The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

September 7, 2008

Rainelle recorder says his hands tied on old train depot

Christian Giggenbach

RAINELLE — City Recorder Pete Adams said Friday there was no other option than to have the city tear down an old train depot because the property owner wanted the building moved.

“The city owned the building, but the city never owned the property it sits on,” Adams said. “We received a letter from the property owner, Randy Pendleton, to remove the building from his property.”

The train depot was at least 80 years old and was one of the last historical remnants linking the town of Rainelle to the era when the Meadow River Lumber Co. was operating at its peak during the early 1900s. The city bought the building from CSX about two years ago during the administration of former Mayor Eugene McKenzie.

Adams said it was not a viable option to move the building to another location, so the city began demolishing it. As of Friday, about one section of the building had already been demolished, but much of the structure still stood.

“No, I don’t want the building to be torn down, but I have to respect the person’s wishes who owns the property,” Adams said Friday. “The building should have never been bought without owning the property. We don’t have the financial capability to move that building.”

Adams said the structure was made completely of pine and all of it will be burned after the building is torn down.

“No one will make a dollar from selling any of the wood,” he said.

Adams said the building and the property were never owned by the same person or company from its inception.

“The property was never deeded over to the railroad. The Meadow River Lumber Co. gave the railroad the right to build the depot there, but they never sold them the property,” he said. “There’s been a lot of questions about the ownership of the land, but Randy Pendleton owns the land.”

— E-mail:

cgiggenbach@register-herald.com

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