The Exchange Bank of Virginia and the Lewis Maxwell House

The Exchange Bank of Virginia and the Lewis Maxwell House. . , The Exchange Bank of Virginia located at 133 Center Ave was the first bank in Weston and only the fifth bank in Western Virginia from 1853 to 1875., During the civil war the bank held $30,000 in gold that was intended to pay for the construction of the new state hospital. On the morning of June 30, 1861, the banks cashier was Robert J. McCandlish who lived in the upstairs quarters., Awakened by a commotion, McCandlish appeared at the front door where armed troops from the Seventh Ohio Infantry demanded he turn over the contents of the vault. McCandlish objected, however there was nothing he could do., The vault was opened and $27,000 in gold coin was removed. This money was taken to Wheeling where it would help fund the new State of Virginia which, in 1863 became West Virginia the only state created by Presidential Decree., (captions) , The home, pictured below right, was built in 1820 by Lewis Maxwell's brother Levi, across from the first building in Weston. It was the location of the first telephone in Weston in 1855. In 1867 The Democrat publication moved into the annex next door and remained until it relocated to Main Ave in 1875 at which time the post office moved to the newly vacant annex., The home and annex were torn down in 1933 for the construction of the new Federal Post office in Weston which stands today (below left)., The National Exchange Bank in Weston printed money from 1865 until 1932 for a total of 68 years of printing. This is considered a very long printing period for a national bank.