Did you know that the Nenni Building of Historic Matewan has strong ties to Italian immigration?
John Nenni was an Italian immigrant who had moved to Matewan, and he was the first in his family to own the building. The building remained in operation under the Nenni family for over 100 years until 2013, when the current owner and great-grandson of John Nenni, Eddie Nenni, was no longer able to care for it.
Todd Nenni, Eddie's son, sold the building to Coalfield Development in 2019 with hopes and dreams that they could restore the building and create a community space that would enrich the town of Matewan. Together, that's exactly what we plan on doing: reviving a cornerstone building of the Matewan community and paying tribute to our town’s rich history.
Nenni family in front of Nenni Building in 2002
Since February of 2022, we at the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum have been partnering with Coalfield Development, UMWA Local 1440, and the community members of Mingo County to design a collaborative space and mural within the walls of the historic Nenni Building of Matewan. With seed support from the Institute from Museum and Library Services, these community conversations will guide our work in the building for years to come.
This building has been home to so many businesses and people over the years. For one, a section of the second floor was once the former home of the late Chief of Police of Matewan, Sid Hatfield. He and Jessie Hatfield shared a 5-bedroom apartment up until Sid’s murder in 1921.
What’s more: it’s also been a miners’ union headquarters, the town jewelry store, and of course, a department store. Like so many buildings in southern West Virginia, it is important to our community to bring this legacy back to life. While we’re excited to keep working on the design of Matewan’s newest interpretive space, we don’t have much we can share just yet. But, we are proud to release the mural design that will be showcased on the stairwell.
With the help and guidance of our muralist Joel Dugan, community members co-designed a mural that will present the history of Matewan from the Battle of Matewan, to the tragic flood and rebuilding of the town in 1977.
Here, we are releasing the mural design to the public for the very first time!
““It has been so empowering to work on this design alongside the community members of Matewan, WV. Painting to preserve the history of the working class!””
From the beginning, it has been Joel's mission to bring the history of Matewan back to life within this mural, and with the help of community members, that’s exactly what he did. During our last planning meeting in December, Matewan community members and family members of the Nenni family themselves posed to get their photographs for the mural. These photographs will fuse modern day Matewan with the infamous events that made this town known to be the home of the labor movement.
Stay tuned for more updates from us on the interpretive learning space that will soon call the historic Nenni Building home.
