-1500 or go online at www.centralcitymarket.com.
Keep walking down 14th Street West toward Madison Avenue. Feel free to stop and browse the Tri-State’s greatest concentration of antique shops.
(7) Antique Shops. Old Central City’s 14th Street West is home to more than a dozen antique shops such as Mark’s Antiques (whose building is painted with a Mail Pouch Barn painting), the Central City Antique Mall and many more. There also are some unique stores that include Johnnie’s Market Fresh Meats, 722 14th St. W., Perry & Jaymes Florist (PJ’s) at 701 14th St. W., and West End Floral & Gift, 520 14th St. W., and at the corner of Madison and 14th Street, West Tenampa Mexican Restaurant.
(8) Former Fire Station. Look across the street to the northwest corner of Madison and 14th Street West at the red brick building built in 1902. It was the St. Cloud Fire Station and served as the Central City Hall and Fire Station. West Huntington Fire Station 4 opened in May 2004. The new state-of-the-art fire station is located just a short walk away behind the gazebo. The new station strikes a unique balance between its modern features and the history it represents.
(9) R.T. Champs Sports Bar and Eatery, 1605 Madison Ave. Look right and you can see a couple of blocks in the distance the bar and grill, R.T. Champs, owned by four-time Golden Gloves champion, Bud Waugh. It is full of colorful recent “Achy Breaky” honky-tonk history.
Opened in May 2000, R.T. Champs is named after Waugh’s famous club the Ragtime Lounge, the bar that helped birth the music career of Billy Ray Cyrus before burning down just behind where Champs now stands.
Cyrus and his band Sly Dog, played the bar several times a week, drawing in hundreds of fans and drawing the attention of legendary Nashville industry executive Jack McFadden who, at the request of Judy Cornett of Clear Channel Radio, came to Huntington to hire Cyrus and sign him and the band to Mercury Records.
In 1992, Cyrus went on to chart the most successful debut CD in music history, “Some Gave All,” selling more copies of his first CD (9 million) than The Beatles, Rolling Stones or Elvis. Cyrus has gone on to sell more than 25 million albums worldwide and earned nearly 30 chart singles, including 15 Top 40 charts hits, while at the same time establishing himself as a successful and respected actor in film and television with his daughter Miley Cyrus.
Call 304-429-9847 or 304-429-6636.
(10) Fesenmeier Brewery. The southwest corner of Madison Avenue and 14th Street West, now a shopping center, was occupied from 1899 to 1971 by Fesenmeier Brewery.
The largest brewery in the region, Fesenmeier survived a fire that gutted the biz in 1906, then the 1913 Flood, as well as Prohibition, which hit West Virginia in 1914, a few years before national Prohibition.
Turned into a meat-packing plant and then an ice and cold storage biz, the brewery reopened on May 5, 1934, with a quarter of a million gallons of beer ready. The most devastating natural disaster at the brewery was the 1937 Flood.
Still, the brewery bounced back. Giant fireworks marked the brewery’s 50th anniversary in 1949 when its business peaked with more than 60,000 barrels of beer.
In 1968, the brewery was sold to Huntington businessman Robert Holley, who changed the name to Little Switzerland Brewing Company and turned the facade into a Swiss Chalet.
The business, at the time West Virginia’s only brewery, was closed July 1971.
Cross the street and continue walking past Big Lots and toward Duncan Box and Ritter Park. Stay on the left side of the street to continue walking on a sidewalk for as long as possible.
(11) Cabell County Public Library, West Huntington Branch. Located at 90114th St. W., the library was opened in 1990 after it outgrew its former location.
The first branch library had been in a storefront building in the 400 block of 14th Street West since 1968. That building burned in the 1990s and was torn down.
Bricks dating back to 1908 were taken from the street construction in front of the new library and used as the floor of the solarium.
West Huntington library has a nice small glass collection display of Blenko, Pilgrim, Rainbow and Fesenmeier Brewery as well as historical information of old Central City and wall photographs. The library has about 46,000 items including books, circulating magazines, CD music, DVDs and other audio-visual materials.
Go online at www.cabell.lib.wv.us and click onto West Huntington Library for more info.
