You just don’t see much about Lowell, WV other than the Graham House which was constructed in 1770. My late friend John Kesler who passed away in 2019 was not just an expert on Lowell, but of Summers County history in general. I will try to give a glimpse into the history of this community but not nearly as detailed as John could have.
I have previously mentioned the little known fact of the three Rhodes brothers that had stores in Talcott, Lowell and Pence Springs. The one in Talcott was L.G. Rhodes who’s store now serves as the John Henry Museum. The one in Pence Springs was W.D. Rhodes married one of the Pyles sisters from Pence Springs. Having been in business before the marriage he changed the store’s name to Rhodes and Pyles Store. Everytime I think of the Pyles Sisters I think of the Baldwin Sisters on the Waltons, without the “Recipe”. Ha
As for the 3rd brother that had a store in Lowell I have never been able to track down his name. However, I believe the tale because both John and Ashby Berkley told me the same thing. And that my Great Great Grandfather L.W. Thompson built each of them houses near their store in each town.
The community of Lowell was formed in 1872 by brothers A.C. Lowe and Erastus Preston Lowe settled in what is now referred to as “Lowell”. This was on the “other side” of the river from the Graham House. Here they built a hotel to service the depot that had been recently constructed there.
Sometime around the turn of the century the 3rd Rhodes brother built his store. He then had his home constructed at Lowell. The home has been beautifully restored and is where the Bowlings now reside.
This was a thriving community in its day and also even had its own post office. As I have said before you rarely see items from Lowell so even though I am not sure what exactly this is I snatched it up while at a yard sale years ago.
What you see is a “C&O System Division No 40, O.R.T. Lowell, W. Va. Oct. 26/27, 1898 received of Bro. Wyatt Morris $1.00 Amount due on Special Assessment No. 1 Jessie W. Wilson, Act. Genl. S&T” card.
It has the only postal cancellation stamp from “Lowell Oct. 27, 1898 W. Va.” that I have ever seen. Being the history nerd I am all I can think is that the original Lowell postal stamp is out there floating around somewhere. Also if you happen to be a railroad history buff and know what the basis of this card was used for please enlighten me at greenbrierantiques@gmail.com. Thank you, William.
