For almost half a century, the Shannondale Springs property and much of the larger Shannondale estate remained in the Perry family. In August 1980, Eleanor C.P. Read and T. T. Perry III received title to the Shannondale property through the will of T.T. Perry II. Shortly thereafter, they transferred ownership to 580 acres of the land to The Nature Conservancy. Ownership of the property was transferred to the state of West Virginia in 1986. The entire property is now administered as a hunting and fishing preserve by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.90

In March 1996, the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission obtained a lease from the state of West Virginia on the portion of the Shannondale Springs property where the resort had been located.91 At that time, only two structures on the resort property were still intact — a stone spring house/bathhouse dating from the early period of the resort’s history and a concrete fountain probably dating from Getzendanner’s renovations in 1903.92 The deteriorating spring house/bath house was restored in the Summer of 1997 under a Fairs and Festivals grant from the state of West Virginia (Figures 23 and 24). Using a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office, the Landmarks Commission resurveyed the historic boundaries of the Shannondale Springs resort, collected and analyzed available documentation, identified the locations of many former structures, and prepared a nomination to place Shannondale Springs on The National Register of Historic Places. That nomination was submitted to the State Historic Preservation Office in the summer of 1997.93 (Photos taken during the survey appear in Appendix A.)

Thus far, study of the Shannondale Springs resort has provided important information about the development of the recreation and tourism industries in West Virginia and about the culture of the area during the century of the Springs’ existence. Its role in Virginia Whig politics and in local plans for internal improvements has yet to be fully explored. Much knowledge is yet to be gained from the Springs through archeological investigation and through the rediscovery of long-forgotten documentation. The people who owned or visited Shannondale Springs had the resources and the leisure to describe the resort. Perhaps the current interest in the Springs will help bring these resources to light so that we can understand more about this fascinating part of our past. 34

Figure 23. Shannondale Springs. Bath house, west side, before restoration, 1996. Photographer, Bill Hartgroves.

Figure 24. Shannondale Springs. Restored bath house, looking east. Summer 1997. Photographer, Carmen Creamer.