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Though Richwood is located in one of West Virginia’s more rural counties, it’s positioned in a central point situated between Eastern and Southern West Virginia that allows an easy drive to many popular recreational and tourism destinations, like the New River Gorge National Park, Summersville Lake, Snowshoe Mountain, and Lewisburg. As one of 12 Mon Forest Towns, the Monongahela National Forest is also a key asset with 921,000 acres of protected forest land and recreational opportunities. Richwood’s location is one reason why community team members were eager to work together to put their town on the map, taking advantage of community and economic development resources provided by The Hub and statewide partners like the Brownfields Assistance Center at West Virginia University, Woodlands Development Group, and Partner Community Capital.
Richwood is an example of a community that takes full advantage of every opportunity offered to them with positivity and an open mind. Having participated in three Hub programs over 10 years, Richwood is proof that there is always something new and exciting to learn in the community development field.
West Virginia communities of all sizes are engaging in innovative work. Many of these communities exemplify our Rural Community Building Best Practices, guideposts identified through evidence-based research processes. By looking to these communities as models, we can work together to replicate small wins and major successes.
Ray Moeller became invested in the community of Richwood when he moved to the town from Michigan as an AmeriCorps VISTA in 2011 after spending the first part of his career working in the pharmaceutical industry. Now, working as the Economic Redevelopment Specialist at Brownfields Assistance Center at WVU, Ray lives in Morgantown, but continues to work with Richwood through the Downtown Appalachia: Revitalizing Recreational Economies (DARRE) program with The Hub.
Ray has been part of Richwood’s community development journey with The Hub since the beginning, when the town entered the Blueprint Communities® program in partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh in 2012. Richwood team members created their own “blueprint master plan” to structure their local community development strategies and kickstart local projects. The team was connected to community coaching and expert training that equipped them with the skills and resources they needed to achieve the goals stated in their blueprint. After graduating from the program, the community earned a 10-year official designation from FHLBank, opening the door to more funding and resource opportunities.
“Blueprint Communities laid the groundwork,” said Ray. With projects like beautifying Main Street, refreshing murals, adding foliage, and cleaning up dilapidated properties, Blueprint Communities set the tone for the advanced community development work to come for Richwood in the HubCAP (Hub Communities of Achievement) and DARRE (Downtown Appalachia: Revitalizing Recreational Economies) programs.
Through HubCAP, Richwood identified their assets as a tourism community, gateway community to the Mon Forest, and a small business hub. After a few years of community team experience and many developments in the community, Richwood joined the first cohort of DARRE in 2021. Through DARRE, communities use proven methods to revitalize their Main Streets and downtowns with the ultimate goals of increasing tourism and growing local economies. Community teams work with a network of service providers to develop downtown buildings, engage and support local entrepreneurs, and create long-term plans for revitalization (learn more about DARRE here). In short, DARRE team members and partners want to ensure that Richwood’s downtown buildings are utilized to their fullest and safest potential that will best serve the community.
Ray says that the next big plans for Richwood’s future are to enhance visitor and residential housing while improving visitor experience and hospitality. “We need to continue to build on the success of the Main Street redevelopment,” said Ray. The community is still hoping to attract a local grocery store so residents won’t have to rely on traveling to Summersville, or further, for grocery shopping, or grabbing their essentials from Dollar General, though there is a local meat market in town (Spillman Mountain Farm Products) that helps with some of these needs and keeps residents shopping locally.
While there are some gaps community leaders hope to see filled soon, the momentum for localized success remains strong as Richwood residents continue to step up to the plate. After Walgreens closed in Richwood, a lifelong resident stepped up to open a local pharmacy on Main Street in 2022. Now, Cornerstone Family Pharmacy offers prescription medicine, local delivery, vaccinations, and more so residents won’t be forced to drive 30 minutes to access a pharmacy, which isn’t an option for everyone. “The business owners are working together to try to facilitate success,” said Ray, “A lot of individuals took personal chances to invest in the city of Richwood.”
