The Vision Manifesto of the Historic Oddfellow Manor of Elkins, West Virginia

When I sit back and dream of the future for the Manor, this is my dream.

Prologue: A Place Remembered

There are places that wait quietly for the right people to return.

The Oddfellow Manor is one of them. Built in 1908 as a home for orphans, it endured through decades of silence until new hands arrived — not only to repair it, but to listen to what it still had to teach.

We are those hands. Our work is not only to restore a building, but to reawaken its purpose — to remind this community that care, creativity, and connection still belong to all of us.

I. The Body of the Dream: Restoring What Heals

We believe that healing begins with connection — to one another, to the land, and to our shared history.

The Manor stands as a sanctuary for learning and renewal, where people of all ages can gather to rediscover practical wisdom: growing food, preserving harvests, mending clothes, working wood and metal, and tending animals and soil.

Here, we cultivate a kind of health that cannot be prescribed — the quiet strength that comes from purpose, craftsmanship, and community.

II. The Land of the Dream: The Living Classroom

The 15 wooded acres surrounding the Manor are our first and greatest teacher.

In the orchard, the vineyard, and the garden, we practice regeneration — of land, of tradition, of spirit.

We offer workshops and seasonal programs in homesteading, gardening, canning, sewing, and heritage crafts.

Children and elders learn side by side.

Every class, every gathering, becomes a small act of belonging — a way to remember that we are part of something larger than ourselves.

III. The Heart of the Dream: Community in Motion

We envision the Manor as a meeting ground for the curious and the compassionate.

Musicians, farmers, teachers, artists, and neighbors will share this space to create, collaborate, and celebrate.

Our doors are open for public events, seasonal markets, art shows, and storytelling nights that strengthen local connection and cultural memory.

We are here to make community visible again.

IV. The Home Within the Dream: A Place to Belong

Beyond gardens and gatherings, we hold a deeper calling — to make the Manor a place where people can live, not only visit.

Its history as a group home will be redeemed by a new vision of belonging: a place where elders, families, and those in need of safety can find both dignity and community.

In time, the Manor and its grounds will grow into a small, intergenerational village — with independent and assisted living spaces for older adults, short-term housing for women and children in transition, and volunteer residencies for artists, farmers, and caregivers.

Each space will be woven into the rhythm of the land and the life of the house — gardens outside every door, meals shared in common rooms, and stories exchanged across generations.

Our goal is not to build an institution, but a home — one that models what it means to live with purpose, connection, and care.

V. The Legacy of the Dream: Teaching by Example

Oddfellow Manor is more than a restoration project — it’s a living example of what rural resilience can look like.

By preserving a historic home and giving it modern purpose, we model how small towns can find renewal through creativity, sustainability, and shared stewardship.

Our goal is to seed a new pattern — where preservation, education, and community are not separate efforts, but parts of one living whole.

VI. The Promise: To Keep the Light Burning

We promise to honor this place with care and imagination.

To keep the light in its windows shining as a symbol of welcome.

To teach the next generation that history is not just behind us — it grows beside us, waiting for new hands to tend it.

When people stand here a hundred years from now, may they feel not just nostalgia, but gratitude — that we remembered to listen, to plant, and to build together.

Epilogue: The Invitation

Come walk the grounds.

Come learn, share, or rest awhile.

The Historic Oddfellow Manor of Elkins is not a museum — it is a living story of what happens when a community chooses to care again.