Booker T. Washington National Monument Masterplan
Who is Booker T. Washington? Kan aw
A plan for Malden, WV to celebrate Booker T. Washington’s legacy and establish Malden as a gateway community into the Upper Kanawha Valley and beyond.
An educator and reformer, Booker T. Washington was a prominent African American intellectual from the 19th Century. His work had a profound impact on African American lives following the freedom of slaves. He was the first president and principal developer of today’s Tuskegee University.
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Booker T. Washington Park
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2. Booker T. Washington National Monument Area
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Nearby Attractions:
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• Ruffner Brothers Deep Well (for salt brine) • Historic Ruffner Farm Cemetery
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1. Malden Gateway Entry Connection to Regional Planning
Hawks Nest SP
As tourism continues to grow in WV, the Upper Kanawha Valley region’s potential has led to a focus of planning efforts. Malden is a gateway community to this area. It is the first community encountered as visitors leave Charleston and head towards The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The graphic to the left is from “The Valley” a regional tourism planning document developed to showcase potential opportunities.
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There are significant economic statistics within 15 mi. of an established National Historic Monument to consider: • 10% Increase in Businesses Established • 8.5% Increase in Number of Available Jobs • Avg. 19,500,000 annual visitors to National Monuments across U.S. • More than 100 National Monuments Established Today • Existing Booker T. Washington Monument in VA received 25,000 annual visitors, or 70 per day.
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Kanawha Salines Church
• J.Q. Dickinson Salk Works • Natural Gas World Discovery Monument • Shewsbury Stone House
Following his freedom, Malden became Booker’s home. The community would have significant influence on his beliefs later in life. Several buildings from this time period remain. A unique opportunity is presented to tell the story of Booker’s life and remember his legacy.
Welch - Oaks Jarrett House
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Nearby Attractions:
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Wayne Cottage
Why Malden?
Booker T. Washington National Monument Masterplan - Gateway Entry
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Proposed Gateway Orientation Signage Declutter Existing Intersection Signage
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Proposed Planting Beds Existing Yield Sign Booker T. Homestead Sign Proposed Planting Bed
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Proposed Opportunity for Beautification Murals on Underpass
Proposed Planting Beds Proposed Gateway Sign
Existing Malden/Rand Sign Existing Historic Marker Existing Litter Sign
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Existing Rock Ledge Apron
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Existing Malden Sign Existing Speed Limit Sign Existing Exit Apron Existing/Proposed Planting Beds
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Proposed Gateway Sign Existing/Proposed Planting Beds
Gateway Entry
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• Clearly identify Malden as part of the Gateway to the Gorge. • Introduce entry defining planting areas. • Enhance Booker T. Original Homestead signage (monument structure) • Establish orientation sign at intersection of Malden Dr. and Georges Dr.
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Malden Signage Used Today
National Monument Signage Example
Signage and Landscaping
Wayfinding Signage
Wayfinding Signage
Roadside Planting
Freedmans School
Booker T. Washington National Monument Masterplan National Monument Area Concept Philosophy
Education Booker had a life long thirst for knowledge. One of his earliest memories was an intense longing to learn to read and write. Becoming aware that this ability would change his prospects in life, he started to teach himself. The first school financed by black people was established in Tinkersville, the Tinkersville School. With strong support of Lewis Rice, who allowed the use of his home as a schoolhouse and lodging for the first teacher William Davis.
Booker Family Home in Hales Ford, VA Journey from Slavery to Freedom ‘Journey From Slavery to Freedom’ is represented by the rough stone pathways. In the spring of 1865, after being freed from the Burrough’s Farm near Hales Ford, VA, Booker, his brother John and Mother Jane made the long mountainous journey to Malden. Jane’s husband Washington Furgeson was employed in the salt furnaces of the Kanawha Salines in WV. It was here where they started their lives as free people.
Booker wanted to desperately attend the school, but had to keep his work schedule. He eventually was allowed to join night school class and progressively attended school more often as he moved out of the family cabin and became the house boy of general Lewis Ruffner and his wife Viola. This prominent family took Booker under their wing, saving him from the heavy labor of the furnaces and mines. They instilled in him a Puritan work ethic, including hard work, cleanliness, and thrift, all of which became his social philosophy.
