(Photo provided) Roofers work on the future new home of the Marshall County Historical Society Museum on Tomlinson Avenue on Monday.

MOUNDSVILLE – The future home of the Marshall County Historical Society Museum – the historic Bloyd House – is receiving a new roof this week.

Trent Dayton, a Preservation Alliance of West Virginia member serving the historical society, said workers with Saints Roofing are repairing damaged wood and preparing to install new shingles at a cost of $45,000. He anticipates the work will be complete by Wednesday or Thursday.

“They have a crew of 23 people,” he noted. “There were a lot of holes, but it wasn’t leaking terribly. But it was rough. The wind storms have been blowing off shingles.”

The society purchased the house, located at 600 Tomlinson Ave., last fall for $200,000. The money was raised via donations and the society was able to pay for the house with cash.

Dayton said once the society took ownership of the property it began cleaning it out. Then it organized an estate sale, selling items it did not want and keeping items it did for future display at the museum.

Leaky gas lines also were replaced in the house. This past winter during a deep freeze a waterline broke inside, flooding the basement. Some pipes had to be replaced there and also at the current museum space where lines broke as well.

After the roof, the next major project will be new wiring for the three-story house.

“Everything is still knob-and-tube,” Dayton said of the old style electric wiring.

He said some walls need cracks repaired. Walls will need to be painted after old and damaged wallpaper is removed. Some exterior paint work is also needed along with repairs to any damaged woodwork, such as on the porches.

The society also cleared weeds and debris from the yards and cut down trees against the house. Some tree stumps still need to be removed along with some bigger trees.

Dayton said there is no certain timeline for moving in yet, though they hope to be in by the end of summer or fall.

“The sooner the better,” he added.

Dayton said since announcing plans to purchase the Bloyd House people have responded positively. In addition to receiving donations for the project, more people are becoming members of the society.

Membership has more than doubled. We had 50 to 60 members. I just checked today and we have 141 members,” he said.

Dayton said plans for the house, which has about 4,000 square feet, include using the first floor for display of historical items and a meeting room. The third floor will be used as archival space. The second floor will be offices, record and meeting space.

The house also has a large yard that can be used for events.

“This is going to be a lot better location. … We’ll be able to interpret the history of Marshall County a lot better. It will help people want to come back more. Now when they come they see everything the first time. We’ll be able to rotate different exhibits and artifacts.”

The new location will also be more centrally located as it is across from the Fostoria Glass Museum and Marshall County Courthouse. The current location is on 13th Street near the Ohio River.

“It’s been super fun. A lot of people come to us saying they love this house and they’re happy it’s going to be used for the community,” Dayton said. “People say they’ve always wanted to come in the house. People were scared this house was going to be torn down. They’re happy we took it.”

Those who would like to join the society can visit the website at https://www.marshallcountyhistory.com/. Those who would like to see the inside of the house can call 304-845-1411.