Downtown Fayetteville tour: A guide to its historical homes

Step back in time with this in-depth walking tour through Fayetteville’s historical downtown area. Let me take you back to southern West Virginia as it was after the Civil War and in the early 1900s, with tales of a speakeasy hidden in a hotel basement, and a saloon keeper-turned-sheriff.

In roughly 45 minutes, you’ll hear the forgotten stories of Fayetteville’s founding families whose pioneering spirit remains in the buildings around you. Along the way, I’ll show you where the Civil War was fought, and which houses sheltered future presidents. I’ll also point out the Fayette County Courthouse which was rebuilt three times, the Morris Harvey House Bed and Breakfast whose original owner donated the money that eventually built Charleston University, and the McGrath House which has unusual ties to Martha Stewart.

Along the way, you can look forward to:

• Hearing about the architectural history of many of downtown Fayetteville’s homes, including a couple of pre-civil war homes that survived the Battle of Fayetteville in 1863
• Finding out what happened when the US Government wanted to use the town as a tuberculosis recovery center after WWI
• Learning how prohibition affected a local politician and his family
• Walking in the footsteps of the only Fayetteville Sheriff killed while in office
• Touching 100-year-old walls built by a group of Italian engineers who immigrated here
• Listening to an excerpt from one of the most interesting obituaries ever written
• Discovering where, according to local lore, the first instance of indirect fire took place

By the end of the tour, you’ll also have seen where two Civil War forts were built, and know why the town was originally named Vandalia. Join me on this short stroll around downtown Fayetteville, and discover new places to explore and stay when you next visit.