The Little Cockayne House

It seemed like every time we went past this house on Wheeling Avenue in Glen Dale, Mom would say, "Oh, I just love that house.....!" or "I would love to have a house like that some day....." or "It looks like a little cottage...."

Usually at Christmas, the little house would have wreaths with big red bows at the four front windows. "Look at those decorations... It looks just like a Christmas card," Mom said.

The house was not the grandest one in Glen Dale, but it's the one Mom liked. For some reason, it suited her far more than any of the mansions in the area would have. It was somewhat small, but very neat... understated, yet extremely appealing.

Mom worked as a nurse for twenty-five years at Reynolds Memorial Hospital, a couple of blocks away from the little white house. When I was still at home in the 1960s, she was hopeful, with dreams and aspirations, which included having a house like that.

Mom never advanced beyond the trailer in Allendale, and her life ended when she was only 55, in 1984. By the time she died, her dreams were simpler: she wanted a diamond ring, and she wanted a fireplace. She ended up buying a tiny little ring for herself but she never got the fireplace.

But every time I see the little house in Glen Dale, I think about my Mom.....

NOW, the house is an important part of the "Cockayne Farmstead Preservation Project." I do a website for it: http://www.cockaynefarm.com/

When the last owner of the Cockayne farm died, he bequeathed the farmhouse and property to the City of Glen Dale. The Marshall County Historical Society has taken over the farmstead to restore it as a museum.

The little white house was owned by a Cockayne family member and it adjoins the farmhouse property, all originally part of the same tract. The Historical Society didn't have the money to buy the little house when it was for sale, so two attorneys in Moundsville bought the house temporarily, with the idea that the society would lease it, and then eventually have the money to pay for it.

The time has come for the little house to be owned by the Cockayne Farmstead Preservation Project.

I am far from being independently wealthy, but in honor of my beloved mother, I am going to donate $1000 toward the purchase price of $87,500.

$87,500 sounds like a great deal of money..... but if 87 and a half people donate, it seems entirely manageable. A group could solicit $5 from 200 people - or $10 from 100 people - and donate $1000...

I believe in this project because the Cockayne Farmstead is an important part of Marshall County History -- and the little white house is important to me because it's a reminder of my mother and the hopes and dreams she once had...