The Early Years

The scene is Front Street in Clendenin, taken after the 1907 fire that destroyed the Young Hotel and S.H. Robertson Brothers general store. The two Robertsons then associated with J.W. Parris and bought out George Ort, whose name can be seen at the top of the stone building. Robertson Parris Co. opened in February 1907, according to a history compiled in 1975 by the Clendenin Woman's Club. Clendenin got its first paved streets in 1914. Photograph courtesy of Kanawha Public Library. Jan. 16, 1999 – Gazette