Marion County family, Fairmont woman honored for preservation efforts

Jul. 3—MANNINGTON — A Marion County family and a Fairmont woman have been honored by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia during its annual award ceremony.

The 2023 West Virginia Historic Preservation Awards Banquet was held June 17 at the Clingman Center for Community Engagement, a barn-like event venue in Lewisburg, West Virginia.

Kathleen Thompson, of Fairmont, received the AmeriCoprs Award for serving with Preserve WV AmeriCorps for three consecutive terms —two years with the Clio Foundation and one year with the West Virginia Association of Museums and Arthurdale Heritage Inc.

"During her outstanding national service in the Alliance's program, Katie developed highly-accessible educational resources, preserved numerous historic cemeteries, and organized hundreds of volunteers for a civic service project to make blankets for foster children," states the Preservation Alliance website.

Jesse and Rebecca Juarez have been hard at work for the last two year to restore the historic Bowers Mansion in downtown Mannington. The piece of property sat vacant and uncared for, for most of the last decade.

The two were awarded the Preservation Persistence Award, which is intended to commend individuals who dive into preservation projects involving structures that are at a risk of total loss. in addition to the recognition, honorees are given a $1,000 prize to assist with their preservation efforts.

"For over 10 years, minimal upkeep was performed on the building threatening its structural integrity," the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia Awards website read. "Rebecca and Jesse Juarez saved this beautiful mansion and are lovingly preserving it as a community space."

Rebecca and the rest of the Juarez family have moved into the top floor of the mansion, relocating from California to fully devote to the preservation project. Since they moved, Rebecca said the community's support has been amazing.

Mannington Mayor Lora Michael nominated the family for the award as a thanks for their efforts.

"We've had so much support from the community. On a weekly basis we have people approach us and let us know that they're thankful for everything we're doing," Rebecca said. "That really makes you feel good. This award is a big deal for us, that there are people who believe in us enough to give us this honor."

Since the house officially opened earlier this year, the Juarezs have held several events like weddings, baby showers and monthly tea parties. Coming later this year, they plan to host a Masquerade Ball and have a sold-out evening for their first Murder Mystery Dinner to be held in August.

As far as qualifying for the award from the Preservation Alliance, describing the Bowers Mansion as "in bad shape" before the Juarezs took over would be an understatement.

In 2021, Rebecca and Jesse Juarez saw the property online and flew out to see it during the pandemic. The state of the home was worse than the initial listing let on, and the couple originally pulled out of the deal due to the condition.

"I was surprised people were living here," Jesse said in an earlier interview with the Times West Virginian. "It was in really rough shape."

The Queen Anne Victorian home was built in 1870 and was purchased by George Walter Bowers in the early 1900s. George Bowers was a state senator from 1921 to 1924, and he also served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention. He ran many companies in the area such as Mannington Glass, Bowers Pottery and Warwick China Co. and he founded what is known today as First Exchange Bank, his only venture still in operation today.

The mansion on 315 High St. was passed down to his daughter Frances Bowers. When she died in 2000, it was passed to her goddaughter, Suzanne Byerly. The house sat vacant until 2003 when it was purchased by two men, Ken Hightower and Hugh Macbeth, who promised to restore the property to its original grandeur.

Despite their plans, in 2009 the property was listed as "endangered" by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia. Macbeth and Hightower struggled with funding for their vision and Macbeth passed away in 2014, leaving the property to Hightower, who allegedly abandoned the project.

Now with the project in the Juarezs' hands, the promises that have gone unfulfilled for so long are finally being brought to fruition.

For more information about the project and upcoming events, visit their website at www.senatorsmansionwv.com or visit them on Facebook by searching The Senator's Mansion — West Virginia.

Reach David Kirk at 304-367-2522 or by email at dkirk@timeswv.com.