News:  March 24, 2005.  Alan R. Rowe National Register Coordinator West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East Charleston, West Virginia 25305-0300 I want you to rest assured that your property will be considered at the October meeting of the Archives and History Commission. This is a mandated step of the National Register nomination process—all properties must first be considered by the Commission before being sent to the attention of the Keeper of the National Register. Regarding the drilling activities on your farm, just remember that we have determined your property to be eligible for inclusion in the National Register, which in the Section 106 review process carries the same weight as actually being listed. So you should be doubly comforted by the notion that the rather long listing process in no way endangers your property where Federal or state undertakings are concerned.

NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION

Setting:  The May/Kraus House and farm (now known as La Paix Herb Farm) is situated at the head of the hollow on Crooked Run Road in Lewis County, West Virginia.  It is situated on 109.6 acres.  The entire community on Crooked Run was settled by Catholics from Webster County in West Virginia.  The first owners were the Mays, from Baden Germany about 1840.  They built the two story log cabin which is now attached to the front of the house.  The logs reveal the German method of log cabin construction.  Tools for planing the logs and lifting them have been found on the property. The bottom log on the south side is hand hewn and about three feet wide.   The two story log cabin has two double (one on each side of the two rooms) hand cut stone fireplaces.  The log cabin is reputed to have been used as part of the Underground Railroad.  A porch with wooden oak floor and metal roof was located on the north side of the log cabin with two doors leading to it – one from what is now the kitchen and the other from what is now the laundry room.  The deteriorated wooden oak tongue and groove flooring has since been replaced by concrete.   An addition has been made sometime in the late 1800’s or before – this was used as the kitchen and is now a bathroom.   I added a laundry room to the back of the log cabin, constructed of aluminum siding and wood.  The interior of the log cabin is paneled, purportedly from poplar grown at La Paix. Many layers of wall paper were on the walls when I bought it – they have been mostly removed (some remnants left for historical purposes) and the bare wood is shown.

 The Mays were stonecutters from Germany and built root cellars of hand cut stone in the area.  They also superintended the stone cutting at Historic Registered Weston Hospital.  This is reputed to be the largest hand cut stone building in the United States.  They built their own root cellar of hand cut stone here, adding a board siding top floor which they used for carpentry and storage. The bottom of the root cellar is now used for storage and the second floor has been renovated as a small efficiency apartment for apprentices.  When renovating the outside, the board siding was kept and all renovation was done from the inside to preserve the character of the building.  However, two windows were added on the south side. 

 The Kraus’s, who also came from Webster County, married into the May family.  They were carpenters.  In about 1890, the front of the house was added to the log cabin.  It is a Plantation I (2 rooms down, 2 rooms up with stairway in the middle) Victorian farm house with double front porches.  Hand Cut stone steps lead to the front porch and grace the chimneys (lentils).  Four fireplaces (mostly using coal from a hand dug coal pit once located in the side yard) grace the Plantation I farm house, and are located on both floors of the south and north side of the farmhouse.

 The tongue and groove floors are made of oak, quite black from varnish and time.  The walls, too, have been made of oak, poplar and chestnut paneling, uneven as it was cut on site (according to oral history).   Wide surrounds, long windows and wide floorboards enhance the interior.  The ceilings are also made of tongue in groove wood – some painted already when I moved here.  Those which were already painted have been repainted.  The front steps are also made of oak and the second floor looks down upon the stairs as the stairs round the top. 

The only other outbuildings left are the root cellar made of hand cut stone and a shed which was used for chickens and pigs.  Gone are the German Style smoke house, a large barn and a coal shed which were here when I bought the farm in 1981, but were in such a state of disrepair (which also reflected the state of my pocketbook at the time) that I was unable to restore them. 

