Terra Alta Bank, also known as The History House, is a historic bank building located at Terra Alta, Preston County, West Virginia. It was built in 1893, and is a three-story, six bay wide brick Italianate style commercial building. It has a cast iron storefront on the first floor of the main facade and metal window surrounds on the upper floors. The roof line of the building has a decorative bracketed cast iron cornice on three sides.

Terra Alta Bank
Terra Alta Bank is located in West Virginia
Terra Alta Bank
Terra Alta Bank is located in the United States
Terra Alta Bank
Location109 E. Washington St., Terra Alta, West Virginia
Coordinates39°26′42″N 79°32′45″W / 39.4449°N 79.5459°W / 39.4449; -79.5459
Arealess than one acre
Built1893
Built byGakes Brother and Sharp
Architectural styleLate Victorian, Italianate
NRHP reference No.97000786[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 9, 1997

The Terra Alta Bank was chartered in 1891 as the second bank established in Preston County. In 1893, its board undertook construction of the three-story Italianate building designed by Gakes Brothers & Sharps. It was the only bank in Preston County to survive the Great Depression.[2] The bank occupied the building until 1991, after which it was partly occupied by a local historical society.[3]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Preston's History House Museum began life as a bank". WV News. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  3. ^ Charles A. Thomas (February 1997). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Terra Alta Bank" (PDF). State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
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