Preservation Thurmond is an all-volunteer nonprofit — but the work of protecting a place doesn't run on volunteer hours alone.

Right now, we're in the fight of our organization's life. The National Park Service has a tentative demolition date of November 2026 for historic structures in Thurmond, structures that tell the story of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, the coal boom, and the whitewater rafting industry that shaped this stretch of the New River Gorge. We're pushing back through every legitimate channel available to us: FOIA requests to obtain the full administrative record, coordination with pro bono legal counsel, public records review, and direct outreach to elected officials.

None of that is free.

Every dollar given to this campaign keeps the lights on for that work: postage and printing for FOIA requests and formal correspondence, mileage and lodging for meetings in Charleston and site visits to Thurmond and Dun Glen, basic software and hosting so we can organize records and reach our supporters, and the everyday costs of running a small organization punching well above its weight.

We're not a large nonprofit with a program budget. We're neighbors, historians, and descendants of the people who built this town, doing what we can with what we have. A gift here, whether it's $25 or $500, goes directly toward keeping this fight funded so we can keep showing up: at public meetings, in FOIA offices, and in every conversation that decides whether Thurmond's history stands or falls.

Help us keep going. Thurmond is worth it.

Keep Preservation Thurmond Running

— the Operational Costs campaign, covering day-to-day advocacy expenses.

Team Members