|
|
HISTORY
In the Beginning |
In 1922, Osage, West Virginia began to fall into a slump of poverty and hardship. Once a booming mining community, residents were confronted with money shortages, health problems and sub-standard education. The Women's Home Missionary Society of the Wesley Methodist Church noticed the problems that had ravaged the area and saw a need to start a program that provided spiritual education, health services, and recreation to the residents of Osage. They created the Scott's Run Settlement House (SRSH), a place for people to turn to. |
| |
A Coal History |
The five-mile long coal hollow known as Scott's Run, in Monongalia County, West Virginia, was significant because it was one of the most intensively developed coal districts in the United States. In 1917, World War I stimulated the national demand for coal and fuel. The area saw a very rapid rise in economic growth and by 1921, Scott's Run was producing 4.4 million tons of coal. The rapid industrial development of Scott's Run caused for coal companies to import foreign-born immigrants and African -Americans from the South and thereby precipitated a rapid increase in population that became racially and ethnically diverse. The rise in the coal industry also brought about a social transformation in the rural hollow as mining replaced farming as a way of living. |
|
Hard Times |
Although this was the high point in the Scott's Run coal industry, it was the beginning of a downward spiral that lead to the depopulation and destruction of this rural community. With many Union disputes taking place in the mining industry, miners in Scott's Run were faced with considerable wage cuts that led to poor living conditions and malnutrition and sent miners in their families into a slump of poverty that was irreversible. Scott's Run even gained national attention when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt made a personal investigation on the living conditions of those who lived in the Scott's Run area in 1933. |
|
Scott's Run Settlement House |
In 1922, the Women's Home Missionary Society created the Scott's Run Settlement House (SRSH) to help those who were in need. They modeled their program after those that had been created in bigger cities. The Settlement House was formed to help with the "Americanization" of newly arrived immigrants by promoting English literacy, citizenship, hygiene and other basic life skills. Women from the Methodist Church created a bible school to help teach the children. The settlement house was originally located in a several rooms above a building that once was Possner's Store. After several years, SRSH added additional programs, such as classes on cooking, and motherhood. The Woman's Home Missionary women were confronted with several challenges, including people who did not welcome their presence and a fire that destroyed the SRSH original building. After much fundraising, the ladies were able to construct a permanent structure in Osage in 1927, a building which is still in use today. |
|
Scott's Run Today |
Scott's Run Settlement House (SRSH) has grown tremendously over the years. In the 1960's and 1970's SRSH added more activities and programs to their agenda, including a day care center and senior citizen activities. Many volunteer programs are now available for high school and West Virginia University students as well as tutoring in all subjects. In the 1980's a food pantry was added along with a Meals to Wheels program, sessions for young and single mothers, and a juvenile delinquency program. After the 1980's, Scott's Run Settlement House did not function as an organized church, but Christian philosophy continues to be practiced throughout all of the daily activities. SRSH takes pride in enriching and strengthening individual and family life by providing experiences of growth in the lives of participants of all ages, backgrounds, nationalities, beliefs, and capabilities. |
|
|
