Officials, preservationists and city outline reuse plans for Jefferson County’s Washington Street properties

Jefferson County commissioners heard a packed public discussion on July 17 about the future of county-owned buildings on the 100 block of East Washington Street in Charles Town, including the historic Jefferson County Courthouse. Presenters — including the county attorney, the county’s facilities director, the state historic preservation office and local redevelopment groups — outlined legal constraints, funding tools and a range of reuse ideas while local residents pressed for transparency and protections for downtown businesses.

Nathan Cochran, the county’s assistant prosecuting attorney, framed the options at the start of the discussion, stressing that "we are a Dillon's rule state" and that the commission can act only in ways expressly authorized by statute. He cited "West Virginia Code 733," explaining that the default statutory sale methods are public auctions (on-site or internet-based) but that the statute exempts transfers to certain public or nonprofit entities — a distinction that shapes whether the county could sell directly to a private buyer or should seek a public-purpose transfer.

That legal constraint informed subsequent presentations. Laura Kuhn, director of Fleet and Facilities Management, and former commissioner Patsy Noland walked the commission and the public through the properties — Hunter House, the Mason, Smoot, Moffitt and Reininger buildings, attached courthouse spaces and nearby auxiliary parking parcels — and summarized past and current uses. Kuhn said the county seeks to move operations into modern facilities and to find sustainable reuses for the downtown buildings; she and others repeatedly described the courthouse as a candidate for a museum if court operations relocate.

Attorney Kanette Petry, who reviewed historic deeds, said the four lots forming the square at Washington and George Streets were conveyed in an August 1, 1801 deed "to be used" for public purposes, and that earlier corners were later transferred…