A New Chapter Begins: The Manor Is Now a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
Sometimes a dream lives quietly for a long time before it finds its voice. Sometimes a building waits over a century to become what it was always meant to be.
Today, we’re proud, and deeply grateful, to announce that The Historic Oddfellow Manor of Elkins WV is now an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
This may look like a legal milestone. And it is.
But it’s also a threshold , the moment when a restoration project becomes a movement. When crumbling porches and peeling plaster give way to classrooms, gardens, and a place where people come not only to learn but to belong.
A Home with History
Built in 1908, the Oddfellow Manor began its life as a group home for children under the care of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a mutual aid society rooted in values like compassion, fraternity, and service.
It was a place where orphans found shelter. Where meals were shared, chores were taught, and the rhythms of life moved in harmony with the hills of West Virginia.
And then, like many such places, it fell into disuse. Left to weather time, nature, and minimal care. But some houses, like some people, hold on.
When we first stepped inside, we didn’t just see the wear. We saw the bones of something beautiful. Strong wood. Ornate trim. A fireplace that once held stories. A front porch that watched generations come and go.
We knew it could be more than a memory. It could be a home again, this time, not just for children, but for ideas. For skills. For soil and stories. For a community.
Our Mission: Three Pillars, One Purpose
This nonprofit isn’t just about preserving the past. It’s about planting for the future. Our work centers on three core pillars:
1. Historic Preservation & Education
We honor the legacy of the Odd Fellows home by restoring its original beauty and opening its doors for tours, exhibits, and storytelling. The building itself is a teacher, a reminder of resilience and care.
2. Regenerative Agriculture & Permaculture
We are cultivating gardens, orchards, and pastures designed to heal the land, and teach others how to do the same. From seed-saving to animal husbandry, our land will become a learning lab for ecological stewardship.
3. Homesteading & Traditional Skills
Workshops will include food preservation, blacksmithing, herbal medicine, sewing, woodworking, fiber arts, and more. These are not lost arts, they are living tools, waiting to be passed on.
Together, these threads weave a single purpose: to reconnect people to place, to each other, and to the skills that sustain us.
What 501(c)(3) Status Means
Becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit means:
Your donations are now fully tax-deductible
We can apply for grant funding from historic, agricultural, and educational foundations
We gain credibility and accountability as a public benefit organization
We’re eligible for nonprofit discounts from software, services, and platforms
Most importantly: it signals that this project belongs to the community, not to a single person or family
This designation isn’t about formality. It’s about trust. It’s about declaring that this dream is real, sustainable, and rooted in something bigger than ourselves.
What Comes Next
We’re just getting started.
In the months ahead, we’ll begin:
Launching our first fundraising campaign to support restoration and program development
Applying for grants to help rebuild with integrity and purpose
Creating volunteer opportunities for hands-on community engagement
Building out partnerships with local schools, farmers, and craftspeople
Opening parts of the property for small-scale workshops, tours, and storytelling events
The porch will once again hold laughter. The gardens will bloom. The upstairs will echo with the sound of shared learning.
How You Can Be Part of the Story
We’re inviting you, friends, neighbors, strangers who believe in meaningful things, to walk with us.
Here’s how:
Make a Donation — every dollar goes directly toward restoration and education
Join Our Mailing List — get behind-the-scenes updates, event invites, and early access
Volunteer or Share a Skill — we’re building with hands and hearts
Spread the Word — tell a friend, share our story, invite others to dream with us
This is not a fast project. It’s a slow, thoughtful, generational one, the kind that builds deep roots and wide branches. And that kind of growth always needs community.
Closing Words
As we cross this threshold into nonprofit life, we do so with reverence, for the past that shaped us, the land that holds us, and the people like you who help carry this vision forward.
Thank you for believing in what we’re building.
Welcome to the Manor.
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The Historic Oddfellow Manor of Elkins WV
EIN: [33-4341893]
“Preserving the past. Growing the future.”
