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Community House (Wilson Warehouse)
This once-busy street contains the town's most important building of the canal era. The imposing six-bay, two-and-a-half-story brick store and warehouse also served as the residence of John S. Wilson. As a center of trade for southwestern Virginia in the mid-nineteenth century, cargo from boats and wagons was stored here for transport on the James River and Kanawha Canal that reached Buchanan in 1851. The building has a tall wooden entablature, stepped parapets on the side elevations, and two transomed front entrances, one that was used for business and the other for the residence. The interior retains the original woodwork, mantels, and cargo elevator. The building is now used for meetings and community events. On the south, a brick garden wall attaches the house to a smokehouse with ventilation openings set in a diamond pattern.
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