History

The Old Hemlock Foundation (“Foundation”) was provided for under The Kathryn H. Evans Trust Agreement dated March 25, 1999. The Foundation shall maintain 230 acres of real estate situated on the Brandonville Pike in Preston County, West Virginia, which is known as “Old Hemlock.” The Foundation’s purposes also include charitable, scientific and educational initiatives and will make distributions to several section 501(c)(3) organizations to fulfill those commitments.

Old Hemlock was the home of George Bird and Kathryn Harris Evans. Mr. Evans was a noted artist, author, outdoorsman and dog breeder. Mrs. Evans co-authored, edited and published books and articles. The Old Hemlock property contains virgin hemlock trees and is to be maintained in its natural state as a nature and wildlife preserve. The house located on Old Hemlock was built in about 1815 on property originally deeded in 1782 and is the oldest preserved residence in Preston County, West Virginia.  The property was added to the National Registry of Historic Place in December 16, 2015.