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- Jul 29, 2007
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The historic Kump House on Randolph Avenue in Elkins is facing an uncertain future with the passing of Mary Gamble Kump.
Kump, the last surviving child of West Virginia’s 19th governor, H.G. Kump, died April 11 at the age of 92. In her will, she gives the city of Elkins the option of first refusal and the Randolph County Commission second refusal. If both decline to take the property, it will be sold.
The will also stipulates how the property may be used: A residence hall for those who promote educational purposes; or as a camping and recreational area for the youth of Randolph County.
Second Ward City Councilwoman Hazel Kump Burford, granddaughter of Gov. Kump and niece of Mary Gamble Kump, is named in the will to receive a portion of the money that would be raised if the house is sold.
According to Kump’s will, the house and about 6.5 acres have been left to the city of Elkins. The city has 120 days from the date of her death to accept the trust, at which time the offer goes to the Randolph County Commission, who has 180 days to accept or refuse the property. If neither the city nor county accept the trust, the Kump house and property will be sold for full fair market value at a public or private sale and the proceeds will be divided to those named in the will.
The will also sets up the Kump House Trust, which would provide funding for maintenance and repairs to the house. Co-trustees named in the will are the mayor of Elkins, currently Judy Guye; Randolph County prosecuting attorney, currently Frank Bush; judge of the 20th Circuit Court of West Virginia, currently John Henning; president of Davis & Elkins College, currently Dr. Thomas Mann; and the pastor of Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church. If any of the co-trustees are unable or unwilling to serve, the remaining trustees may appoint a pastor of a church located in the city of Elkins as a successor.
“We all wondered what Mary Gamble would do,” Burford said. “I would like to see Elkins commit and take the house and do something similar as they did with the Darden House.”
According to Kump’s last will and testament, it was her desire to provide a home for teachers and professors moving to or living in Elkins to work in their profession but who do not have a place to live.
“I desire that the Kump House itself be used as a residence hall for such teachers and professors to promote educational purposes,” the will states. “My co-trustees may, as they deem necessary in their sole discretion, require teachers and professors to pay the minimum amount necessary to defray expenses involved in using the Kump House as such a residence hall for said teachers and professors.”
Also, the will states, “it is my desire that every child in Randolph County have a nice, safe place to go to enjoy activities that promote good citizenry development; thus, I desire the environs of the Kump House and other improvements thereon, excluding the Kump House itself, be used as facilities for camping and other recreational purposes for such groups as the Boy Scouts of America, Girls Scouts of America, 4-H clubs and other youth groups properly chaperoned, whether those groups be for religious, educational or for other good citizenry development purposes for every child of Randolph County during his or her minority.”
If there is any money left in the Kump House Trust, the co-trustees may use it to construct an outdoor swimming pool and tennis courts on the property. Burford said the barn on the property, which still contains the original milking stalls, would be great for barn dances for the youth.
“I would like to see the city take it, but if they can’t afford to, I hope they try to keep the house and sell the land,” Burford said.
Burford shared many aspects of the house that many people may not know. She said the house has 25 rooms, nine of which are bedrooms and all have adjoining bathrooms. She said a laundry room, located in the basement, runs the length of the house and still has the lines used to hang up laundry to dry in the winter. The servants’ quarters were located on the third floor and stairs used by the servants are located in the back of the house, she said.
“We used to love to go to Grandpa’s,” Burford said. “I lived there until I was 2 1/2.”
Burford said many people would be interested in touring and visiting the home.
“It would be so fascinating for people today to see how they lived,” Burford said. “A lot of people in Elkins would pay to see the house. Many people who grew up in Elkins have wondered about the house. I don’t think she (Mary Gamble Kump) would mind people taking tours and looking at the house.”
Burford said the house needs a lot of repair work such as new plumbing and a new electrical system. Although the house needs some work, Burford said all the furniture on the first floor and in some of the bedrooms is original.
“I hope that the parties involved will find some solution to prevent this historic and architectural gem from being sold to the highest bidder,” local historian Rob Whetsell said. “The Kump Mansion is one of the most significant historic properties in Elkins. Everyone in Elkins should be very concerned about its uncertain future.”
According to Whetsell, the mansion is situated on land of historical importance for Elkins. He said the property was the site of the Old Goddin Tavern from the late 1850s until the early 1900s. Home to Jesse and Mary Goddin, the tavern was associated with the early Beverly/Fairmont Turnpike, now part of Randolph Avenue.