(12) Duncan Box and Lumber Company. Located at 1034 14th St. W., Duncan Box is the oldest family-owned business in the Central City neighborhood of Huntington. M.L. Duncan bought the Beader Box Co., in 1894.
Through the decades, Duncan supplied Fesenmeier Brewery and other beer companies with boxes and also made soft drink boxes, box shocks and Callapso Coops, an H.A. Duncan-patented device for penning poultry.
The business made boxes for the military during the Spanish American War in 1898, as well as World War I and World War II.
In 1945, Duncan Box celebrated its 50th year with 125 employees.
The family-owned business still operates a hardware store and lumber yard next to the railroad tracks.
Call 304-522-7391.
Walk under the railroad overpass that was built in the 1920s to Ritter Park and Memorial Boulevard and stop at the corner.
(13) Huntington Railroad Museum. Located at Memorial Boulevard and 14th Street West, in Huntington’s Ritter Park, this outdoor museum is owned and operated entirely by the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society.
The museum is open free from 2 to 5 p.m. every Sunday from Memorial Day to Sept. 30.
It is also open for special events and birthdays. Call 866-639-7487 to schedule special visits.
The museum features more than half a dozen special train cars including the centerpiece, a C&O Mallet Freight Locomotive #1308 as well as the 1880s-style wood frame handcar that appeared in the movie “Matewan.”
Go online at www.newrivertain.com.
(14) Ritter Park. The crown jewel of the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District, Ritter Park stretches along Memorial Boulevard with its 3.2 mile multi-purpose trail that follows Fourpole Creek.
Ending at 14th Street West, the path can be taken to the heart of Ritter Park near 13th Street.
Although the West End portion of Ritter Park lost Olympic Pool when it was demolished in 2006, there still is a small park area, Memorial Park, at 1301 Memorial Blvd., beside the walking trail, a small playground, a picnic shelter and a small restroom.
Go online at www.ghprd.org.
(15) Harveytown. Over the bridge out of Ritter Park is the Huntington neighborhood of Harveytown.
That community is home to one of America’s largest private collections of radios, (as well as rooms dedicated to the evolution of TV and computers), the Museum of Radio and Technology, located in the 10,000-square-foot former Harveytown Elementary School. The museum, 1640 Florence Ave., is also home to a vintage record shop and the West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays year-around except certain holidays. The museum is also open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on most Fridays from mid-April through October. Call 304-525-8890.
Also located in Harveytown is one of the newest neighborhood parks, Harveytown Park, complete with a giant barn-themed playground, a large wooden shelter, bathrooms and lots of greenspace.
Located just beyond Harveytown is Mike and Henriella Perry’s 500-acre, 26-building spread called Heritage Farm Museum and Village, 3300 Harvey Road. The award-winning museum preserves Appalachian heritage with extensive displays on the progress and history of the region. There’s also a petting zoo, hiking trail, five bed and breakfasts and much more. Call 304-522-1244.
Turn around and head back toward Old Central City. At Madison Avenue, take a right and start walking toward the 9th Street West Historic District.
This is a significant enclave of late 19th century/early 20th century houses form the core of what was once called St. Cloud, a community that today is part of the west end of Huntington.
(16) The Houses of Madison Avenue. Located between 10th and 9th streets along Madison Avenue are three homes of historic significance. They’re on the left side of the street.
The Pollard-Scott House, 928 Madison Ave., was built in 1892. It is a gray Queen Anne-style frame house with a corner round tower crowned with a shingled conical cap. The tower houses a half-spiral staircase.
The Surbough-Ferguson House, 910 Madison Ave., was built the next year, in 1893 with Queen Anne design elements on the frame house. Brackets, turned posts, imbricated shinglework, wood pendants and other outstanding sawn and turned-wood envelop the house in the manner of frosting on a large Victorian wedding cake.
Chapman-Smith-Hazelett House, 904 Madison Ave. Built in 1895, this two-story home features a patterned, slate-covered, multi-gable roof. In the gables, there is rich wood shinglework and enriched porch fascias suggesting Queen Anne styling.
Floyd S. Chapman, Huntington mayor from 1912-15, 1922-25 and 1931-32, lived in this house during his first term.
