Today in Wheeling History: March 18--Former Kruger Street School sold at auction, paving way for the Toy and Train Museum (1997).
On March 18, 1997, the Wheeling-based Eibel Corporation purchased the former Kruger Street School building at 144 Kruger Street in Wheeling's Elm Grove neighborhood at auction for $253,000, setting in motion plans to transform the historic structure into one of the largest toy museums in the world. The three-story red brick building, designed by Wheeling architect C. D. McCarty and constructed by Elliot & Winchell of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was built in 1906 on land that was once part of the Moses Shepard estate — ground that had previously served as a Native American burial site. The cornerstone was laid on June 30, 1906, by the Knights of Pythias, Mystic Lodge No. 24, and the school opened in early 1907. The building served Ohio County Schools for decades, originally housing grades one through ten and the first Triadelphia District High School. After the last classes were held in 1991, West Liberty State College used it briefly before it closed permanently in the mid-1990s. The Eibel Corporation — whose name was coined from founder Allan Robert Miller's mother's maiden name — invested several hundred thousand dollars in renovations using local contractors. The work preserved the building's original Georgia yellow pine floors, red pine woodwork, and tin ceilings manufactured by Wheeling Corrugating, a division of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel. The museum was dedicated on August 27, 1998, and opened to the public on September 1, 1998.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling WV – Kruger Street School (https://tinyurl.com/yrfs7vpf); Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum – "144 Kruger Street: A Biography" (https://tinyurl.com/66dk2yz7); Weelunk – "Feel Like a Kid Again at the Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum" (https://tinyurl.com/u28e6upv); Roadside America – Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum (https://tinyurl.com/r4hmyzrh); Wheeling News-Register – "Wheeling Toy Museum Promises Fun for Kids of All Ages" (https://tinyurl.com/6zy43fae); Visit Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/bdec9y39); TripAdvisor Reviews (https://tinyurl.com/3ze4fv8v); The Park Press (https://tinyurl.com/ypfatzfs)
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wheeling News-Register, Google Images, Visit Wheeling WV, Weelunk
On March 18, 1997, the Wheeling-based Eibel Corporation purchased the former Kruger Street School building at 144 Kruger Street in Wheeling's Elm Grove neighborhood at auction for $253,000, setting in motion plans to transform the historic structure into one of the largest toy museums in the world. The three-story red brick building, designed by Wheeling architect C. D. McCarty and constructed by Elliot & Winchell of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was built in 1906 on land that was once part of the Moses Shepard estate — ground that had previously served as a Native American burial site. The cornerstone was laid on June 30, 1906, by the Knights of Pythias, Mystic Lodge No. 24, and the school opened in early 1907. The building served Ohio County Schools for decades, originally housing grades one through ten and the first Triadelphia District High School. After the last classes were held in 1991, West Liberty State College used it briefly before it closed permanently in the mid-1990s. The Eibel Corporation — whose name was coined from founder Allan Robert Miller's mother's maiden name — invested several hundred thousand dollars in renovations using local contractors. The work preserved the building's original Georgia yellow pine floors, red pine woodwork, and tin ceilings manufactured by Wheeling Corrugating, a division of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel. The museum was dedicated on August 27, 1998, and opened to the public on September 1, 1998.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling WV – Kruger Street School (https://tinyurl.com/yrfs7vpf); Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum – "144 Kruger Street: A Biography" (https://tinyurl.com/66dk2yz7); Weelunk – "Feel Like a Kid Again at the Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum" (https://tinyurl.com/u28e6upv); Roadside America – Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum (https://tinyurl.com/r4hmyzrh); Wheeling News-Register – "Wheeling Toy Museum Promises Fun for Kids of All Ages" (https://tinyurl.com/6zy43fae); Visit Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/bdec9y39); TripAdvisor Reviews (https://tinyurl.com/3ze4fv8v); The Park Press (https://tinyurl.com/ypfatzfs)
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wheeling News-Register, Google Images, Visit Wheeling WV, Weelunk
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