Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 847 – The Elkins Opera House, 1913

Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “A small job for Elkins, W. Va. Brought back to mind the enjoyable sketching trips to that region in 1885, which I have written up in detail elsewhere.”

I have explored many of Moses’ sketching trips during the late 19^th century, including his 1885 journey to West Virginia with fellow scenic artists Henry C. Tryon and John H. Young, see past post 202-212 for the complete story. In regard to his 1913 project, Elkins is a city in Randolph County, West Virginia. The community was incorporated in 1890 and named in honor of Stephen Benton Elkins, a Senator from West Virginia. Elkins’ first opera house built during 1892 was destroyed by fire in 1897 and immediately replaced.

The second Elkins opera house was built in 1898 and renovated in 1908. That year the theater was expanded from a 550-seat house to an 800-seat house. The stage house was also increased at this time, adding a fly loft and expanding the depth of the stage. This four-story building situated at 303 Davis Avenue. It was ideally located, situated on the corner near the major hotel, Hotel Delmonte, city hall and railroad station. Julius Cahn’s Theatrical Guide for the 1910-1911 season listed that the seating capacity for the venue was 800 and the stage illuminated with electricity.  The proscenium opening measured 21’-0” high by 30’-0” wide. The height to the gridiron was 41’-0” suggesting a fly loft. The depth of the stage was 28’-0.” Although there are no specifics about the exact scenes delivered by Sosman & Landis to Elkin in 1913, it was likely a replacement set due to the age of the venue, and/or a renovation.  The Julius Cahn description in 1905 noted a proscenium that was only 24’-0” wide and 16’-0” high, not 30’-0” wide and 21’-0” high. Furthermore, the 1905 height from the stage to the rigging loft as 18’-0” and not the 41’-0” notes in 1911. In 1905, Cahn also noted, “grooves cannot be taken up flush with fly gallery.” The scenery for the first venue was likely wings and shutters or wings and roll drops. The depth of the stage also expanded in 1908, when it increased from 23’-0” to 28’-0.”

In regard to Moss’ 1885 sketching trip to the region and his meeting the namesake of the town, here is an excerpt from Moses’ account of the sketching trip:

“Early in the morning, before we reached Piedmont, I noticed a large and very distinguished-looking gentleman pass through our car several times. He seemed to be very interested in our traps, easels, sketching umbrellas and stools, which we had to carry.  He inquired of the Pullman conductor who we were, and was informed that we were artists looking for some wild country to paint.  He told the conductor to advise us to go up to Davis, on the West Maryland road, which he did.  The gentleman was Stephen B. Elkins, U. S. Senator [namesake for Elkins].  His father-in-law was H. G. Davis, who lived at Deer Park, where they left the train.  We were also instructed to see Mr. Harrison, Superintendent of the West Maryland road, in Piedmont, for transportation.  This we did on Monday morning, and we furnished passes to Davis.

The train did not leave until 2:00 P. M. We were agreeably surprised to see Mr. Elkins, Mr. Davis and two boys get on the train, having come down from Deer Park on an early train.  Mr. Elkins soon introduced himself and the other members of his party.  They were not only interested in the road but in the vast coalmines all along the road.  As we started to climb the mountains, the Blue Ridge, every half-mile revealed to us new beauties of this wonderful mountain country; here was indeed a virgin forest.

We arrived in Davis about five o’clock.  The first thing we saw at the depot to remind us that we were in a wild country were six good-sized deer, dressed for shipment.  They were piled on a truck and a number of eastern hunters, with dozens of deer-hounds, were strolling about, enjoying the wild life.  The log hotel was certainly very picturesque and nicely situated on the banks of the Blackwater River, a branch of the Cheat River.  It was pretty well filled, but Mr. Elkins requested the landlord to take good care of us, which he did.

While we were waiting for our dinner, and were all seated on the big porch, Tryon was seized with stomach cramps.  Mr. Elkins noticed Tryon’s groaning and said, “Mr. Tryon, if you will go up to Room 3 you will find a black grip; open it and right on top you will find a cure for stomach trouble.”  Tryon did this and came down feeling better, thanked Mr. Elkins, and within fifteen minutes had another cramp.  Mr. Elkins said, “Go after it again, Tryon,” and he did.  This time he must have taken a good long one, for it seemed to settle him.