The business owners are working together to try to facilitate success. A lot of individuals took personal chances to invest in the city of Richwood.
One of the main goals of the Blueprint Communities® program is to ensure that the team “commits to building a shared vision developed by local residents.” Richwood residents have been working on developing this shared vision for over a decade, and it seems to grow stronger every year despite the challenges Richwood has faced.
In 2016, major flooding tore through Southern West Virginia, destroying businesses and infrastructure in many rural communities, with Richwood being one of the hardest hit. Fortunately, Richwood had already established their #richwoodrising community team before the flood and had much of the necessary foundation in place to come together to rebuild the community and establish a plan for success.
Richwood has continued to rebuild its infrastructure with state and federal funds; as recently as 2020, FEMA allotted $2.6 million to help the community restore the roadways, drainage system, and install a redesigned storm sewer, municipal water, and sanitary sewer system downtown. This new infrastructure is allowing the community to confidently support new businesses that are eager to make their mark on the town. Having secured this crucial infrastructure, the community is able to turn its attention to strengthening its position as a tourism economy without worrying about the community’s basic needs not being met.
While the Mon Forest lends to an abundance of recreational activities, Richwood’s tourism economy is diverse, serving art lovers, foodies, and even motorcycle enthusiasts. Its locale has made Richwood an ideal spot for motorcycle tourism, and the town has fully taken advantage of this opportunity with the WV Hellbender, a 132 mile loop that takes riders through Nicholas, Pocahontas, Randolph, and Webster Counties through an idyllic, rural landscape. In addition to Richwood, riders pass through the towns of Cowen, Webster Springs, and Craigsville on the route. Every weekend during the warmer months, dozens of motorcycles cruise up and down Main Street, making their way through the loop.
Residents also come together for a truly Appalachian food experience to share their love for one of West Virginia’s most popular native plants. Richwood, proudly called the “Ramp Capital of the World,” is known for its abundance of ramps, a wild onion that grows from April to June in the region. Ramp foraging (an activity similar to mushroom foraging) is a popular attraction among visitors of the Monongahela Forest. The town seizes the opportunity to be tied to the regionally-beloved foodway of harvesting ramps and dining in community with its annual Feast of the Ramson dinner and Richwood Ramp Festival.
“The flood oddly created a lot of opportunity, but Richwood was ready for the opportunity.
After the 2016 flood, business owners like couple David Ward and Cecil Ybanez saw the momentum behind community members coming together to rebuild and sought out their own opportunity to invest in Richwood. Though the couple was living in Miami at the time, David is a Richwood native and his family’s home was destroyed in the flood. This left them without a place to stay when visiting town, so David and Cecil purchased a downtown building found through one of Richwood’s Opportunity Tours. They developed the upstairs portion to use as an apartment for themselves when visiting family and rent as an Airbnb when they were back home, and left a mostly blank slate for the downstairs commercial space, which they originally planned to lease out.
“The flood oddly created a lot of opportunity, but Richwood was ready for the opportunity,” said David. The couple’s plans to remain in Miami changed after the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were given the opportunity to purchase a house that could be turned into a bed and breakfast in Richwood, so they sold their Miami home to finance the project and became permanent West Virginia residents in 2020. David and Cecil now live at the bed and breakfast they’re currently renovating and allow their Airbnb (La Bonita) to be rented out full-time. Cecil, who is an interior designer, envisioned the space as an homage to their former Miami home, Richwood’s own “tropical getaway in the mountains.”
Now, Richwood is able to support eight Airbnbs owned by different locals throughout town, and La Bonita stays busy for the majority of the year. Because of its central location in the state, Richwood is a natural breaking point for travelers. David and Cecil host guests staying in town from an overflow from Snowshoe in winter and New River Gorge in the fall, as well as Mon Forest tourists. The couple says that the pandemic has shifted vacationers’ frames of mind — “It’s not all about big cities and fancy places anymore,” said Cecil.
