The Dunglen Hotel

In this undated photo the Dunglen Hotel is pictured from the west with the river and bridge across the river to Thurmond outside of the image to the left.

NPS Photo, Walter Caldwell collection.

The Dunglen Hotel was constructed in 1901 on land owned by Thomas McKell, a local coal baron who owned most of the town of Glen Jean. This wooden structure was 4 ½ stories tall, had a footprint of 310 feet by 118 feet, and featured a large porch on two sides. Visitors to the Dunglen could step directly out of their train onto a wooden walkway that stretched over Dunloup Creek. This walkway connected directly into the porch and allowed people to avoid walking through the saloon district to the south of the hotel. Piers for this walkway are still visible during the fall and winter. These piers were constructed by pouring concrete into a wooden mold. Steel was inserted into the wet concrete for support.

 

This 1922 C&O Southside Track Map detail shows the walkway from the railroad tracks over to the Dunglen Hotel "Elevated Walk to Glen Jean Hotel". The public road heading right on the image is the bridge across the river to Thurmond.

NPS Photo

 

This undated photo of the Dunglen depicts the "front" of the building which faces across the river towards the town of Thurmond.

NPS Photo Credit Walter Caldwell Collection

Despite the hotel’s close proximity to the town of Thurmond, the Dunglen (and all surrounding businesses) were actually in the town of Glen Jean. Glen Jean city limits extended to the river to protect the liquor licenses of the various saloons located in and around the Dunglen. Many people continued to associate both sides of the New River with the town of Glen Jean, regardless of the technicalities in zoning.

No photographs of the hotel’s interior are known to exist. An oral history account from Alma Coffman, who visited the Dunglen in 1920 for a dance, describes the interior as something out of a big city (Coffman 1983). The saloon area had dark marble countertops, and the curtains and seat cushions were made of red velvet (Coffman 1983). Cigar smoke hung thick in the air.

Nightly rates were $2.50 and up in 1911 (The Fayette Tribune, 11 November). The average wage for pick miners in West Virginia coal miners in 1911 was $0.44 per ton of coal mined, for an average of about $618.00 per year. A miner would have to remove almost 6 long tons of coal (2,240 pounds) to afford even the cheapest rooms in the Dunglen.

The New River and Trust Company Bank was also in the Dunglen. It first opened its doors on August 11, 1904 and was organized by a small group of coal operators who wanted a bank to handle the monetary transactions for their mines. The bank room was installed in the Dunglen originally by Thomas McKell for his own bank, but that never materialized. New River Banking and Trust Company handled the banking needs of the Dunglen hotel, C&O ticket office, many of the businesses in Thurmond. It moved to the Mankin Building in Thurmond in 1911. In 1935 the bank left Thurmond and moved to Oak Hill.

 

A fire destroyed the hotel in July of 1930. This article from the Raleigh Register describes the fire:

Raleigh Register: July 23, 1930
Night Fire Wrecks Dun Glen Hotel
Old Thurmond Hostelry Built in 1901 by William McKell, Makes a Great Blaze
Wiring Blamed as Fire Cause
Loss is Estimated at About Hundred Thousand Dollars

Fire said to have originated from defective wiring burned the Dun Glen Hotel at Thurmond last night, entailing a loss of about $100,000. Two men were injured fighting the flames.

Fire broke out about 10:30 last night and while it was at its height the falling of a charged electric wire which struck George Richardson severely burned him. He was brought to the Raleigh General Hospital in Beckley and given treatment. The other injured man was Stephen Thomas, also of Thurmond. His injuries were said to be slight. All persons occupying the hotel escaped unhurt.

The hotel was a large frame structure of three stories owned by William McKell, of Glen Jean. It made a tremendous fire, which had gained too much headway to be extinguished by the time Mt. Hope and Oak Hill fire departments could be summoned to the scene. It burned from 10:30 until well after midnight, it was stated.

The Dun Glen Hotel is a well known hostelry of this section of the state. Built by Mr. McKell in 1901, it was for many years a social center for Fayette and adjoining counties. Recently it had been leased to C. J. McKinney and E. H. Marrs. Mr. McKell owned the building and fixtures both, and both were covered in the $100,000 estimated loss, made at Thurmond this morning. O. F. McCoy, of the McKell Coal and Coke company, this afternoon said he was unable to estimate the amount of the loss and that he was unable to say whether or not the hotel would be replaced. William McKell, president of the concern, could not be reached.

Falling debris was responsible for the injury to Mr. Thomas. His arm was cut but not seriously, it was reported this morning. He remained at Thurmond. Mr. Richardson was still in the hospital today, where he was reported to have sustained severe electric burns from coming in contact with the live wire. One leg was burned it was reported at the hospital today. Earl Nichols grocery and soft drink store in the basement of the hotel was also destroyed and was a total loss.

It could not be learned today whether Mr. McKell plans to rebuild or not.

The cause of the fire was suspected to be arson, and the proprietress of the Lafayette Hotel across the river in Thurmond was the prime suspect. She was later acquitted.

BLUEFIELD DAILY TELEGRAPH
WOMAN ACQUITTED ON ARSON CHARGE

Mrs. Edna Widener Faced Trial In Burning Dun Glen Hotel At Thurmond; Former Waitress Indicted Fayetteville, W.Va., April 25 A jury in Fayette county circuit court today acquitted Mrs. Edna Widener, charged with arson in the burning of the Dun Glen hotel at Thurmond last July. Mrs. Widener, proprietor of the Lafayette hotel at Thurmond, was indicted with two men and one woman following the destruction of the Dun Glen hotel. The prosecution charged the motive was to eliminate competition.

Paul Young and Charles Davis, two of those indicted, testified on behalf of those the state that they had burned the hotel at Mrs. Widener’s instance. They said they owed her a board bill and she offered to cancel it and give them $100 each if the other hostelry were destroyed.

Mrs. Widener denied any knowledge of the burning of the Dun Glen and defense witnesses testified she had been elsewhere at the time of the fire. The other person indicted in the case was Irene Quesenberry, former waitress at the Lafayette. The prosecution made no announcement as to what disposition would be made of the cases of the two men and the Miss Quesenberry.

The site of the Dunglen Hotel continued to serve travelers to the New River, when the site became the home of one of the first whitewater rafting companies in the New River Gorge in the 1960s. It serves today as a day use picnic area, maintenance yard, and seasonal housing.

 

The Dunglen Hotel Story Continued:

Gambling at the Dunglen Hotel