Every neighborhood has stories worth telling. Central City has stories worth marking.

Central City, located in the heart of West Huntington, thrived as a planned community built on industry, craftsmanship, and culture. Glass factories, bakeries, breweries, department stores, and soda fountains lined 14th Street West. It was a neighborhood alive with the energy of people building something together.

Some of those stories have been carefully preserved inside the Central City Museum, a program of RenewAll Inc., which has spent years weaving together the personal stories, artifacts, and history of this remarkable community. But some stories deserve to live beyond museum walls; permanently, publicly, and proudly in the streets where they happened.

That's why the Old Central City Association and RenewAll Inc. are partnering to place two official historic markers in the Central City District, honoring a hometown music legend and a beloved community gathering place that shaped the neighborhood's cultural identity.

Hawkshaw Hawkins: West Huntington's Country Music Legend

Harold "Hawkshaw" Hawkins grew up right here in West Huntington and taught himself to play guitar before performing on local radio stations and signing with King Records in 1946. He went on to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry and recorded enduring country hits, including "I Love You 1000 Ways," "Lonesome 7-7203," and "Sunny Side of the Mountain."

He got his first guitar at 13 years old, a homemade one traded for five rabbits. He taught himself violin on his lunch breaks at a Huntington print shop (Poster Print Co.). Music wasn't something Hawkshaw Hawkins pursued. It was something he simply couldn't stop doing.

Hawkshaw Hawkins is a member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, and his roots are right here in Central City. On March 5, 1963, he tragically died in the same plane crash that claimed the life of Patsy Cline. His voice lives on. It's time his hometown does too. The marker will be located at the West Huntington Library, placing his story at the heart of the community he called home.

The Abbott Theater: Where Stories Came to Life

Named for local photographer Darwin E. Abbott, the Abbott Theater opened in 1938 and became a beloved neighborhood institution, showing second-run movies at discounted prices so everyone in the community could enjoy them. In 1952, the Community Players took over the space and transformed it into a stage for live theater productions, making it one of Central City's most unique and cherished cultural venues.

The Abbott Theater closed in the early 1990s and was destroyed by fire in 1994. The building is gone, but the memory of what it meant to this community deserves a permanent home.

Why It Matters

Historic markers aren't just signs. They are declarations that a place matters, that its people matter, and that their stories are worth remembering. For a neighborhood working hard to reclaim its identity and build its future, these markers are part of something larger: a living, breathing effort to honor Central City's past as a foundation for what comes next.

The Old Central City Association and RenewAll Inc. have already begun that work. These markers take it to the streets.

How Your Gift Helps

These markers are being funded through the West Virginia Tourism Historic Marker Program, which requires a 50% community match for each marker. Every dollar raised here goes directly toward meeting that match, bringing us one step closer to making both markers a permanent reality in Central City.

Here is exactly how your gifts will be put to work:

The First $2,000 goes toward the Hawkshaw Hawkins historic marker, permanently honoring West Huntington's homegrown country music legend at the West Huntington Library.
The Second $2,000 goes toward the Abbott Theater historic marker, placed on 14th Street West at the very site where the theater once stood and the community once gathered.
An additional $1,000 will fund a community celebration for each marker unveiling, complete with live music and refreshments, so Central City can come together to mark these moments the way they deserve to be marked.

There's no better day to launch this campaign than Historic Marker Weekend, a celebration of the stories, places, and people that define who we are. Help us mark Central City's place in history.

Central City Stories: Marking the History That Made Us

Help us place two historic markers honoring Central City's cultural legacy!

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