Because the couple now lives in Richwood full-time, they decided to keep the downstairs commercial space for themselves and turn it into Richwood’s only art gallery, Bloomfield. They began considering the idea of a gallery after they were impressed by the quality of local and regional art at Richwood’s Mountain Color Art Show. Because the art show has been an important part of Richwood’s culture for 36 years now, David and Cecil felt that the community would respond positively to a permanent gallery. Bloomfield has opened the community up to entirely new tourism opportunities and a new demographic of visitors. “The art gallery is creating a niche market and a buzz because people are visiting from different parts of the state to see the gallery,” said Cecil.
Though the gallery just opened in 2021, the direction and intention behind the space is palpable. Cecil has already booked out shows for the entirety of 2023 with regionally renowned artists like Jamie Lester and has big plans for the future of the space. “We’re in the early stages,” said Cecil, “Eventually, I would like for it to be an arts venue, as well as a hub for art-related activities in town, like workshops, classes, and seminars.
Richwood is a great place to open a gallery and not risk your entire life on it.
David and Cecil are eager to see Richwood’s arts community grow and would even love to see another gallery open in town. They hope for more visitor-focused businesses that keep people walking up and down Richwood’s sidewalks, bringing creative energy and excitement to town. “It creates an attraction for the creative types and visionaries to shape a new vision for the town,” said Cecil.
Our work is made possible thanks to incredible partnerships with other community development organizations across the state. From local economic development authorities (EDAs) to state level nonprofits working to uplift communities, all of our partners are crucial in making West Virginia the best it can possibly be by working together.One partner that made our work truly profound this year is Coalfield Development. For years, Coalfield Development has worked to rebuild Appalachian communities by inspiring the courage to grow, activating the creativity to innovate, and cultivating communities of opportunity in central Appalachia.We are proud to be part of Coalfield Development’s ACT Now Coalition, a broad network of organizations working hand-in-hand to uplift communities throughout Southern West Virginia. The ACT Now Coalition is infusing more than $63 million into programs to help communities using business development, building revitalization, and so much more.The Hub is leading the Community and Business Resilience Initiative as part of the larger ACT Now Coalition to bring other partners with us to build up community and business resilience in the Coalition’s footprint.“For decades, we’ve known the economy of southern West Virginia needs diversification. Some progress has been made on this goal, but not nearly enough,” Brandon Dennison, CEO of Coalfield Development, said about the ACT Now Coalition. “ACT Now constitutes a tangible opportunity to take a major leap forward in this generational challenge to become a vibrant, growing, diversified economy. In the wake of continued coal-job losses, nothing could be more important for our region.”Our partnership with Coalfield Development is giving us a chance to take our work to new communities and to build upon our years of experience. Working alongside Coalfield Development in this large undertaking to bring $63.8 million to communities in Southern West Virginia is validation that the work happening to uplift West Virginia communities continues to grow.
The Hub works alongside communities across West Virginia coaching community teams as they come together to make transformative changes in their towns. In 2022, one town stands out for its continued work and unwavering commitment to making its community a place where people want to live, work, play, and visit.Petersburg, located in Grant County at the northernmost point of the Mon Forest, is filled with community members who want to make their town a destination. Not only have businesses opened, and stayed open, the town has transformed the way they present to the world through rebranding and outdoor recreational development.As part of the HubCAP IV program, Petersburg utilized its technical assistance to push forward with projects to bring transformative change to its community. Part of the work Petersburg worked towards was creating plans to pave a hike and bike trail that runs along the Petersburg dike. The proposed trail will run approximately three miles along the Petersburg dike and will include multiple entrances for walkers and bikers. The group secured a $25,000 grant from Senator Hamilton, which was matched locally by the City of Petersburg, the County Commission, and the Board of Education, each adding an equal share to bring the total to $50,000.This year, Petersburg witnessed a major upgrade to one of the town’s most iconic and historic structures: The Hermitage Inn. The hotel, which dates back to 1841, has been renovated and once again welcomes guests to stay the night and have a nice dinner in the restaurant.The Hermitage Inn is the first project initiated and completed as part of the Downtown Appalachia: Revitalizing Recreational Economies (DARRE) program. Seeing the old hotel returned to its majesty has been an incredible development for Petersburg adding another jewel to the downtown area.Seeing Hub communities come together to create transformative change thrills us. Community members are the subject matter experts on what their towns need. Our commitment to accompaniment and walking alongside communities as they do the hard work guides us in our work. Celebrating their victories with them gives us a moment to uplift those making the work happen.
