- Madie Carroll -
As legend goes, the
Madie Carroll House arrived in Guyandotte by flatboat in
1810. James Gallaher, a river tradesman, had obtained the
house in Gallipolis, Ohio and placed the house on lot number
34 in Guyandotte. At one time, Mr. Gallaher owned over 20
lots in Guyandotte. He later became a prominent business man
in the area, and he was a trustee for Marshall Academy in
1838 which is now Marshall University. By 1836, he had moved
out of Guyandotte and onto the old Russell farm then located
along the Ohio River between 14th street and 11th street,
Huntington, West Virginia. Mr. Gallaher and his descendants
continued to prosper in this area. One son, John Gallaher,
founded Gallahersville; one daughter, Ann, married Robert
Poage, a prominent business man of Ashland, Kentucky;
another daughter, Sarah, married J. Harvey Poage and
inherited the family farm and another son, James, married
Mary, daughter of Samuel W. Johnson.
Thomas Carroll arrived in Guyandotte, VA. in
1852. Thomas, his wife, Anne Burns, and their children -
Thomas, Michael, Austin, Margaret - moved into their new
home, November 2, 1852. The home, at the time belonged to
Lucian M. Wolcott, and he later sold Mr. Carroll the home in
1855.
Thomas Carroll operated his home as an inn
on the James River and Kanawha Turnpike. He obtained his
first license to operate an "ordinary" (inn), December 1853.
In 1854, along with others in Cabell County, Mr. Carroll was
declined a license for an ordinary, but was given a license
to operate a "house of private entertainment." After Thomas
died, Mary Carroll continued to obtain licenses to operate
an inn. The inn was know as the "Carroll House." According
to other sources, Thomas also made his living as a carpenter
and a stonesman.
Mary Carroll saved the house from
destruction, November 11, 1861, when the Federal Troops
burned most of the town of Guyandotte. She barricaded
herself and children in the brick kitchen of the house.
However, the Carroll family did lose property during the
burning of the town. In 1892, Mary Carroll requested that
the Federal Government pay her for the loss of a second
dwelling and two story frame storage building/barn. J.H.
Write bore witness to the loss in an affidavit he signed May
2, 1892, and he stated that the "claimant was and is loyal
to the US Government."
Madie Carroll
The Carroll family members were the first
Catholics in Cabell County. the Carroll home served as a
house of worship before a Catholic Church, St. Peters in
Guyandotte, could be built in the are in 1873. The first
parish priest, Father Thomas A. Quirk, lived in the Carroll
house from 1872 to 1884. Father Quirk, at that time, was
transferred to Lewis County, West Virginia, where he worked
diligently with the poor. Because of his good works, he
became know as "the Padre of the Mountains."
The Carroll family continued to live and
prosper in the Carroll house. They owned several other
pieces of property throughout the county. The only two
children of Thomas Carroll to marry were Michael Henry
Carroll who married Elizabeth W. Downy and Caroline "Ellen"
who married James McLaughlin. Michael and Elizabeth had six
children: Thomas, Stephen M. Annie, Mary E. Madie Carroll,
Ellen and Lawrence Leo. Michael and his sons Stephen and
Thomas worked for the railroad. Madie lived in her
step-grandmother Mary's home after her mother died. Also,
Madie's uncle Charles (graduate of St. Francis College,
Loretta, Penn.; partner in McLaughlin and Carroll grocery as
well as a timber measurer for Cole and Crane; member of
Guyandotte Council and other civic and religious
organizations), her maiden aunt, Mayme (graduate of Marshall
College, 1886; school teacher), and tow other aunts,
Catherine and Margaret, lived in the Carroll house.
Madie inherited the home from her aunt Mayme
who had inherited the home from her mother, Mary. Madie
taught piano for many years. In the 1924 Polk City
Directory, she listed as teaching music at St. Edward's
College. She had immense pride in her heritage, especially
her home. She often passed time with neighbors and friends
talking about the house and its history. She was still
living in her home when the house was listed on The National
Register of Historic Places, June 1973. Madie died in 1975
and left her nephew, Lewis Carroll, the historic home. Mr.
Carroll rented the house to several occupants.
The home was deeded to the Greater Huntington Parks and
Recreation District on October 10, 1984 by Lewis and Helena
Carroll "to consummate a gift of certain real property for
the use and benefit of the people served by the Greater
Huntington Parks and Recreation District." The Madie Carroll
House Preservation Society, Inc. received permission form
the Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation District in 1988
to restore the house for use as an historic house museum and
cultural community center. The Madie Carroll House
Preservation Society, Inc. incorporated and received tax
exempt status in 1989.
Source - Article and photo property of:
www.madiecarrollhouse.org