We certainly did full justice to our dinner.  We had plenty of fresh venison steak, thanks to our hunters, and after dinner we gathered in the big living room, or smoking-room as it was soon made by the dozen or more cigars and pipes.  As the hunters were for the most part from New York, one can readily imagine the big yarns that were told, but we enjoyed them.

During the night a heavy thunder storm passed over us, and the wind through the big pine and hemlock trees, together with the constant baying of the hounds, made the night one of unpleasant dreams.  Tryon and I had a double room.  As he was very careless with his clothes – the floor was better than a chair – he stepped on his derby hat.  A fine kind of hat to take on a sketching trip! Strips of paper glued to the inside of it put it in good working shape again.  The storm soon cleared, the sun was warm, the howling hounds were fed, and the wild huntsmen were ready for another day of slaughter.

So were we.  After a big breakfast Mr. Elkins, Mr. Davis, young Elkins, young Davis, Tryon and myself started out on an exploring trip.  We tramped through the wet underbrush and found a great many places for good sketches. We returned for luncheon, then took our sketching outfits and Tryon and I started out for business.  I found a big mass of rock that was very interesting.  We were quite a puzzle to some of the natives, who could not understand why we had come all the way from Chicago to sketch rocks and trees.  “Didn’t we have any of these anywhere near Chicago?”  One trouble we experienced in the eastern mountains, especially in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and the Carolinas, was the constant quizzing by the natives to find out whether we were really what we said we were, or revenue men looking for moonshine whiskey in the general stores.

A few days of sketching at Davis with some success rather encouraged us to remain longer. We each had an idea that something awaited us further down the valley, so we started for Schell.  Mr. Elkins had left a day ahead of us, and we found that he had stopped at Schell, instructing the store-keeper, the proprietor of the only boarding-place, to take good care of him, and we appreciated the courtesy.  Tryon had told Mr. Elkins that he was writing an article for the Chicago Tribune and that he would send him a copy; Mr. Elkins was much pleased.

The General Store at Schell was some store and included the post office.  Back of that was the living-room and kitchen and there were three rooms upstairs.  Tryon and I occupied one of these.  John Young joined us here and entered into the spirit of the outing.

The evening of Young’s arrival we were all in the store.  Young was stretched out on the counter, with his head resting in the scoop of the scales, and Tryon, with his immense meerschaum, was hitting it up like an engine.  We missed the talkative huntsman, but everyone here was interested in us and our work because Mr. Elkins had told them who we were.

We had two beds in our room, but had to pass through a room occupied by the landlord’s son.  If he happened to be awake when we retired, Tryon would always stop and talk with him.  The landlord was an infidel, which pleased Tryon, for it gave him the opportunity to assist in tearing all of the religion of the world into shreds.  In one way, Tryon did not believe all he said.  I believe he only wanted a chance to argue.

The store loafers were a motley crowd.  As there was a train arriving every evening at seven o’clock, it was an excuse for the men to for their mail, though some of them never received a letter.  The landlord was also the postmaster.  The government paid him a salary according to the number of canceled stamps that passed out of his office.  Some salary! There were only about one hundred people living in Schell and these were mostly miners, so the post office probably did very little business.

The chief topic of conversation while it varied at times was ‘moonshine,’ and denouncing the government for keeping so many revenue men about. It was policy, of course, for us to enter the fight and stick with the men.  We had felt, in spite of what Mr. Elkins had told them, that they had their suspicions regarding us; we had too much money for artists.  Some of the mountain people did not know who was President of the United States, and others hardly knew that the Civil War was closed.  A very shiftless and lazy crowd, although a few of them had good positions in the mines.  This particular quality of coal mined here was used for sea-going vessels; it was very small and dusty.”

I am always amazed at the scope of the people who Moses encountered throughout the duration of his career. He was almost always in the right place at the right time. I have to wonder if Moses reconnected with any of the local citizens that he met there in 1885.

To be continued.