Elkhorn Inn Restoration

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"This Old WV House":
Dan & Elisse's Restoration of the
Elkhorn Inn & Theatre

Welcome to Dan & Elisse's Really Big Old House!
The story began in the summer of 2002, when Dan & Elisse found the Inn &
Theatre. Dan & Elisse work for FEMA, and Dan was working for the FEMA
Disaster Recovery Operation following the flooding of southern WV in May 2002.
Driving for months through McDowell County, Dan often passed the historic "Coal
Heritage Trail" building & the copy of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Flooded twice,
abandoned, & vandalized, the Inn building was a mud & mold-filled shell. The deck
& bridge had been destroyed, the doors had been stolen along with just about
everything else- only 6 claw-foot bathtubs, & a few toilets & sinks remained intact.
The darling little Theatre had been abandoned & water-loggged, & the property used
as a dumping ground for everything from tires to broken appliances. But they looked
at it & saw what it Could be: An elegant Inn with lovely rooms filled with art and
vintage quilts... a patio with cafe tables for train & bird-watching... sitting on the
balcony with a glass of wine as the mist covers the mountains at twilight & the
"Pokey" railroad goes by... local bands playing at the Theatre... a shop filled with
unique West Virginia arts & crafts... artists-in-residence... meetings & special
events... a lovely dining room for parties & weddings... perhaps even a small
museum to showcase the history of the area... and their home.
They took leave from FEMA & moved to McDowell County to save & restore the
Inn & Theatre and help the area recover from the economic devastation of the
floods, and named their new home for the Elkhorn Creek that runs between the Inn
& Theatre. There'd been 4 feet of water & mud in the Inn, & there was 5 feet of
mud still in the basement... So in the middle of an ice-storm, Dan shoveled out the
mud, gutted the entire first floor, power-washed it with bleach 3 times & dried it out,
& they moved into their new home in Jan. 2003. Then Dan rewired, replumbed, &
rebuilt it, from the roof (new shingles), to the floors (pink marble), walls (240 sheets
of drywall!), new doors & ceilings (Dan's plaster "crowsfeet" & crown moldings).
They added the art collection from Elisse's NYC gallery, antiques & textiles, cleared
away the garbage, weed-whacked & planted roses and tulips, sunflowers, & veggies,
installed new "antique" lampposts, & opened their home as the Elkhorn Inn &
Theatre bed-and-breakfast in May 2003, providing lodging & fine dining.
Dan is US Army Retired, with 21 years of military management experience and 20+
in civilian & government service. Elisse, a veteran (Sgt.) of the IDF & an Official
Artist for the US Coast Guard, has 30+ years in international business management,
marketing & promotions, and government service.
Dan & Elisse believe in the sheer power of Sweat Equity!

For 7 years to date, the Elkhorn Inn & Theatre, the only "Coal Heritage
Trail" property in West Virginia providing lodging and fine dining, actively
promotes the many great things McDowell County has to offer to tourists
from across the country and overseas!

There's always LOTS to do to keep an historic building alive, & Boy, could we
use some help! :-) So if you'd like to be a part of helping preserve America's
heritage, call us at 1-800-708-2040 & c'mon down!
Dan restored the Elkhorn Theatre, too, and it's now available for fun
summer Special Events: live music, weddings (like ours!), reunions,
BBQs, ATV "Poker Runs"...
Click here to see our Theatre!
Click here to shop at our Gift Shop!
For more information, contact Dan & Elisse Clark at
elisse@elkhorninnwv.com or call us at 304-862-2031 or 1-800-708-2040.