Ruffner Family
Education
Faith The African Zion Baptist Church, founded in 1852, is the mother church of African American Baptists in WV. The church is a historic and cultural anchor for the community. A young Booker was playing marbles on Main Street on the Sabbath. When scolded by a church elder, Booker immediately began to attend Sunday School. He was baptized and married in the church headed by Elder Lewis Rice, a major benefactor for the community. Booker became a pillar of the church and continued to support the establishment throughout his life.
Faith
“Foundational Beliefs” Economy
African Zion Baptist Church
Economy From 1755 onward, the salt industry thrived in Malden. The industry was particularly booming in the 1830s with the implementation of wells, piping, vats, and furnaces. The salt industry began to decline in the 1850s. Slave labor would run the furnaces and mines before the war, over 1,500 slaves.
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Washington Ferguson was a salt packer. He expected Booker and his brother John to join him and pack salt into barrels from sunrise to sunset. Upon their arrival in Malden, Furgeson took their pay and the boys turned away from him as a father figure due to his greed. During this time Booker began to understand numbers and started to develop a strong desire to learn to read and write. Booker determined a lifetime of heavy labor was not to his liking.
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Family When Booker and his family arrived at Kanawha Salines (renamed Malden), they met Washington Furgeson and went to the Tinkersville area, traditionally the Negro District. Booker quickly developed a dislike of town living, which never left him. Houses were very close together, there was no sanitary regulations, the stench of rotting garbage and outhouses was intolerable. Drinking, gambling, fighting, and low moral values were rampant in the community. This profoundly influenced Booker’s philosophy of the conditions needed to succeed.
Kanawha Salines
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Booker T. Washington and Family (1899)
Rev. Lewis Rice, Founder
Booker’s Home in Malden
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Booker T. Washington National Monument Masterplan - National Monument Area Plan National Monument Area Requirements: • Federally Owned Land • Contain Objects of Historic Interest as Defined by the Antiquities Act • President Must Proclaim Monument Through Executive Order • Smallest Area Possible to Properly to Protect Significant Features
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Rowe Law Office to be Used as Welcome Center
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Salt Works Buildings to be Relocated
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Replica of Booker T. Washingtons Schoolhouse with Schoolyard and Gardens
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Salt Works Buildings (Relocated) and Garden
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Replica of Booker T. Washington’s Home with Kitchen Garden
10 Church Yard Gardens 11 African Zion Baptist Church 12
Shared Parking (19 Total Stalls, 5 Stalls for Dedicated Church Parking)
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Sidewalk
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The Journey Memorial Path made with Flagstone
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Up From Slavery Memorial
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Original Location Booker T. Washington Residence Monument Columnar Trees to Frame Monument View Corridor
Picket Fence for Fencing
Pin Oak Tree (4 Total)
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Fence, Picket Style
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Booker T. Washington Home Site 18 Original Viewing Platform
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National Monument Area Visitor Parking (26 Stalls)
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• Museum • Administration • Orientation • Restrooms • Concessions • Store • Meeting Rooms/Event Space
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Plan Key 1 Main Entry Plaza 2 Orientation Plaza 3 Welcome Center
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* Note: All areas shown as lawn are potential gardens/ planting beds
Example Memorial
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Booker T. Washington National Monument Masterplan - Malden Historic District
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Horton House
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Historical Home Booker T. Washington National Monument Area
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Historical Historical Home Home
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River Walk
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Malden Historic District
• Streetscape Package - Includes road diets, crosswalks, defined off street parking, street furniture, lighting, benches, signage, and trash receptacles. • River Connection - Create river walk promenade on Fallman Dr., reconnect steamboat landing to allow for river accessDrape r Dr. • Tell historical story of how the town of Malden Drape r Dr. shaped Booker T. Washington, establish walking tour, develop wayfinding and identification signage.
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Historical Site Interpretive Signage
Malden Gateway Entry
Hale House Today
Puttney House Today
Booker T. Washington National Monument Masterplan - Preliminary Site Plan 8 7
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Plan Key 1 Main Entrance 2 Gazebo 3 Boundary Picket Fence 4 Ruffner Cabin 5 6 7 8
Path ADA Ramp Bench
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