MANNINGTON, W.Va. — The Mannington Middle School building has been added to the 2025 Endangered Properties List from the West Virginia Preservation Alliance of West Virginia
Marion County Schools Superintendent Dr. Donna Heston said she hopes the designation will lead to more visibility and community awareness which translates into financial support to refurbish the building, which used to be Mannington High School.
Mannington Middle School, built in 1925, was designed by local firm Franzheim, Giesey & Faris, the same group that designed Woodburn Hall at WVU.
Heston said the building has issues any 100-year-old build does, but the bell tower still works every day, and the building is structurally sound. The library is named after Dr. Phoebia Moore, the first woman to study medicine at WVU. She later left an endowment that wasn’t discovered until late 2023 that totaled more than $1 million.
“Structurally it is sound; we’ve had engineers come in and look at it,” Heston said. “Beautiful wood floors; it has a very historically rich structure as well as a historically rich library.”
Mannington Middle School Principal Dr. Jane DeVaul, a group of parents, and the Preservation Alliance did all the work to achieve the designation. Heston expects events in the future to begin to raise funds for work on the building.
“This is an opportunity through the efforts of the principal, Dr. DeVaul, a group of parents, and a foundation that is very actively supporting that school,” Heston said.
Heston said the building is point pride, not just in Mannington but the entire county. At a recent academic fair in Gilmer County, two students did their project on the history of “Mannington High School.”
“They were presenting on the history of the Mannington High School, now their middle school,” Heston said. “It was three young ladies talking about the rich history, learning more about their school and the impact in the community.”
Heston said the building was on another list, a list to be taken out of service but the designation gives the building a new life and renews the pride in the community.
“This is exciting for Mannington,” Heston said. “We often say in Mannington that all roads lead back to Mannington in some way, and it really is true in this situation.”
The Preservation Alliance also recently added the Roane County Courthouse Annex in Spencer to its list.