Rich in Millionaire Mansions

Rich in Millionaire Mansions

Molly Robinette and her husband, Larry, have spent countless hours stripping paint off walls, pulling up carpet, refurbishing hardwood floors and pouring their heart, soul and pocketbook into restoring their 1914 home in Bramwell, W.Va. (pop. 426).

"This house has so much history," says Robinette, 49, who purchased the 15-room house in 2001 and converted it into the River’s Bend Bed & Breakfast.

The Robinettes are among several families restoring homes in a town populated with grand dwellings built by millionaire coal barons in the early 1900s. In fact, Bramwell once was the richest town in America for its size, reportedly home to as many as 14 millionaires who prospered from the area’s rich coalfields. In the early 1920s, the local drugstore catered to its wealthy clientele by purportedly becoming the third place in the world, after New York and Paris, to sell Chanel No. 5 perfume.

Although the coal barons’ fortunes fell with the stock market crash of 1929, their homes remain, occupied by new owners who have fallen in love with the town and its one-of-a-kind homes.

The Robinettes’ house—designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright and fitted with Tiffany light fixtures—was built by millionaire Katharine Hewitt in 1914 and was the last coal baron home constructed in Bramwell. Of course, Robinette says her bank account doesn’t match that of the home’s original owner.

"There’s not a millionaire living in this house today," says Robinette, who works as a teacher at nearby Princeton (pop. 6,347) High School and also serves as Bramwell’s mayor. "We take the money we make as a bed & breakfast and put it back into the house."

The home is among several of the town’s millionaire mansions that are part of regular tours given by resident historian Betty Goins.

"There have been so many people like Molly who have acquired these properties, and they want to restore them," Goins says. "It’s all being done by their sweat, and it’s time-consuming and costly. Because no two homes are alike, everyone who restores their home does it because they genuinely love the uniqueness of their particular home."

Jim Bishop, owner of the town’s only other bed & breakfast, the 1902 Perry House, agrees. "These homes are so unique," he says. "You look across the river here and there’s a big house (Goodwill House) with a ballroom on the third floor. Down the road there’s a house (Cooper House) that has the first copper roof in the United States, and it just goes on and on."

Bishop and his wife, Joyce, moved to Bramwell from Atlanta, purchasing their millionaire mansion in 1998. Bishop, 64, says that he loves seeing visitors’ reactions to his refurbished home. "I remember when one of the gentlemen who used to work for the Perrys at the house years ago came by to see it," Bishop says. "He started crying when he was telling me how good it was that we were keeping this place up."

Incorporated in 1888, Bramwell was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. "Take away the power lines and the paved streets and you’d swear you’ve stepped back in time," Goins says.

"I’m typical of everyone who comes here," says Georgia Robertson, who moved to Bramwell in 2003. "You drive in here, and you think, ‘Oh my gosh, this town is like a Norman Rockwell painting.’"

Robertson and her husband, John, fell in love with their 19-room, 4,800-square-foot house, built by coal baron Jairus Collins. The couple has been working steadily for two years to bring it back to its former glory.

"When people buy these homes, they get into the history," Robertson says of her 1911 home with Tiffany stained-glass windows. "And you work. But you do it because you feel so proud of this town."

Robertson, who spends winters in Tampa, Fla., says she enjoys when visitors stop by her Bramwell home. "I wouldn’t think of having complete strangers come in my house in Florida. It’s funny, people come by, and they just love looking at the house. This one lady said, ‘Isn’t it funny how you make friends with your house?’

"Of course, in Bramwell," Robertson says with a smile, "that’s pretty easy to do."

Visit www.bramwellwv.com or call Betty Goins at (304) 248-8381 for tour information.

Richard McVey is an Editor at American Profile.

Upload Your Own Stories, Photos and Videos

Every week, American Profile magazine brings you stories that celebrate the people and places that make America great. Now we want to hear your stories and see your photos, videos and even audio.

 Start Uploading Now!

 

Discuss this Article