Craig County Tourism

Large fluffy snowflakes have been in a rush this morning to reach down and join the many inches left behind from deposits in previous weeks. Here in Craig County the accumulation has been the deepest we have seen in several years and has tried to stop us in our tracks. Some of the rural roads drifted shut and had to be opened with a snow blower. The most common comment heard is -”We are tired of this stuff!”

But we know Spring is just around the corner! In downtown New Castle, Spring means the  the Old Brick Hotel will open on the first Friday in April and each Friday thereafter from 1 – 4 P. M. for genealogy research and tours of the old Hotel. Other research and tour dates may be arranged by appointment. The library is stocked with all the county censuses available to date as well as marriage and death records. Family histories of many Craig County families are included in the works of several authors and are available to researchers. Volunteers, well versed in the history of the county, staff the library. Many publications are available for purchase as well as .

The three-story brick Old Hotel is a “must see” when you are in New Castle. Located on the corner of Main and Court Streets, it has been the headquarters of the Craig County Historical Society since 1983.

The following quote is from the 1990 edition of the publication “In and Around” and is used with permission of the Craig County Historical Society. “Little is known about the history of the hotel because early court records were destroyed by Union General David Hunter’s army of 18,000 on June 22-23,1864. The structure itself tells us that it was built in three stages by the different type and lay of brick. The brick in the front section on Main Street is redder and of a poorer grade than the back wing which is made of the same brick as the courthouse. The original brick is a brownish color but the hotel appears red because it has been painted at some time. Two floors of the front section were built first. The third floor was probably added later, and the back wing on Court Street was added at an even later date. Court records have been found which stated that court was held in the “Inn” while the courthouse was being built. It is believed that the “Inn” was the hotel, or the front section at least.

Elbert Lamb (1907-2000), of New Castle, said that his grandfather, Moses Lamb, built the hotel in the 1860s. It is believed that Moses did indeed do the brick work on the back wing, if not all of it, since his name as contractor is on the old hotel sign (restored).

Mrs. Mayme McClure, of Roanoke, said that one of her ancestors, James Gray, was the first owner of the hotel. Mr. Gray must have died before 1850 since he is not listed in the census records that year with his wife. This fits the theory that at least part of the hotel was standing as early as the 1840s.

The first deed to be found in Craig Court records tells us that Madison Crawford paid $2,700.10 to the estate of J. H. Walker in 1873 for purchase of the hotel and property. Madison Crawford was married to James Gray’s daughter, Mahalia. They left the hotel to their daughter Annie and her husband, James Henry Looney, son of Joseph & Melvina Day Looney. James H. and Annie’s son, Lee Looney, inherited the hotel from them. Lee married Nannie Welch and after her death, the hotel passed to their children: John Looney, B. R. Looney (heirs) and Anne L. Harvey. The Craig County Historical Society bought the hotel from the Looneys on August 11, 1983 for $21,000, planning to restore the hotel for a museum, meeting place and office with a library of history/genealogy books and records, craft shop and other uses for public benefit and enjoyment.”

Indeed, the building is being used today for the same purposes as stated above. The sixteen rooms and large halls are filled with a great variety of local artifacts and antiques, many donated by local citizens. Christmas dinners, reunions, school tours, and group meetings have made it a focal point of the community. The icing on the cake is the annual Fall Festival held the second Saturday of each October.  Then, the Old Brick Hotel is bedecked with red, white and blue as fundraising mixes with fun and fellowship in downtown New Castle.

So, come visit the Old Brick Hotel, just let us know when you want to come at a time other than the scheduled Fridays.

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