The first Union Power Co. Building was built in
1926 for the electric utility company office and
the Home Electric Co. selling electric appliances in
the smaller part of the building and, in the larger part,
an early self-service store. The Union Power Co.,
Home Electric and the Mullens Water Co. moved to
their new building on the corner of Howard Ave. &
3rd St in 1942.
Webster Apartments was built by Dr. W. H. Wal-
lingford in 1921, originally Mullens General Hos-
pital. First floor originally occupied by the Mullens
Bakery. Later Lively Furniture. Second floor entered
from Wyoming Street was originally fused or hospital
out-patient treatment and patient rooms; the floor had
the operating room in front with large windows for
natural light.
Wyoming Hotel was built in 1918, destroyed by
fire in August, 1919, and rebuilt in 1920 by J. C.
Sullivan, the owner of the coal mines at Tralee,
Meade Poca and Barker's Creek. He transferred his
Bank of Wyoming from the company store building in
Meade Poca or South Mullens to this location in
1922. The hotel has five floors with a mezzanine over
the lobby as well as social rooms on the second floor.
The sleeping rooms on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th had a
sink and some shared a bathroom. There was one
bathroom in the hall on each floor. The 1st floor con-
tained the lobby, dining room, kitchen, and "The Hub"
grill. The Bank of Wyoming was in the front corner
room. The vault for the bank remains in the building.
Guests included then-Senator John F. Kennedy,
UMW President John L. Lewis, Admiral Richard Bird,
Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Will Rogers, and many
senators, congressmen, and governors. J. C. Sulli-
van went bankrupt in 1925, and the hotel was bought
by the Shenandoah Life Insurance Co. of Roanoke,
VA. The new People's Bank of Mullens moved in and
took over the Bank of Wyoming in January 1926. The
hotel was sold to Mr. M. H. Hodel, the owner of the
Beckley Newspaper Co. in the 1940s and was later
sold to Sam and Nelva Webster.
Eatwell Cafe was built c. 1922. For years it was
an eatery with apartments on the 2nd floor. Later
operated by Henry Hall and B. E. Hypes as Bud &
Henry's Grill and Pool Room.
Smiley Department Store was built c. 1921 -
1922 and operated as a clothing store. At one
time operated by Ben Lisagor as "The Hub" and
later owned by C.A. Smiley.
Law Building was built in 1923. It was once
used as an African-American hotel and res-
taurant; later, it was the law offices of Mr. Bill Hol-
royd and Mrs. Hallie Dushkoff, and then Ray Toler.
N.D. Tent Building was built in 1922 and oc-
cupied by the Frank Dunman Poolroom and
the N.D. Tent Co. men's clothing store. After a
small fire, the clothing store occupied all of the first
floor until 1989. Offices were on the second floor
with the entrance on Holroyd Ave. At other times,
the building housed the Draft Board, Credit Bureau,
and law offices of Fred and Ritz Kingdon.
Bank of Mullens A two-story stone building
was built in 1910 and destroyed in the 1919
fire. A three-story brick building was built in 1921
and occupied by Bank of Mullens until 1927. The
bank was closed by court order from the state
banking authority in 1927. Lester Frantz, who also
had stock in and was cashier of the Bank of Hunt-
ington, WV, was convicted of embezzlement and
died while a prisoner at the state prison in Mounds-
ville, WV. The People's Bank of Mullens owned the
building from 1927 - 1968. It was later used as city
hall and as a women's clothing store. On the 2nd
floor were dentist, law, and real estate offices, as
well as the C.V. Feller Insurance Agency. The 2nd
and 3rd floors were later changed into apartments.
McGraw-Worrell Building Construction began
in 1918. After damage by fire, it was com-
pleted in 1920 with fire-resistant brick and mor-
tar and briefly occupied as retail clothing store,
then subsequently as Robertson and Foglesong
funeral home. Owner and director, Harry Fogle-
song, and family, lived in the apartments above.
