HOME, SWEET HOME This home at 1617 Main St. in Wellsburg is among those being profiled by West Virginia Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, in a book he is writing about the community. (Contributed photo)

WELLSBURG West Virginia Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld is writing a book one that depicts Wellsburgs story through its structures and the families who lived and worked in them.

The perspective of the book is telling Wellsburgs history through the stories of the families who built, lived in or had significant events in some of our more architecturally significant, or historically significant homes, explained Weld, R-Brooke.

As I got into my research, I was very surprised of just how much of Wellsburgs history and the county and the states history could be told through these homes and the people who built them and lived in them.

His interest in the project began in 2018 during a conversation with his mother, Roseanna Filberto. She and her husband Welds stepfather and retired Weir High School football coach Tony Filberto have lived in the same house at 21st and Charles streets in Wellsburg since 1986. Weld grew up there.

A couple of years ago, we were talking about the house and Mom said, Weve lived here so long, and I dont know anything about the house. Who built it? Who lived here?

Ive always been very interested in history, and local history in particular. So I started to do the research.

Weld learned the original owner of the home, William Scott, was the owner of the Scott Ice Cream Company and had two confectionaries in Wellsburg during the 1920s. But Scott died young just before the economy collapsed and the Great Depression happened in 1929.

Weld contacted the grandsons and great-grandsons of Scott, who had always believed their relative committed suicide after losing everything in the Depression.

Weld was able to show them Scotts death certificate, which showed he had actually passed away in a local hospital three months prior to the Depression. This told the family something about their history they did not know, according to Weld.

Later, they visited the area and were able to tour their familys former home that now belongs to the Filbertos.

It was very cool to make that connection, Weld said. I thought out of that, there has to be a books worth of information on other homes. So I picked two dozen or so other homes in town and started my book.

Among them were many homes near Welds own home on Pleasant Avenue in Wellsburg, where many elected officials have resided over the years.

Among them was former State Sen. John Chernenko, D-Brooke, also a former majority whip. John and Jackie Kennedy made a historic visit to Wellsburg and the Chernenko home prior to the 1960 Democratic primary election for president.

Weld also has researched homes at 22nd and Main streets, at 816 Main St. and at 1030 Franklin Ave.

He spoke to John Sperlazza about his home at 2011 Main St. just before Sperlazzas death this year. Weld said he has since given the interview to Sperlazzas family.

Weld is keeping mum on other sites he researched so as to build interest when the book is published.

He said his work has revealed that Wellsburgs former three-story city building was destroyed by fire in 1939.

And while it didnt pertain to any one structure in the city, the Cliftonville Mine Riots played quite a role in Wellsburgs history. There was a gun battle between mine workers and the sheriff and his deputies that led to the sheriff being killed. A large court trial in the county took place in July 1922, according to Weld.

Weld has conducted his research through items found at the Brooke County Courthouse, local libraries, the Library of Congress, newspapers and books.

For the most part, the research is done, so now it is just a matter of process to complete the work, according to Weld.

In addition to being a state senator, Weld is also an attorney. He works on the book on weekends.

He hopes to have it done maybe by the end of 2021.

When it is done, I hope people get as much out of it as I did writing it, heaid. I hope they learn something about their home and their town, and thats why I started to write it.

(King can be contacted at jking@theintelligencer.net)

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Weld telling Wellsburg history through its homes, families - The Daily Times