Sandscrest History

For millennia, indigenous Americans enjoyed what is now Sandscrest and its surrounds as hunting grounds and, possibly, as a place of worship. Table Rock, a nearby geological feature, is marked with petroglyphs of creation and other spiritual symbols used by a variety of tribes.
The McColloch family – contemporaries of the Zanes, who founded Wheeling – arrived on the Ohio Valley scene in 1770. Around 1800, the McCollochs cleared untouched forest to begin farming what is now Sandscrest. The oldest surviving building on site – our barn – goes back to this era. Architectural remnants suggest the McCollochs may have built the core of the 1847 main house around their original log cabin.

McColloch descendants sold this nearly 300-acre parcel – originally named Fair View Farm – to Harry and Helen Sands in 1920. Harry Sands – a Cornell University-educated electrical engineer — greatly expanded the main house, built the guest house and launched Sandscrest Farm. The latter was known for using the highest technology of the day for dairy, egg and crop production.
After both Sands died within a few months in 1952, their generous bequests allowed the property to transfer to Sandscrest Foundation, Inc. By the late 1950s, Sandscrest became a retreat ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia.
For a more in-depth history of the property, click on the printer-friendly links below. These chapters are part of a book-length work in development. Future sections will be released on this site. Subscribe to our newsletter using the button at the bottom of this page to receive a notice of their posting directly to your email inbox.
(A disclaimer on the links: History writing is always a work in progress. As new or contradictory information comes to light — particularly as these chapters are read by a broader audience — they may require updating.)
Sandscrest: A Sense of Place, A Sense of Past
143 Sandscrest Drive
Wheeling, West Virginia 26003
304-277-3022
sandscrest.director@wvdiocese.org
Sandscrest is a ministry operated by Sandscrest Foundation, Inc. and the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia.