Welcome to Buckhannon, a small townin north central West Virginia nestled snugly in the Appalachian Mountains.Buckhannon is a rarity in our modernized, technologically-savvy world: while itretains the small-town, nostalgic charm visitors often associate with MainStreets in the 1950s, its thriving downtown and diversified economy continue toflourish.
When you ask people about growing up in Upshur County, the common thread that runs through their memories are the connections they formed: with their friends, with family, with employees.
Now, years later, downtownBuckhannon has stood the test of time, boldly defying the fate that hasbefallen other small, rural towns in Appalachia.
Thecommon thread of community life
On any given day, Main Street is bursting with sights and sounds and smells that hearken back to those fondly remembered days of yesteryear. Laughter and music fill the air as visitors and locals alike wander into unique restaurants — from stalwarts like C.J Maggies to the farm-to-table Fish Hawk Acres market to the modern coffee-and-craft beer combo at Stonetower Brews.
Today, Stone Tower Brews coffeeshop is an ideal meeting location, where residents rendezvous with theirfriends while grabbing white chocolate strawberry mocha.
For decades, however, G.C. Murphy & Co. served as a five-and-dime store and central meeting place. Now, it’s home to the Buckhannon Opera House and the Upshur County Visitor’s Center.
Back then, it was simply“Murphy’s.”
As Noel Tenney, Upshur County Historical Society board member and secretary, described the five-and-dime store in the historical society’s newsletter, Murphy’s was “more than just a place of business, but a gathering place, a place of memories.”
“You would have thought that I was in the largest department store in New York City,” Tenney recalled of one of his visits as a child to Murphy’s. “So, here I had been left by myself at the dime store with my few dollars to buy Christmas gifts. I must have wandered all over the store several times before someone came to pick me up. Even at that, all I remember buying was 5-cents-worth of chocolate from the candy counter and a big blue bottle of ‘Evening in Paris’ perfume for my mother.”
Amelia DeRico, a longtime Murphy’s employee, summed up the store’s role as a town square of sorts in the historical society’s spring newsletter.
“There used to be chairs up frontwhere people could sit down and rest,” she reminisced. “Benches outside wheremen would trade watches and knives. Murphy’s wasn’t just a store, it was a gatheringplace. If someone was waiting to get their car worked on … or waiting to meet afriend, they’d meet at Murphy’s … a place where people could visit.”
South of downtown, there was theSpudnut Shop in Tennerton, which opened in August of 1958 and, according toinformation from the historical society, was one of the first places to servefresh Italian-style pizza, as well as their trademark potato flour doughnuts.
A 9-inch cheese pizza cost 65cents, and a 12-inch pepperoni pie was just $1.10.
Others recall whiling away theirdays at the Stardust Drive-in, which was situated along Route 20, or the AcmeBookstore downtown.
Joan Harman recalls “buzzing the‘Dust,’” as the Stardust Drive-in was called.
“It was so much fun cruisingthrough there, seeing who was driving what; who was on a date with whom. Sofun!” she said. “So many great memories driving through there with the tapeplayer blaring.”
UpshurCounty staples that have stayed put
While the Acme Bookstore is now an antique shop and you can no longer cruise by the Stardust, a few Upshur County mainstays have survived the test of time.
There’s the West Virginia Wildlife Center — commonly called the Game Farm — a one-of-a-kind zoological park in southern Upshur County that annually attracts visitors from nearly all 50 states and a dozen or more different countries, and the Donut Shop, whose sweet circular pastries are considered the best in the country by people as far away as Houston, Texas.
Tammy Samples said visiting the “game farm” left her with many unforgettable memories.
“I remember going to the ‘gamefarm’ and feeding the bears moon pies, and they would drink from a glass bottleof soda!” she said. “In those days, there was virtually nothing but the fenceseparating you from the animals. I don’t recall any fear at being that close tothe animals.”
And don’t forget DQ.
The Buckhannon Dairy Queen is an iconic landmark on Main Street. Its old-fashioned sign, illuminated with neon lights, blazes blue and pink March 1 to signify the shop’s opening and the coming of spring.
The original owner of the store,Betty Booth, passed away, but the franchise has remained in the family, andBooth’s daughter, Mary Ann Spears, has pleasant memories of working in DQ withher sister, Linda, when she was 8 or 9 years old.
