There’s probably no one alive now who remembers why it was named that.” There is some speculation that it may be an inside joke among the original members or that the name may have had some war-related significance to club founders. “When the men all came back, they reopened it and called it the West Virginia Snakes Club. “When most of the members went off to war, that club closed down,” Evans says. She recalls that before World War II, an early iteration of the club - called the Washington Club - existed in North Wheeling. It turns out that Evans also remembers a good bit about the club’s history, more so even than older members of the club do. Her dad was a member, so I always heard talk about the Snakes Club when I was young,” Evans recalls. “My best friend growing up was Joann Long. She tells Weelunk that the Snakes Club has always been part of her life, despite the fact that she was unable to become a member herself because of her gender. FLORENCE EVANS REMEMBERSįlorence Evans grew up in North Wheeling in the 1940s. At the time of its inception, members of the club were required to be male citizens of the United States, 21 years of age or older and were asked to pay annual dues of $6. The private fraternal men’s organization was formed as a “non-political club to promote sociability and goodwill for its members, not for profit to buy food and drinks for the use of its members, but not to sell for profit,” according to the incorporation documents kept onsite at the club. The Snakes Club was organized on March 26, 1945, by Wheeling residents Robert J. Rumors swirl that it was home to abolitionists during the Civil War who were part of the Underground Railroad network, but Weelunk found no documentation to support or refute that claim. The house changed hands several times through the years. Rhodes helped to finance the construction of other major commercial buildings in Wheeling, was an organizer of the First National Bank of Wheeling and also served on the founding board of Greenwood Cemetery. at the entrance to the “Gateway to the West” made it one of the most successful such businesses in town until the turn of the century. At about that same time, Rhodes established a dry goods store at the corner of Main Street where the Suspension Bridge would soon cross the river. Woods sold the home to its first known resident, Jacob S. It is not known if he personally lived in the residence according to the NRHP documentation, no record of him actually living there exists. In addition to developing this and other plots of Wheeling’s earliest real estate, Woods was also a surveyor who will go down in history as the person who established the Ohio/Marshall County line in 1835. This means that the house was erected prior to the 1849 completion of the Suspension Bridge just south of it, which makes it one of the few buildings in Wheeling that pre-dates the historic span. The house was constructed sometime between that year and 1845, when the oldest known county tax records show the younger Woods as the owner of the home at this address, which was appraised at the grand sum of $3,000. Probate records indicate that he inherited the land at 923 Main St. According to that information, the house was built by prominent local land developer, Robert C. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) since 1991, and much information about its history can be found on the NRHP registration form on the National Park Service’s website. If you’ve ever come off the Fort Henry Bridge ramp and noticed that sign on the residential-looking red brick structure, you may have wondered just what lies behind that locked front door.Īccording to a framed informational photo that hangs inside the entrance of the club, the building sits on land that was among one of the 112 plots of land claimed and laid out by Wheeling founder and forefather Ebenezer Zane. clearly says “Snake s.” So technically, it’s plural. First of all, where in the world did the name “ West Virginia Snakes Club” come from? And is “Snake” singular or plural? Although most people today refer to it as the Snake Club, the sign on the building at 923 Main St.
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