This residential complex of twenty-five duplex houses was built to replace the Sugar Creek coal mining camp, a notorious slum that consisted primarily of board-and-batten “Jenny Lind” houses. The project, a joint effort of the city and the U.S. Housing Authority, received wide publicity because Mount Hope was the nation's smallest community to receive grants from an agency that Franklin D. Roosevelt created primarily to eradicate slum conditions in metropolitan areas.
The row is handsomely sited on a level terrace high above a winding street, overlooking Sugar Creek. Each duplex contains an entrance in the gable end, with longer side walls facing the street. Originally clad with shingles, these well-maintained houses now have artificial siding. Designed by a prominent West Virginia architect, this project is a testimonial to a community's and a nation's response to need.