The History
In 1874, two years after C&O Railroad built its terminal in Huntington, WV, William Hope “Coin” Harvey built a classic New Orleans-style home in the heart of the city. This home, also referred to as, “The Coin Harvey
House”, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and is located in an area between Downtown City Center and Marshall University, formerly referred to as, “Society Row”.
This Sanborn map from Marshall University's archives is significant for the restoration because it shows what the original footprint looked like.
The home has transitioned through residential, business, and social purposes for almost 150 years. Coin Harvey was a real renaissance man, who was proficient in several different areas, including economics, politics,
real estate development, law, and mining. He was a gifted economist, whose theories on free coinage of silver became a panacea for The United States in difficult times, giving Harvey the well-suited nickname,
“Coin”. In fact, he authored several books, the most popular being, “Coin’s Financial School”. Coin also ran for president of The United States in 1932 against FDR.
In 1925, Dr. Earl E. Gerlach acquired and began to practice medicine in the home. His daughter, Lenore Kaiser inherited the house in 1945. In 1996, Lenore directed, in her will, that the house be placed
in a foundation. Upon her death in 1999, the home was deeded to the “E.J. & Lenore Kaiser and David E. Gerlach Foundation”, with James W. St. Clair as Trustee. At this point, the Foundation assumed the once-thought
“impossible” task of restoring the home.