Markowitz Building was built in 1922 by Selig
and Paul Markowitz (only Jewish families to
live in Mullens for an extended period) and occu-
pied as the "Army & Navy" men's clothing store.
Selig Markowitz and family lived above the store.
After a few years of vacancy, CPA Robert Toler
bought the building for his offices.
G. C. Murphy Co. was originally two buildings
built in 1927. It was occupied by four stores:
Central Pharmacy, R. N. Doss Electric Store, the
Fashion Shop and Mullens 5¢ & 10¢ store. One
building had apartments and medical and law of-
fices on 2nd floor. The G. C. Murphy Co., a low-
priced chain department store, leased the four
buildings from J. E. Wyatt and the Early Brothers
For information about recreation and local history
contact: RAIL 304-294-6226
or local historian Jack Feller. Jack 304-294-5094
... the Dogwood City
Historic
Walking Tour
Mullens, WV
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Mullens, pictured here in 1914, was pioneered in the late 1800’s and incorporated in 1912. The first railroad reached the city in 1906. A
great fire destroyed much of downtown Mullens in 1919. A catastrophic flood placed much of the city underwater on July 8, 2001.
Historic Walking Tour Sites
of Mullens, WV
Funded in part by Preservation Alliance of WV and
the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
after a fire in 1944.G. C. Murphy Co. closed their
store in 1986 and bought the buildings from the
original owners or their heirs. The buildings were
vacant for about ten years. In 1996, buildings were
sold and remodeled to be used by Southern High-
lands Mental Health, Inc.
Mullens Dollar Store was built in 1924 by Ms.
Maude Stone and operated as a department
store primarily selling dry goods, clothing, and no-
tions. It was the Stone and Cook Department Store
after World War II when Mr. E. Claude Cook, a
nephew of Ms. Stone, came into the business. The
2nd floor was the warehouse.
Hatcher Building Built in 1922 for a furniture
store and apartments on the second floor.
First National Bank of Mullens occupied the build-
ing from 1924 - 1927. After the bank closed, it was
a furniture store and a SEARS catalog ordering
store. The Coffee Pot restaurant came in after the
2001 flood.
Levi Lusk Apartments and Garage Building
was built in 1929 for Craft Bus Line or Consoli-
dation Bus Line as a service garage. Later it was a
warehouse for Vickers Pawn Shop.
Ball and Shannon Building was built by A. T.
Ball and Frank Shannon from Pineville in
1928. The three-story brick building cost $40,000.
On the 1st floor, facing Howard Ave., was a gen-
eral merchandise store selling groceries, meats,
produce, canned food, clothing, shoes, school sup-
plies, and books. The board of education didn't fur-
nish free schoolbooks in those days.
A.J. Mullins Building was built in 1921 by An-
drew Jackson Mullins, the founder of the town
and the first mayor. Following the destruction of his
1st Street store and hotel in the 1919 fire. The new
building housed a real estate office with apartments
on the second floor. A contractor misspelled the
name on the facade as Mullens. The Mullens Motor
Co. owned by Nash Bailey, sold Buicks, Pontiacs,
Oaklands, and Star automobiles on the 1st floor for
nearly 40 years.
Masonic Lodge Building was built in 1923 by
the Mullen Lodge No. 750 A. F. & A. M. The
lodging, dining, and kitchen rooms were on the 2nd
floor. 1st floor occupants included plumbing, engi-
neering service, hardware, and automobile repair
shops. In the 1920s and 1930s, the dining hall was
used for many of the town public meetings, ban-
quets, weddings, and baby showers.
C. H. Koontz Building was built in 1923 by Mr.
Koontz for Guyan Plumbing and Heating Co.
Koontz was the city clerk and a real estate devel-
oper. The beginning of the Great Depression bank-
rupted him in 1929. He moved to Charleston, to
become Inspector and Supervisor of Public Offices
for the State Tax Commission. In 1945, was ap-
pointed Director of the State Budget.
