Wife demanded millionaire husband build apartments at Bramwell, W.Va.

BRAMWELL, W.Va. — Tired of entertaining, the wife of a West Virginia industrialist in the late 1800s demanded her husband limit the number of out-of-town guests parading through their home.

To please her, he built the commercial row with opulent apartments that takes up half a block in the state’s “city of millionaires,” as the fomer coal-mining community is known.

Historian David Sibray, who’s listing the building for sale through Foxfire Realty, says the story makes sense, given the number of wealthy investors visiting the town, which boasted more millionaire residents per capita than any other in the U.S.

In the 1880s, Bramwell and the surrounding region grew rapidly as a coal mining center, attracting developers nationwide. Many hailed from the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania, though Jairus Collins, who built the building, grew up in the lignite fields of Alabama.

“The town grew so fast that Mr. Collins was forced to build two houses in addition to this building, and he spared no expense in construction,” Sibray said.

Collins hired architect Alexander Mahood to design the structure, which boasted four remarkable apartments, each designed to accommodate affluent guests.

“Each included a second entrance designed to accommodate lodgers who were touring mines and preferred a second entry to avoid bringing coal dust into the living space,” he said.

Each also included extensive cabinetry and woodwork and a notably large bathroom. “These were not typical apartments, and Collins worked with Mahood to accommodate an exclusive clientele accustomed to Big City amenities.

Sibray said the tale of Mrs. Collins’s demand to move guests out of the house may not be accurate. Still, it illustrates the reality of a small, affluent population spending time between the local mining region and in homes in northern cities.

Many had substantial homes in places such as New York City and Philadelphia and owned vacation homes elsewhere, though the Collinses appear to have stayed chiefly at Bramwell, Sibray said.

“The move to what had otherwise been a rugged wilderness was an adjustment. As quickly as possible, the families invested in building large homes that provided entertainment space with guest rooms and servants’ quarters,” he said.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Collins Building includes four tenant-occupied storefronts and four apartments used as short-term rentals and is listed at $380,000.

Sibray said the building is ideally suited to tourism development, particularly that associated with developing off-road vehicle trails. More than 100,000 visitors use the Hatfield-McCoy ATV trail system annually, and thousands more tour the developing trail system in adjacent Virginia.

“Main Street in Bramwell is an amazing place,” Sibray said. “It’s almost always a festive atmosphere and a very walkable town with good restaurants.”

For more information on Bramwell, visit the town’s homepage at Bramwell, West Va.