BECKLEY, W.Va. — For the second time since acquiring it, City of Beckley officials will be changing the name of the former Black Knight Country Club.
The City of Beckley purchased the rougly 60 acre site in March. The nearly 90 year-old property, most recently owned by Gov. Jim Justice, closed its doors in December of 2017 due to a steady decline in membership.
It officially reopened under the city’s leadership on July 19 under the name “Historic Black Knight”.
At Tuesday’s Beckley Common Council meeting, a few residents spoke about their concerns of the negative and racial connotation of the name “Black Knight”. Blacks were not allowed into Black Knight for several decades after it first opened in 1929.
Mayor Rob Rappold told MetroNews affiliate WJLS following that meeting he wanted to keep part of the original name (Black Knight Country Club) for consistency purposes.
“We’ll set a date to reevaluate that. I come from a marketing and sales background and my opinion is we need to capitalize on that 90 year-old brand. Once we establish ourselves and come up with a name that’s suitable to everybody, I’m all for it.”
In the days following that meeting, Rappold said he received a phone call from a close friend for over 60 years who wanted to discuss the issue.
“He said, ‘you know Rob, it’s become a very divisive issue. If you’re going to make a change in a year or in 18 months I’d suggest you do it now. Give everybody a fresh start.’ ”
Rappold then contacted all members of the Beckley Common Council.
‘Those that I talked with yesterday seem to appreciate what we’re trying to do,” said Rappold. “We certainly don’t want to continue to be divisive over this issue. We don’t want to divide the community. Beckley is too great a city to let something like this be such a distraction.”
Black Knight Country Club was opened in 1929 by Raleigh Coal & Coke Company vice-president Col. Ernest Chilson. It was named after the company’s trademark which depicts a knight in black armor riding a black horse.
Mayor Rappold said a workshop will be scheduled in the coming weeks to brainstorm ideas for a new name for the historic property. The council will then vote on the new name based on those suggestions.
“It is a new era. It was a new era when we acquired Black Knight and frankly I never anticipated the sort of backlash that we’ve gotten. I’m glad that issue seems to be put to bed. It will be council’s decision about what any possible new name will be.”
The property includes a nine-hole golf course, a swimming pool, tennis courts and a restaurant with a full bar. It is open to the public everyday except Mondays.