This is a rural setting in a valley with a small creek, (sometimes dry in the summer) running by the south side of the home.  This creek is fed by seven smaller creeks coming from the back of the property which rises to a hill.  The land on either side of the home site rises up in hills covered with trees.   Caves, stone walls and beautiful woods surround the home and farm place. The woods are enhanced by raked trails and occasional benches as well as rails on the steeper hills.   Once used as a farm with sheep and cattle, growing potatoes and corn and grapes, the farm is now the La Paix Herb Farm with many gardens of herbs and organically grown produce.  Extensive plantings of lavender, peppermint and lemon balm have been added in recent years to serve the model essential oil distillery located on the patio beside the Shop. (The shop is not an original building but was built with rough sawn lumber to simulate the look of the other outbuildings.)  Workshops and tours have been held here since 1990.  Many display gardens enhance the area including a labyrinth and a Feng Shui garden.  Over twenty benches and many tables and umbrellas make sitting and taking in the view enjoyable. 

 One of the interesting, if enigmatic, structures which was torn down twenty-four years ago was a two-seater outhouse of black walnut.   

 The woods were timbered over about seventy-five years ago – prior to that sheep and cattle had kept the place “clean” as the old timers call no trees, shrubs or plants.  Now there are raked pathways, benches and bridges through the woods for walks identifying medicinal plants and trees and edible mushrooms.  The farm has used organic methods of growing since 1981 when the present steward bought the farm from Lawrence Kraus and his wife, Lillian.  His son, Charles Kraus, lives on 30 acres directly west of La Paix and he has annual Family Reunions of the Kraus’s who come to La Paix for a tour of their homestead during that time.  Many of their memories of visiting and living here have become part of this application. 

Major buildings are the homestead, root cellar with apprentice apartment above, greenhouse, shop and the original pig shed. The greenhouse and shop have been added by the present owner. .  I am active in the environmental movement in West Virginia and have used the principles of environmental sustainability as much as was feasible in all my maintenance of the farm. As the co-director of the Sustainable Living for West Virginia group, I continue my commitment to environmentally friendly methods of living here.  The Third West Virginia Sustainable Fair for 2002 was held here and the First and Second Lavender Fairs were conducted at La Paix in 2003 and 2004.  The Third Lavender Fair will be held here in 2005. 

 I have great respect for the founders of this farm – and have left all the Catholic medals which hung over the door or mantle in each room and outbuilding.

Statement of Significance 

The May/Kraus Farm was one of  the farms on Crooked Run Rd. in Alum Bridge W.V. which was formed by a group of German and Irish Catholics.  They bought land on Crooked Run and each family’s farm was developed for the family’s food and shelter needs.  Each member had a particular skill to add to the community.  For example, the May’s were stone masons originally from Baden Germany, the Shearer’s were sheep herders, and the Starks were surveyors and teachers and the Kraus’s carpenters.  Land for St. Boniface’s Catholic Church on Rt. 33 in Camden  was donated by Kasper Kraus.  The church was built and could be reached by horse and wagon road over the hill in back of the Shearer/Dempsey property.  Oral history states that as late as the 1950’s prayer evenings were held in each other’s parlors.  In 1950, the church was made the primary place of worship (replacing the church at St. Clara).  Prior to that, the church was a dependent mission and the Priest only said mass there once or twice a month.  This is why the little community held their own Rosary sayings and prayer meetings in each other’s homes when the church was not open.  (Father John Finnell, St. Boniface Church)

 Lawrence May, an experienced stone cutter from Baden, Germany, worked on the construction of the Trans-Allegheny Asylum for the Insane (now Weston State Hospital).  Now registered as a national historic place, Weston Hospital is purportedly the largest hand cut stone building in North America. The building of the hospital was begun in 1858 and completed in 1880.  For more information on the hospital, click here. Lawrence May was a stone mason and his sons, John May and Henry were both stone cutters.  They lived at the May/Kraus Farm during the time they participated in the building of the Hospital which took place between 1858 and  1880.    

