1859 custom house where West Virginia was born — and where staff still get shoved on the stairs
1528 Market Street, Wheeling, WV 26003
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Museum admission is free; the seasonal Ghost Walk fundraiser is about $10 per person
Access
Wheelchair OK
Restored three-story masonry building with stairs to upper floors; elevator on site
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1859 · Birthplace of West Virginia statehood · Civil War Unionist convention site · Federal custom house architecture
West Virginia Independence Hall was completed in 1859 as the United States Custom House at Market and Sixteenth Streets in Wheeling, housing a federal courtroom, post office, and other offices. The Italianate building was designed by Ammi B. Young, supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury.
When Virginia voted to secede in 1861, Unionists in the state's northwestern counties gathered in Wheeling. The First and Second Wheeling Conventions met in the building and established the Reorganized Government of Virginia, the legal step that allowed the new state of West Virginia to be admitted to the Union in 1863. For that reason the structure is regarded as the birthplace of the state.
The building later passed out of federal use and fell into decline before the state of West Virginia purchased it and carried out an extensive restoration in the 1960s. It reopened as a museum and is operated today by the West Virginia Division of Arts, Culture and History, with a restored courtroom tied to Civil War-era judge John Jay Jackson Jr. and exhibits on the statehood movement. Admission to the museum is free.
Sources
Reports of unexplained activity at Independence Hall have been documented by named staff over many years. Longtime employee Bruce Cooey told The Intelligencer in 2016 that something shoved him in the back in a second-floor hallway, that he watched a fire extinguisher come off its wall bracket and roll across the floor, and that a visitor reported seeing an apparition in the restoration room. Site director Debbie Jones described hearing unexplained noises in her upstairs office near the courtroom once used by Judge John Jay Jackson Jr.
Former site manager Gerry Reilly later told Lede News that he had experienced lights turning off on their own, objects moving, and sounds with no clear source, adding that nearly everyone who works in the building has a story to tell. Reported phenomena over the years include footsteps with no visible source, an erratically operating elevator, doors slamming, and lights flickering.
The West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation leans into that reputation each October with a ticketed Ghost Walk fundraiser, during which guides recount the documented encounters. The program supports the volunteer foundation that helps maintain the historic site.
Notable Entities
Tour the restored 1859 custom house where delegates to the Wheeling Conventions formed the Reorganized Government of Virginia and set West Virginia on the path to statehood. The building includes a restored federal courtroom and museum exhibits operated by the West Virginia Division of Arts, Culture and History.
Each October the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation runs a ticketed Ghost Walk, with timed evening tours that recount the building's documented staff encounters. Reservations are made by phone and proceeds support the volunteer foundation. Not recommended for children 12 and under.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Morgantown, WV
The Morgantown Public Library opened in 1964 as a one-story building with a basement on Spruce Street in downtown Morgantown. Two private homes had to be razed before construction could begin, and the building has served as the city's public library since.
Point Pleasant, WV
The Mothman Museum on Main Street in Point Pleasant documents the 1966-67 reports of a winged, red-eyed figure seen around the town. Opened by Point Pleasant native Jeff Wamsley to house the archival material he had collected, it anchors the town's annual Mothman Festival and its dark-tourism economy.
Parkersburg, WV
The Parkersburg Art Center occupies the site of the Camden Theater, which opened as an opera house on September 10, 1902. The theater began showing films in the 1910s and burned down in 1929. The art center now stands on that former theater location in downtown Parkersburg.