Shepherd Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Shepherd Hall
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Shepherd Hall in April 2010.
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 Location in West Virginia
Location in the United States
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| Location | Monument Place and Kruger St., Wheeling, West Virginia |
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| Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
| Built | 1798 |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000661 |
| Added to NRHP | December 18, 1970 |
Shepherd Hall, also known as Monument Place, is a very old and important house in Wheeling, West Virginia. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's recognized for its special history. You can find this historic home in the Elm Grove area of Wheeling.
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History of Shepherd Hall
Shepherd Hall was built in 1798 by a man named Moses Shepherd. He and his wife, Lydia Boggs Shepherd, lived there. They had a large farm, called a plantation, around the house.
Moses Shepherd's family moved to the Wheeling area around 1771. His father built a fort called Fort Shepherd on their land. This fort was later burned down by Native Americans. Moses inherited this land when his father died in 1795. Shepherd Hall was built right where the old fort used to be.
Moses Shepherd met Lydia Boggs during a difficult time in September 1782. Both their families were taking shelter inside Fort Henry during an attack. Fort Henry was important for protecting the early settlers in the Wheeling area. Moses and Lydia got married around 1783. They were married for almost 50 years but did not have children.
Lydia Boggs's family also moved to the area. Her father claimed land along a creek south of Wheeling in 1774. This creek and the land around it became known as Boggs Run.
Life at Shepherd Hall
Moses and Lydia Shepherd moved into Shepherd Hall when it was finished in 1798. They became very wealthy from their farm and a mill that ground grain. Moses also built bridges, like the Elm Grove Stone Arch Bridge in 1817, which is still used today!
The Shepherds were well-known and traveled to Washington, D.C., every year. They met many famous politicians and even presidents. Important people like Presidents Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk, and politician Henry Clay, would visit the Shepherds at Shepherd Hall when they passed through Wheeling. The Marquis de Lafayette, a French hero who helped America in the Revolutionary War, also visited the mansion in 1825.
The Shepherds became good friends with Henry Clay, a powerful politician from Kentucky. With his help, they were able to make sure the National Road, a major highway, passed through Wheeling in 1818 instead of another town. The National Road actually goes right by Shepherd Hall!
Moses Shepherd died at Shepherd Hall in 1832 from a sickness called cholera. He was 68 years old. A year later, Lydia, who was now a wealthy widow, married Daniel Cruger. He was a United States Congressman from New York. They had met during her trips to Washington, D.C. Lydia changed the name of the mansion from Shepherd Hall to Stone Mansion during her marriage to Daniel. Daniel Cruger died suddenly in 1843.
Lydia Boggs Shepherd Cruger lived the last 24 years of her life alone in the mansion. She sometimes had visitors and relatives who wanted to hear her stories about Wheeling's early history. She lived in Shepherd Hall from the time it was built in 1798 until she passed away there in 1867, at the age of 101!
After the Shepherds
After Lydia died in 1867, the large Shepherd farm was divided into smaller pieces of land. This land became the area known as Elm Grove in Wheeling.
Shepherd Hall was bought in 1870 by Alonzo Loring and his wife, Mary. They changed its name to Monument Place. The house was later owned by their daughter, Lucy Loring Milton, who added more parts to the mansion in 1907. Today, the Osiris Shrine Temple owns Monument Place.
The name Monument Place comes from a monument that Moses and Lydia Shepherd built on their land in 1820. It was dedicated to Henry Clay because he helped bring the National Road to Wheeling. This monument is no longer standing.
As the Elm Grove neighborhood grew, the street in front of Shepherd Hall was named Cruger Street, after Daniel Cruger. But the name was accidentally misspelled as Kruger Street, and it's still called Kruger Street today!
Stone Church Cemetery
Moses Shepherd, Lydia Boggs Shepherd Cruger, and Daniel Cruger are all buried in Stone Church Cemetery. This cemetery is in Elm Grove, Wheeling, on a hill overlooking Shepherd Hall.
The land for the cemetery was once part of the Shepherd farm. Moses Shepherd's father, David Shepherd, gave the land to the Stone Presbyterian Church in 1795. David Shepherd and his wife, Rachel, are also buried there. Other families connected to Shepherd Hall, like the Loring and Milton families, are also buried in this cemetery.
See also