Jesse Goddin was a community leader and county commissioner during the heated Beverly-Elkins courthouse debate during the late 1890s. His pro-Elkins sentiment helped tip the scales in Elkins’ favor during the dispute and, according to Whetsell, it is said by family that Goddin and John Davis drilled a citizen militia on the property whose job was to seize the county court records — by force if necessary.
Around 1905, the tavern was destroyed by fire and the Goddin family sold the property. It wasn’t until the 1920s that it was purchased by H.G. Kump and his wife, Edna Scott, daughter of state Sen. Cyris H. Scott.
Kump, a lawyer, established his law practice in Elkins in 1905. He married Edna in 1907 and the couple had seven children: Cyrus in 1908, Francis in 1911, twins Margaret and Elizabeth in 1913, Mary in 1915 and Benjamin in 1918. One daughter died at birth in 1909.
Kump’s political rise came in 1908 when he was elected Randolph County prosecuting attorney, an office he was re-elected to in 1912. During World War I, he was commissioned as a captain in the U.S. Army and served in Washington, D.C., in the Judge Advocate General office in 1918. Upon returning to Elkins, Kump was elected mayor of Elkins from 1921 to 1922.
In 1928, he was elected as judge of the 20th Judicial Circuit Court, a position he held until 1932 when he resigned to seek the governor’s office. Following his successful campaign, he was sworn into office on March 4, 1933. Serving during the Great Depression, Kump is credited with reforming state tax laws to protect property owners, regulating state liquor sales, increasing revenue and oversight in the public school system and improving public welfare provisions that included unemployment compensation benefits.
After Kump completed his term, he returned to Elkins in 1937, continued his law practice and pursued various business interests. He was president of Citizens National Bank from 1924 to 1956. He died Feb. 14, 1962 and his wife died in 1957.
Famed contractor/builder T.R. Whiteman is credited with building the Kump Mansion on Randolph Avenue in 1925. Whiteman used plans drawn up by noted Washington, D.C., architect Clarence L. Harding. No stranger to Elkins, Harding was commissioned in 1921 to design an addition to Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church. As a member of the church, Kump would have been familiar with his work.
Designed in the Neo-Federalist architectural style popular in the mid 1920s, the three-story mansion boasts 25 rooms, including a large sun room. Architectural embellishments and woodwork on the interior of the home were kept simple at Kump’s request. Boyd Simpson of Elkins was employed to finish the interior of the stately home.
Over time, Mary Gamble Kump became the caretaker of the family home and occupied it until recently. Today, the home is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kump, the last surviving child of West Virginia’s 19th governor, H.G. Kump, died April 11 at the age of 92. In her will, she gives the city of Elkins the option of first refusal and the Randolph County Commission second refusal. If both decline to take the property, it will be sold.
The will also stipulates how the property may be used: A residence hall for those who promote educational purposes; or as a camping and recreational area for the youth of Randolph County.
Second Ward City Councilwoman Hazel Kump Burford, granddaughter of Gov. Kump and niece of Mary Gamble Kump, is named in the will to receive a portion of the money that would be raised if the house is sold.
According to Kump’s will, the house and about 6.5 acres have been left to the city of Elkins. The city has 120 days from the date of her death to accept the trust, at which time the offer goes to the Randolph County Commission, who has 180 days to accept or refuse the property. If neither the city nor county accept the trust, the Kump house and property will be sold for full fair market value at a public or private sale and the proceeds will be divided to those named in the will.
The will also sets up the Kump House Trust, which would provide funding for maintenance and repairs to the house. Co-trustees named in the will are the mayor of Elkins, currently Judy Guye; Randolph County prosecuting attorney, currently Frank Bush; judge of the 20th Circuit Court of West Virginia, currently John Henning; president of Davis & Elkins College, currently Dr. Thomas Mann; and the pastor of Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church. If any of the co-trustees are unable or unwilling to serve, the remaining trustees may appoint a pastor of a church located in the city of Elkins as a successor.
“We all wondered what Mary Gamble would do,” Burford said. “I would like to see Elkins commit and take the house and do something similar as they did with the Darden House.”
According to Kump’s last will and testament, it was her desire to provide a home for teachers and professors moving to or living in Elkins to work in their profession but who do not have a place to live.
“I desire that the Kump House itself be used as a residence hall for such teachers and professors to promote educational purposes,” the will states. “My co-trustees may, as they deem necessary in their sole discretion, require teachers and professors to pay the minimum amount necessary to defray expenses involved in using the Kump House as such a residence hall for said teachers and professors.”