Since 2018, The Hub has been working diligently to bring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into our work. For years, the organization has been working internally to expand on one of our core values: “We believe diversity creates strength.”We believe that now is a time when we must work from the ground up to commit to long-term efforts to build power through leadership development, programmatic strategies, and partnerships that commit to building power and advancing racial equity.Looking back at our organizational history, we acknowledge that our work in rural communities with populations of less than 15,000 has not reached a diverse cross-section of people in West Virginia. Because of this, we began to ask, “Who isn’t here?” when examining our involvement in communities. The social unrest in 2020 led us to examine our role in white supremacy, ableism, classism, and gender discrimination, and the ways we have perpetuated unjust systems in our communities and across West Virginia.Since 2020, our equity journey has included a staff racial equity learning series, making internal commitments to increasing our hiring and retainment of diverse staff including creating full-time Racial Equity Fellowship and VISTA positions, committing to increased coaching for rural communities of color across the state, and tackling the inherent challenges of advancing equity across the community development field within a highly rural, majority white state where Black and brown leadership has been historically marginalized and under-invested.Our belief in the power of local people to see the value and the potential of their place, and of each other, is at the core of our belief in the potential we have to build power in West Virginia to advance racial equity, inclusion, and accessibility while disrupting systems that have historically excluded some communities.We are committed to engaging in conversations to uplift communities and leaders of color to move from talk to action on why race matters in West Virginia as we work to disrupt these systems. We will support investment in Black-led organizations and rural Black leadership. And we are committed to driving public and private investments into these spaces, both organizational and geographic.
A core team led by Unleash Tygart, Inc participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support a community development project located in an Opportunity Zone.
Core teams led by Thundercloud, Inc. and the City of Huntington participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support community development projects located in Opportunity Zones.
A core team led by Crawford Holdings, LLC participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support a community development project located in an Opportunity Zone.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
A core team led by Woodlands Development Group also participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support a community development project located in an Opportunity Zone.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Watch their community documentary.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.
Residents participated in the Cultivate WV program to kickstart community and economy building. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Cultivate WV program to kickstart community and economy building. Read their community case study.
It has been a year of abundant opportunities and partnerships across the state, and a year that has pushed all of us to work harder, faster, and smarter – together.At The Hub, we say that “the work works when you put in the work.” This means that our approach to community-based development, and individual leadership development, really does transform local communities, especially when we all work together for the same goal, and stay committed to working together for the long haul.In 2023, we continued to be amazed at the local leadership, drive and innovation we saw in communities throughout the state that are building locally-driven development from the ground up. Our network of community leaders, partners and opportunities keeps growing and shows no signs of slowing in 2024!
We extend our deepest gratitude to everyone for being part of the larger Hub community as we reflect on this year’s deep impact in West Virginia communities through our work. We are thrilled to have champions who believe in our mission that every community in West Virginia can achieve economic growth when they are supported with the tools and training they need to lead and spark positive change.
We believe strongly in the fact that putting in the work yourself to improve your neighborhood, your town, and our state is where true transformational change happens. With strategic partners and thought leaders like you in the work with us, we continue to be able to walk alongside community teams as they do the work to uplift their communities.Thank you to all of the community teams and leaders who are brave enough to keep showing up every day, and putting in thousands of hours of volunteer time to support your communities and the entire state. Your determination in the face of difficult work and far-off successes is something to applaud yourself for – and to celebrate.Whether you’re volunteering on the ground in your community, sharing our stories of hope with your friends and neighbors, or attending a virtual event with The Hub, your participation in our work is what keeps it going. Thank you for all your work and support this past year, and we are excited to continue in the work with you in 2024!In Continued Accompaniment,