By J. Damon Cain and Rick Barbero, The Register-Herald
BECKLEY, W.Va. — The residence of former West Virginia Governor Hulett C. Smith, which is owned by family members of Gov. Jim Justice and located just outside of Beckley on Harper Road near Interstate state-77, was engulfed in flames on Sunday night.
The fire is believed to have started earlier Sunday.
Fire departments from Bradley/Prosperity, Sophia and Mabscott were on the scene at 161 Crestview Dr. as was the Raleigh County sheriff’s department.
The Smith residence had been long abandoned and in a state of disrepair with vulgar messages spray-painted on the three doors of its garage. The garage roof showed effects of neglect with dislodged shingles over much of its surface.
The 1953 house was sold to a developer, the Bellwood Corporation, which is owned by Gov. Justice and family members.
Bellwood had been seeking to redevelop the Smith parcel plus another Justice property, the Briar Patch Golf Course, into a mix of commercial, retail and professional spaces, single-family homes, multi-family apartment complexes and senior living facilities and a nine-hole golf course.