Also, the will states, “it is my desire that every child in Randolph County have a nice, safe place to go to enjoy activities that promote good citizenry development; thus, I desire the environs of the Kump House and other improvements thereon, excluding the Kump House itself, be used as facilities for camping and other recreational purposes for such groups as the Boy Scouts of America, Girls Scouts of America, 4-H clubs and other youth groups properly chaperoned, whether those groups be for religious, educational or for other good citizenry development purposes for every child of Randolph County during his or her minority.”
If there is any money left in the Kump House Trust, the co-trustees may use it to construct an outdoor swimming pool and tennis courts on the property. Burford said the barn on the property, which still contains the original milking stalls, would be great for barn dances for the youth.
“I would like to see the city take it, but if they can’t afford to, I hope they try to keep the house and sell the land,” Burford said.
Burford shared many aspects of the house that many people may not know. She said the house has 25 rooms, nine of which are bedrooms and all have adjoining bathrooms. She said a laundry room, located in the basement, runs the length of the house and still has the lines used to hang up laundry to dry in the winter. The servants’ quarters were located on the third floor and stairs used by the servants are located in the back of the house, she said.
“We used to love to go to Grandpa’s,” Burford said. “I lived there until I was 2 1/2.”
Burford said many people would be interested in touring and visiting the home.
“It would be so fascinating for people today to see how they lived,” Burford said. “A lot of people in Elkins would pay to see the house. Many people who grew up in Elkins have wondered about the house. I don’t think she (Mary Gamble Kump) would mind people taking tours and looking at the house.”
Burford said the house needs a lot of repair work such as new plumbing and a new electrical system. Although the house needs some work, Burford said all the furniture on the first floor and in some of the bedrooms is original.
“I hope that the parties involved will find some solution to prevent this historic and architectural gem from being sold to the highest bidder,” local historian Rob Whetsell said. “The Kump Mansion is one of the most significant historic properties in Elkins. Everyone in Elkins should be very concerned about its uncertain future.”
According to Whetsell, the mansion is situated on land of historical importance for Elkins. He said the property was the site of the Old Goddin Tavern from the late 1850s until the early 1900s. Home to Jesse and Mary Goddin, the tavern was associated with the early Beverly/Fairmont Turnpike, now part of Randolph Avenue.
Jesse Goddin was a community leader and county commissioner during the heated Beverly-Elkins courthouse debate during the late 1890s. His pro-Elkins sentiment helped tip the scales in Elkins’ favor during the dispute and, according to Whetsell, it is said by family that Goddin and John Davis drilled a citizen militia on the property whose job was to seize the county court records — by force if necessary.
Around 1905, the tavern was destroyed by fire and the Goddin family sold the property. It wasn’t until the 1920s that it was purchased by H.G. Kump and his wife, Edna Scott, daughter of state Sen. Cyris H. Scott.
Kump, a lawyer, established his law practice in Elkins in 1905. He married Edna in 1907 and the couple had seven children: Cyrus in 1908, Francis in 1911, twins Margaret and Elizabeth in 1913, Mary in 1915 and Benjamin in 1918. One daughter died at birth in 1909.
Kump’s political rise came in 1908 when he was elected Randolph County prosecuting attorney, an office he was re-elected to in 1912. During World War I, he was commissioned as a captain in the U.S. Army and served in Washington, D.C., in the Judge Advocate General office in 1918. Upon returning to Elkins, Kump was elected mayor of Elkins from 1921 to 1922.
In 1928, he was elected as judge of the 20th Judicial Circuit Court, a position he held until 1932 when he resigned to seek the governor’s office. Following his successful campaign, he was sworn into office on March 4, 1933. Serving during the Great Depression, Kump is credited with reforming state tax laws to protect property owners, regulating state liquor sales, increasing revenue and oversight in the public school system and improving public welfare provisions that included unemployment compensation benefits.
After Kump completed his term, he returned to Elkins in 1937, continued his law practice and pursued various business interests. He was president of Citizens National Bank from 1924 to 1956. He died Feb. 14, 1962 and his wife died in 1957.
Famed contractor/builder T.R. Whiteman is credited with building the Kump Mansion on Randolph Avenue in 1925. Whiteman used plans drawn up by noted Washington, D.C., architect Clarence L. Harding. No stranger to Elkins, Harding was commissioned in 1921 to design an addition to Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church. As a member of the church, Kump would have been familiar with his work.
Designed in the Neo-Federalist architectural style popular in the mid 1920s, the three-story mansion boasts 25 rooms, including a large sun room. Architectural embellishments and woodwork on the interior of the home were kept simple at Kump’s request. Boyd Simpson of Elkins was employed to finish the interior of the stately home.
Over time, Mary Gamble Kump became the caretaker of the family home and occupied it until recently. Today, the home is on the National Register of Historic Places.
