Babcock Lumber Mill site digitized

Finally done. Hundreds of images have been scanned from the collection of Babcock Lumber Company's archives. Dozens of cool new (to us) images are now available for the public. I am sharing the scan with Cindy Phillips, our town historian of record, and WV University. The point here has been to unearth the only real records of what once stood on the Davis Riverwalk site and the adjacent town park. More to come!

This is not Riverwalk

Over 20 home sites are available in the grid of downtown Davis for two-story, energy-efficient homes with 3 baths, 4 bedrooms, 9ft ceilings, modern and open layouts, hardwood floors, Hardie plank siding, 50-year storm-rated roofing, front porches with Trex decking, stone counters and more. These homes will be engineered: blower-tested, have conditioned crawl spaces, vented attics, engineered trusses and joists. And before all those features, they are DESIGNED for Davis...Victorian boomtown venacular meets lumber mill pragmatism to yield layouts that support today's casual mountain recreation lifestyle. They are designed for Davis' climate as well: extra glass on south facing walls, low use of valleys and dormers, drainage design not requiring gutters, full ice guard wrap under roofing and more.

The expected timeline is: 4 weeks option selection and ordering; 5 weeks production; 6 weeks with finishing out. 15 weeks from signature to move-in. We expect to require 20% down and pre-qualification on financing when ordering. Total home price is now estimated to vary from the mid $100s to high $100s for most homes. Each site+home+options will have a custom quote, provided after a siting and design consultation.

BTW, I say this is 'not Riverwalk' because the sites offered are in the town grid, on streets such as Thomas, Blackwater and Fairfax. Davis Riverwalk is the undeveloped 7-acre tract between main street and the Blackwater River, expected to coincide more closely with the Corridor H Highway and a general economic recovery for the metro areas on which Davis' economy depends.

Thank you Mr Udall

Stewart L. Udall, 90, interior secretary was guardian of America's wild places
By Matt Schudel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 21, 201

Davis is top 10 of best mountain biking areas

But then we knew that.....You can see this article here.

You can buy the issue at

http://www.zinio.com/browse/publications/index.jsp?offercode=PH01&productId=307332098&rf=osc288&pss=1&bd=1

Under the weight of snow-ice...Kaboom!

Old buildings that could not be built today per national and state construction codes....this relic went down in Thomas today. Let's hope the owner properly demo's or repairs the building!

Google 'before' shot and photo of aftermath courtesy of Randy Schmiedeknecht and friends, Davis High Valley Realty.

Glimpsing back at the skiing connection between early Davis and Canaan

A few posts back I published part of an interview with Riley Worden, taken by WVU researchers at the Worden Hotel in downtown Davis in 1958. This nice little piece (below) about Eddie Worden, the grandson of Worden's owner, shows us an example of the deep connection between Davis and the Canaan ski scene. Eddie Worden talks about the department store run by his grandfather across from Worden's, called Belmonts. I am not certain, but I believe Belmont's stood on the lot I own across from the old Worden's lot.

Sometimes it is too easy to see Canaan skiing as the activity of outsiders, and Davis life as the activity of locals. There is a common ground and we celebrate it.

His life tells story of skiing in West Virginia

The Green Premium

Professional Builder magazine researchers reported recently that 26% of those they surveyed said they would pay no premium for a house certified as green (eg Energy Star or LEED certified). 35% said they'd pay 1-2% more, ie less than the price of a good road or mountain bike. 25% said they'd pay 3-6% more than for a typical house. And only 11% said they'd pay 6-10% for green certification. 2% said they would pay more than a 10% premium.

That would suggest that if our houses were more than about $8K higher than a similar looking non-Energy Star house with the same square feet, that there wouldn't be much of a market. From what I'm learning so far working with the modular vendors, this looks doable. ...more to come on exactly what measures we will take to meet the Energy Star new construction criteria in Davis.