 Oral History also relates that when not building the hospital, the Mays would live at area’s farms in the winter while building a root cellar there, finishing the work by Spring when they would be paid $35 dollars for their work.  They then returned to the May Farm on Crooked Run Rd and planted their spring crops.  They are credited with building many of the root cellars in Lewis County.

 Oral History by way of Andrew Shearer, whose father, Joseph Shearer, owned the farm nearby relates this story:  “My father, Joseph Shearer, was bringing the horse and wagon down from the hill where Mr. May was cutting the stones for the root cellar.  Coming down the steep hill, one of the cut stones rolled off the wagon into a deep ravine.  My father thought that Mr. May would never know that one of the many stones was missing, so when he got to the root cellar site, he didn’t say anything.  Mr. May looked at the wagon of stones, then at my father,  and asked, “Where is Stone #33?”  So, my father had to go into the ravine and fetch #33 out!”

 The May/Kraus Farm, whose homestead was first a two story log cabin was bought by Lawrence May from Thomas Moneypenney  in 1874.  It comprised 110 acres.  As the family grew and progressed, a Victorian Plantation I Farmhouse was added in 1890 to the front of the log cabin and various outbuildings were erected including a root cellar of hand cut stone, a barn with hand cut stone foundation, chicken/pig shed, log cabin hog pen, and a coal shed.  (see  photo on left side above). 
 

 These buildings are unique in that they were typical of German construction – the way the logs were joined (which can be seen in the photo showing the back of the log cabin) is typically German joinery.  (square cut logs)  The Plantation I Victorian Farm House is typical of many farm houses in West Virginia.  However, it is unique in that the stone fireplaces (six of them) were constructed of stone from the property by the Mays who worked as stone cutters on the Historic Weston Hospital.  Many of the stones which were the foundation of the barn (now gone) have been used as benches on the property.  The walls of the Plantation I Farmhouse are unique in that they are of tongue and groove poplar, chestnut and oak grown on the property.  The hand cut stone steps in front of the Plantation I Farmhouse porch are also unique, as are the chimney lentils and the hand cut stone sidewalks on the side of the log cabin and going to the backyard.

 When I bought the farm in 1981, on each mantle and over each door ledge were found Catholic  medals.  They are still there in respect for the Mays and Kraus’s who put them there to protect their home.

 According to Joy Gilchrist-Stalnaker , historian, and former head of the Hacker’s Creek Pioneer Descendents, Inc., Lawrence May was a Union soldier.  There is a record of his burial at St. Boniface’s Graveyard as a Veteran on the Hacker’s Creek Pioneer Descendants website.  The building of the Weston Hospital was interrupted for many years due to the Civil War raging in West Virginia (then Virginia).

 According to family history , the upstairs of the log cabin was used as part of the Underground Railroad during the Civil War.  There are marks of old steep steps going to the second floor of the log cabin on the wall.  It was said that the steps were used as a sort of “fool-the-eye” in that people kept going west after going up the steps, not aware that there was a small room east of the steps.  That small room is now the library at La Paix.  On one of the tours of the farm, a visitor from Webster County in West Virginia told me that a similar log cabin was located there which had the same “fool-the-eye” stairs and was also used as part of the Underground Railroad.   

 Coal was dug from the hill on the north of the property.  Vegetables, hay, Concord grapes, apple orchards, figs, hogs, chickens, sheep, cattle, and horses were all part of the farm. 

 An article from the Weston Democrat of about 1872 states:  “We had a pleasant call from John May, Esq., Superintendent of Construction of the Asylum.  Mr. May, as is well known, stands at the head of his profession as a practical builder, and no better proof of this is needed than a glance at the work formerly done on the Asylum under his superintendence.”  I am uncertain as to whether John May is related to Lawrence May.  They were both stone masons, but John is from England (b. 1814) and Lawrence is from Germany (b. 1829)

 Another article entitled:  Unique Artifacts Donated to Lewis County Agencies  from the Weston Democrat of October 7, 1992 states:

“A piece of Lewis County history has surfaced as three different artifacts have been donated to the Lewis County Convention and Visitors Bureau.  CVB Director Suzie Frederick has announced that Mrs. Louisa Galbraths May has donated stonecutter chisels, a small slate desk, and a wooden plane in memory of her late husband, Joseph Leffler May.