Take a left onto 9th Street West and walk toward Jefferson Avenue. Stop about half way down the block to enjoy the church on your left and houses on your right.
(17) Second Presbyterian Church. Located on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and 9th Street West, the Beaux-Art style church, designed by Levi J Dean, is a distinct landmark visible for many blocks because of its high copper-covered dome as well its imposing size at 150 feet by 120 feet.
Built in 1924-25, the church stands on the site of the congregation’s first home built in 1910.
Some noteworthy features include the engaged Ionic colonnade of the 9th Street West central pavilion flanking pedimented blocks.
Today, the church is also home to the KYOWVA Genealogical and Historical Society, which got the 9th Street West Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the smallest historic district within Huntington.
The extensive KYOWVA library and offices are free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday. Sunday hours are available by appointment only. Go online at www.kyowva.org.
(18) The Fiedler-Frasher House, 729 9th St., W. Built in 1935, the gambrel-roofed brick house of Dutch Colonial style was built by Paul Fiedler, mayor of Huntington from 1943-46.
(19) Parsons-Abbott-Mosser House, 725 9th. St. W. Built in 1870, this is the oldest house in the district and the most extraordinary.
The two-and-a-half-story Victorian home features lavish front elevation sawn work, most noticeably in the two-story entrance bay porch.
Deep eaves, paneled fascia, ornate wood raking cornices and wood antefixae highlight the tin roof.
The ell is a kitchen section attached to a rear second Empire-Style cottage addition about 1880.
A Swiss-style, the house was built for Captain H. Chester Parsons (1840 to 1894) a local official and attorney for C&O Railroad, and a protege of Collis P. Huntington.
Once called Park Street of St. Cloud, 9th Street West was part of an unincorporated subdivision called St. Cloud that featured upper middle-class families in a park-like setting. Those residents would go to Central City to catch the Camden Interstate Railway, the electric streetcar system that connected the Tri-State.
(20) Ensign-Darwin House, 723 9th St. W. Built in 1933, this unique house was built from plans for Good Housekeeping’s “Century of Progress” exhibition at the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago.
The Ensigns subbed out the exterior steel panel sheeting for a cream-colored brick.
The unique feature of the house is its steel framing rolled and assembled into studs, joists and rafters.
The nearly squared, two-story central block is flanked by one-story wings, each with roof terraces and low parapets.
The stylized steel trim in the 16-foot-wide bay window of the front elevation and entrance canopy is also crisply exhibited in short window canopies in front-facing second floor windows.
The overall house style may be said to echo the historical precedent of the small houses of ancient Crete.
Walk on down to the corner of Jefferson Avenue and stop.
(21) Houses of Jefferson Avenue. Three houses down 9th Street West from the corner of Jefferson is the Victorian Mansard at 620 (9th St. W.). This house was built in 1875 and moved across the street in the 1950s.
At the corner of Jefferson Avenue and 9th Street West is the Kitchen-Andy House, 910 Jefferson Ave.
The stone facing of this house was salvaged from the cellar and foundation of the James A Hughes House, a columned mansion that once stood at the site. The house was home to James A Hughes, state senator from 1895-98 and a member of Congress from 1901-15 and 1927-30.
Now turn left on Jefferson Avenue and walk back toward 14th Street West. Stay on the left side of the street for better sidewalk.
(22) The Churches of Old Central City. While Central City is best known for its many industries, it is also home to many churches as well, tucked between 14th Street West and the 9th Street Historic District.
On Jefferson Avenue, you’ll pass the New Day Ministry, 615 10th St. W., located in the former Jefferson Avenue Baptist Church building that was built in 1964.
You’ll also pass Central United Methodist Church, 1043 Jefferson Ave., and just over a block is the Madison Avenue Christian Church at 722 West 12th St., and the Madison Avenue Church of God, 1201 Madison Ave.
(23) Huntington Middle School. Located at 1001 Jefferson Ave., is the former West Middle School. It’s used temporarily as Huntington Middle School, where 500 sixth, seventh and eighth graders attend school.
Continue walking up Jefferson Avenue back to 14th Street West.
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