The experience of working at DQenabled Spears and her sister to get well-acquainted with their customers – orat least their orders.
“As teenaged workers, Linda and Ihad a lot of private fun in there,” Spears said. “We recognized that people couldbe easily identified by individual habits or certain peculiar personalitytypes. Our favorites were the ‘regulars’: These were the townspeople who couldbe counted upon to order the same item, time after time.
“The Kenny Davidson family orderedchocolate freezes, and that was all there was to it,” she continued. “Theladies from the bank had their own specialized preferences, and they did notvary. Bud Cutright inevitably ordered the same milkshake, no matter the time orweather … one gentle lady always ordered two Dilly bars – one for herself andone for her dog.”
Amodern city with small-town charm
Today, Buckhannon’s downtown and the surrounding area now boasts an alluring, assorted mix of coffee shops (check out Stone Tower Brews on Main Street and Dough Re Mi on College Avenue), dessert spots (there’s the classic soft-serve at Dairy Queen, as well as Sweet-A-Licious, which serves up hand-dipped Hershey’s ice cream), and cultural and performing arts venues (Artistry on Main Gallery, the Buckhannon Opera House and the recently renovated Colonial Arts Center).
Boutiques abound, too: there’s Anita’s Flowers and Boutique — which specializes in breathtaking bouquets, house plants and wedding décor – as well as Tateep Unique Boutique; and Caroline & Co, all of which offer collections of exclusive, designer apparel and specialized lines of jewelry, makeup, handbags, scarves and more.
Buckhannon’s restaurant scene is thriving, with classic American restaurants like C.J. Maggie’s American Grill. But lately, more diverse cuisine has also popped up, from freshly rolled sushi to authentic Italian, Greek, Thai and Indian food.
Then there’s the quaint and quirkyFish Hawk Acres, which is a marketplace full of fresh food, a catering serviceand a restaurant that serves up freshly made daily specials.
All these stores and restaurants –several of which have sprung up over the last decade – serve as public placesin which people can mix and mingle, as they did “back then.”
Dozens of local artists offer theirwares for sale at Artistry on Main, a gallery that’s run by the artiststhemselves, with each working about one day each month. In return, they keep100 percent of their sales. The gallery also has a creative space in the backthat’s used for various classes hosted by the artists.
Laura Meadows, executive directorof the Upshur County Convention and Visitors Bureau says shopping on MainStreet still today is about more than just buying something.
“You’re going in somewhere to getthat certain atmosphere, that experience, and I think that’s one reasons whyBuckhannon’s downtown is thriving, because there’s a lot of people who areattracted to that,” Meadows said.
Escaping into the gorgeoussurrounding wilderness at Audra State Park, which spreads from Upshur Countyinto neighboring Barbour County, has always been an ideal option. Since 1950,residents and visitors alike have enjoyed sunning themselves by the Middle ForkRiver, which flows fast and fresh at Audra State Park. The park is a pristinewooded area with plenty of swimming, hiking, camping and fishing opportunities.
City councilman CJ Rylands said the assets Buckhannon has gained now aren’t an accident: the community began to work together about a decade ago to transition into a more welcoming place with ample public spaces and a generous free parking policy.
“The more invitations to spend timein public spaces, the better off we are,” Rylands said. “One of the mainintentions of Festival Fridays was to get people physically approximate to eachother and to have them say, ‘Oh, I haven’t seen you for so long.’ The squaredances are intentional to bring a different group of people into a friendly,welcoming environment.”
Every Friday evening in the summer, music-lovers and arts and crafts enthusiasts gather at Jawbone Park, home of the Buckhannon-Upshur Farmers Market, to soak in some live music at the famed Festival Friday events.
Now, performing arts will have a home on Main Street in the form of the restored and refurbished historic Colonial Arts Center. The former movie theater will function as the home of the Buckhannon Community Theatre and a community arts center.
The arts center is a metaphor for the process Buckhannon itself has undergone: with time, care and effort, the community, like the Colonial, still stands, but it’s been revitalized and reborn in contemporary Appalachia.
This article was produced in a partnership with the Upshur County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
