Harmony for Hope revitalizes Mount Hope staircase

MOUNT HOPE, W.Va. (WVVA) - If you’ve been in the Mount Hope area of Fayette County this week, you may have noticed some changes to Main Street.

Since Monday, Alexander Berg, Director of Preservation for Harmony for Hope and AmeriCorps member, has been out doing revitalization work. This week’s efforts have focused on a staircase that sits along Main Street, allowing walkers to travel to houses on the street above without stepping into traffic.

Berg says the stairs were constructed around the 40s or 50s, but haven’t been cleaned in 25 years. They were significantly covered by overgrown brush and buried in dirt.

Without the help of some volunteers, Berg says it has been amazing to watch a piece of the town’s history come back to life.

“We’re trying to restore safe travel between Main Street and houses on the hill because right now there’s no sidewalks on Broad Street,” he shared. “It means everything to preservationists because with my history with West Virginia and also the desire to be preservationists; the desire to bring back the infrastructure and things that helped made lives easier for our citizens.”

Berg says he has now entered the finishing stages of the project. He hopes to finish up on Thursday.

Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.