Procuring Land

On December 2, 1873, friends of the measure gained passage of an Act authorizing the procurement of title to any other tract of required size in Concord Church and the erection of a suitable building thereon without cost to the State. On May 29, 1874, William H. Martin, an ex-Confederate soldier and a farmer, with his wife, Martha Ann, conveyed to the State of West Virginia six acres of land upon which to erect the Normal School building. (The Athens School now occupies this tract.)  It is said that when Mr. Martin asked how much he wanted for the land, he replied, “Just enough calico to make Martha Ann a dress.” He was typical of the many area citizens at that time who were interested in progress, and his interest led him to make a gift of land for the first campus.

With one condition imposed by the Act for establishing a normal school satisfied, attention was focused upon the other requiring a suitable building be available, at no cost to the State.  This placed a tremendous burden upon the handful of families who then inhabited the small village of Concord Church.  Realizing the advantages and benefits of such a school to not only Concord but to the whole of southern West Virginia, about $1,700 was raised by subscription.  A contract was let to W. A. Cooper, and on February 22, 1874, the cornerstone was laid for the new building with full Masonic honors by the Concord Lodge established only a few years before in 1871.  When completed, much more could be said about the small wooden structure concerning what it did not have rather than what it did have.  But, the spirit that prevailed from the time of an idea for such a school to its soon becoming a reality may explain why this meager compliance with the Act was accepted by the State.

On April 21, 1875, Captain John A. Douglass and Honorable William M. Reynolds appeared before the Board of Regents of the normal schools and presented the Deed made by Mr. & Mrs. W. H. Martin to the State of West Virginia. The Board accepted it in compliance with the Act of the Legislature.

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