A Peek into Summers County’s Past: Reno W.Va.

PENCE SPRINGS W.Va. (Hinton News) - I briefly mentioned this little-known fact about Summers County history in one of my previous pieces. But I will now go into more detail about this. That is with the limited knowledge I have found on it since finding out about it over 15 years ago.

The late Summers County Historian John Kessler told me this unheard aspect of Pence Springs history, as he knew it is one of my main interests in terms of local history. He told me that before the village of Valley Heights was formed up the holler which branches off from Pence Springs proper behind the spring, it was known as Reno, West Virginia.

I was very intrigued and dug through the limited resources I had at the time. The internet wasn't what it is now in terms of being a tool for history research. I must have performed hundreds of Google searches which uncovered nothing.

As a last-ditch effort, I contacted the late Senator Robert C. Byrd and asked him if he could help me find documentation to prove this piece of history. He came through and sent me documents proving that Reno, W.Va was established on November 15, 1907.

It, however, was short-lived and its name was changed to what is now Valley Heights on March 6, 1908. Valley Heights mail service was discontinued on May 15, 1922, and transferred to Pence Springs. The Pence Springs Post Office remained open until 2011.

The town of Pence Springs started as Stock Yards and was formed on April 16, 1887. It was changed to Pence Springs to honor Andrew Pence on July 18, 1901. I have some old ledger books from the Rhodes Store which housed the post office back in the day that has the name of the town listed as Stock Yards. Every time I think about it it brings the Waltons to mind and the family going into town to Ike Godsey’s store. I can envision there having been someone like Cora Beth. Every small town had at least one person like that back in the day haha.

The little post office building that was used for the community of Reno was moved across the river from Talcott to Robert Lindsey's farm to be used as an outbuilding after it was discontinued. I have seen it and it is a tiny little building probably not 8 feet by 8 feet and had the smallest little covered porch on the front of it.

I am not sure of its exact location but in the photo I used on my piece on the Valley Heights Hotel, there is a little building on the bank that I am inclined to believe was it. That building sat in the same area that John had told me where it sat before Lindsey relocated it to his farm.

Now for another little confusing piece to this tale. In the information Senator Byrd sent me it lists Carrie E. Bennett as having been the first postmistress of Reno. The photo you see here is of presumably “Mr. and Mrs. Bennett on the front porch of their store and post office in Valley Heights around 1910."

So I am assuming that after the name of Reno changed to Valley Heights that Bennet then became the postmistress of the new post office in the recently formed community of Valley Heights. The post office was operated in her and her husband's store, hence the name “Bennetts Store and Post Office."

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