Mrs. Frederick announced that the three items will be donated to three local agencies for display.  “We would like to thank Mrs. May and her family for donating these historical articles for the resident of Lewis County and West Virginia to enjoy,” Mrs. Fredericks said.

Joseph Leffer May was born November 14, 1901 and died June 6, 1992. He married Louisa Galbraths, and the couple later resided in Mesa, Arizona. 

 The chisels were apparently used by Lawrence May, an experienced stonecutter, when he worked on construction of the existing Weston Hospital.  The chisels are engraved with “L. May”. 

Each of the chisels will be donated to Weston Hospital to be placed with other artifacts.

May was born July 2, 1824, in Baden Germany, and died August 20, 1894 at Alum Bridge.  He was married to Matilda Boyles May, who was born October 17, 1829, and died April 12, 1894. 

 The Mays’ daughter, Ella May, who was born January 3, 1851, had a son, Charles Demsey, (sp. Dempsey?) who was the owner of the small slate desk.  Demsey used the desk when he attended school at Alum Bridge.  The slate desk will be donated to the Central West Virginia Genealogical and Historical Library and Museum to be displayed at the Center Avenue site.  The wooden plane was also owned by the Lawrence May family of Alum Bridge and will be donated to the Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Conference Center Museum.”

 When Lawrence May died in 1894, his will enumerated belongings on seven handwritten pages(Appraisement Bill of the Personal Property of Lawrence May, Alum Bridge, West Virginia)  and included items such as:  One Bay Mare, One Log Chain, Two Cross Cut Saws, One Falling Leaf Table, Two Grindstones,  One Grindstone (bought by F.J. Will), Two wine kegs (bought by Kasper Kraus),  Three wine glasses (bought by John Aman),  One Spirit Level (bought by Andrew Mertz) , One Lot Glass dishes (bought by Jake Gissy), One Rifle Gun (bought by James Hamrick), a Dish and Bowl (bought by William Shearer), One Bedstead with Springs (bought by John Dempsey, 20 gallon jug (bought by A.S. Bonnett).

 In March 26, 1898, Kasper Kraus, who had married Lawrence May’s daughter, Lucinda, bought 3/5^th’s of the 110 acres from Henry May, who had inherited one/fifth (and bought the other two/fifths from his brothers) of the property upon his father’s death in 1894.  From that time on, Kraus’s owned the property and continued to farm the land in a conservative manner.  Oral History from John Shearer, brother of Andrew and neighbor, indicated to this author that there had never been any herbicides or pesticides used in the farming of the May/Kraus farm.  Organic growing techniques continue at what is now La Paix Herb Farm to this day and it was the first farm solely owned by a woman in West Virginia to be certified organic ( 1990). 

 Conservation of the land has continued although some parts of it were timbered about seventy-five years ago.  It is now the only land in the hollow of any appreciable acreage which has not been timbered over in the last twenty years.  As it is at the headwaters of Crooked Run, this conservative stewardship of the land has served to keep flooding of its neighbor’s property from happening.    

 Summary

In summary, the May/Kraus Farm epitomizes the perseverance, skills and energy of the early pioneers and developers of West Virginia.  Their hand-made homesteads of log cabins and Victorian Plantation I farmhouses utilized their many talents in stone cutting and carpentry brought from England, Germany, Ireland and other European countries.

Their contributions to both their own needs on the land as farmers and builders and to the wider community were many.  I have honored and respected their leadership and their perseverance as I, too, have continued to preserve the best of what they gave the land which gave so much to them.  

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La Paix Herb Farm
3052 Crooked Run Road, Alum Bridge, West Virginia 26321
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