American Electric and Armature Building was
built in 1923 as a shop to supply electric mo-
tors primarily for coal mines. The company rebuilt
and rewound electric armatures to recondition mo-
tors. In 1948, it moved to a plant in Itmann and the
Mullens Advocate occupied the building until late
1970s. Radio station WPMW C-92 was located
here for a few years prior to the 2001 flood.
Wyoming Ice and Bottling Co. Building was
built in 1921 by J. C. Sullivan and Associates
to make ice, bottle Magic Cola, and make ice
cream. The 2nd floor refrigerator would freeze wa-
ter into blocks of 300 lbs. The railroad refrigerator
cars needed to have ice refilled during a trip. From
the 2nd floor a ramp with rollers was attached to
the outside of the building and extended across
Moran Ave. to the railroad siding. The large blocks
of ice were moved across the ramp to the railroad
siding and then hoisted into the refrigerator cars.
The ice cream was called "WIBCO Ice Cream." It
was shipped by rail or truck to the coal company
stores in iced barrels. The ramp over the street to
the railroad siding was taken down after the rail-
road cars were equipped with their own refrigera-
tion in about 1929. The ramp hung on the side of
the building until 1943 when it was needed for
scrap metal collections during World War II. The
freight elevator from the 1st to the 3rd floor remains
in the building.
WIBCO Office Building was built in 1921 as
the offices for J. C. Sullivan's enterprises. The
electricity for many of Sullivan's buildings was sup-
plied from the generation plant at the Barker's
Creek Coal Co. mine at Tralee. During WWII, ARC
offices were on the 2nd floor.
Raleigh-Wyoming Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
Was built in 1923 and expanded in 1942. The
Coca-Cola products were distributed to coal towns
in Wyoming and Raleigh Counties until 1949 when
the plant was moved to Pineville. The Coke bottles
had Mullens, WV, imprinted on the bottom. Tom-
chin Furniture built an addition in the 1950s and
occupied it until the late 1990s.
Armour Meat Co. was built in 1926 for the
preparation and distribution of meats to local
stores and company stores. It was remodeled for
the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge #750 of Mullens;
the original structure is visible on the rear of the
building.
Mullens Advocate & Early Apartments Built in
1927 by the Early Brothers Contractors, Cabel
and Lester Early. The Mullens Advocate newspa-
per office was in the south side 1st floor with an
apartment on the other side and four apartments
on the 2nd floor with a yard and rose garden to the
left of the building. Subsequent occupants were the
Millers Advocate newspaper until 1948, and the
Post Office from 1954 until the 2001 flood.
Old Post Office Building was built in 1926 by
the Early Brothers and leased to the U.S. Post
Office until 1948. The building was subsequently
occupied by Western Auto Store and then a doctor.
Hickman Building was built in 1921 by George
G. Hickman who, with John Pettit, owned the
Hickman and Pettit Motor Co. and sold Dodge
automobiles. The building has four apartments on
the 2nd floor, and was occupied as a plumbing
shop, then Charlie's Pharmacy.
Eli Dushkoff Building was built in 1929 to be
the Wyoming Baking Co. where Mr. Dushkoff
made breads that sold wholesale or retail until
1935. Then, the store was divided between Eli's
Men's Store and the Smartwear Shop. Mrs. Hallie
Dushkoff had a law office behind with the entrance
on the side. Ms Dushkoff was the first female attor-
ney to practice in WV Federal Court.
Lee Harmon Building was built in 1921 and
occupied by an automobile sales room and
repair shop. In 1939, the Amier Gas Utility Co.
used the building for their sales offices and supply
warehouse. It housed the law office of former WV
House Majority Leader W. Richard Staton and has
two apartments on the 2nd floor.
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RURAL APPALACHIAN
IMPROVEMENT LEAGUE
PO Box 171
Mullens, WV 25885
304-294-6226
