The Historic Oddfellow Manor is a nonprofit organization based in Elkins, West Virginia, dedicated to preserving history, strengthening community, reconnecting people with the land, and passing traditional skills from one generation to the next.

Our work centers on the restoration and revitalization of the former Odd Fellows Home, a remarkable historic property built in 1908. For generations, this building provided a home and a sense of community to children, widows, and older adults. Today, we are working to preserve its history while preparing it for a new chapter of service.

We believe that historic places should be more than monuments to the past. They should remain living parts of their communities—places where people gather, relationships grow, and generations learn from one another.

At its heart, Oddfellow Manor is about preserving what matters and creating a place where people belong.

Our Three Pillars

Historic Preservation

We are committed to researching, documenting, preserving, and sharing the history of the Odd Fellows Home.

Through historical research, community storytelling, and ongoing restoration planning, we seek to honor the people who lived and worked here while safeguarding the building and its legacy for future generations.

But preserving history means more than restoring brick, wood, and glass. It means preserving the memories, traditions, and human experiences that give those materials meaning.

We hope to bring together former residents, descendants, historians, craftspeople, and neighbors to ensure that the stories of this remarkable place continue to be told.

Sustainable Agriculture & Homesteading

We envision the Manor's surrounding land becoming a place where people of all ages can reconnect with nature, agriculture, and the sources of their food.

Our long-term plans include regenerative farming, permaculture, orcharding, gardening, and educational opportunities that demonstrate practical approaches to sustainable living.

We imagine children learning to plant their first seeds alongside experienced gardeners, families gathering to harvest food, and neighbors sharing the knowledge that once passed naturally between generations.

Our goal is not simply to grow food. It is to cultivate relationships, stewardship, and a deeper understanding of our connection to the natural world.

Traditional Skills & Self-Sufficiency

We believe that knowledge is one of the most valuable things a community can preserve.

Our vision includes hands-on educational opportunities in food preservation, woodworking, sewing, blacksmithing, and other traditional crafts.

We imagine workshops where an experienced woodworker teaches a teenager to shape a piece of lumber, where grandparents share recipes and preservation techniques, and where people discover the satisfaction of creating something with their own hands.

These skills offer more than practical self-sufficiency. They create opportunities for mentorship, friendship, creativity, and a renewed appreciation for the experience and wisdom of older generations.

A Place for Every Generation

One of our greatest aspirations is to create a place where age does not separate people, but brings them together.

In many communities, opportunities for children, adults, and older generations to interact meaningfully have become increasingly limited. Yet each generation has something valuable to offer.

Children bring curiosity and imagination. Adults bring energy, creativity, and new ideas. Older generations carry experience, memories, and knowledge that deserve to be shared.

We envision Oddfellow Manor as a place where these strengths can meet.

Perhaps that means a child learning to sew beside a retired seamstress, a teenager discovering blacksmithing from a lifelong craftsman, or families gathering for music on the porch. Perhaps it means sharing a meal made from vegetables grown on the property, listening to stories in the library, or simply enjoying an afternoon together.

Not every meaningful interaction needs to be a formal class or organized event. Sometimes community is built through conversation, shared work, laughter, and the simple experience of being together.

We hope the Manor can become a place where those connections happen naturally.

Where We Are Today

Oddfellow Manor is in the early stages of a long-term restoration and revitalization effort.

Since establishing our nonprofit in 2025, we have been working to advance historic preservation, plan for the property's restoration, care for its grounds, and reconnect the community with a place that holds generations of memories.

Our October 2026 community open house and cleanup brought nearly seventy people together to explore the Manor, share stories, and help care for the property.

That gathering offered a glimpse of what we hope the Manor can become. People arrived with different backgrounds, different interests, and different connections to the building. Some came to help with the grounds. Others came to remember. Some simply wanted to see what might be possible.

All of them became part of the story.

Much of our educational and agricultural programming remains in the planning stages. Before these opportunities can become a reality, significant restoration, infrastructure improvements, and careful preparation are needed.

We believe that being transparent about this journey is just as important as sharing the vision of where it may lead.

Building Something That Lasts

Our goal is not simply to restore an old building.

It is to help create a place where history is remembered, useful skills are shared, the land is cared for, and people of different generations find opportunities to connect.

A place where someone can come to learn something new, share something they know, lend a helping hand, or simply feel that they belong.

We know this vision will take time, resources, and many helping hands. We also know that its success cannot depend on any one person. For Oddfellow Manor to endure, it must become something the community helps shape, support, and carry forward.

Whether you have a family connection to the former Home, a passion for historic preservation, an interest in sustainable agriculture, a skill you'd like to share, or simply a desire to be part of something meaningful, we welcome you to become part of the story.

Preserving the past. Cultivating the present. Building a more connected and resilient future.

The Historic Oddfellow Manor is recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.