WESTON -- The Lewis County Commission wants to knock down the Arnold Edwards house, which currently houses the Lewis County West Virginia University Extension office, to build a courthouse annex. Commission president Bob Rinehart says an annex is needed because the Courthouse is overcrowded. Workers there agree.

"We're really crowded in certain parts of our office - you know, two to three people in each office," says T. Chad Kelley, Lewis County Assessor.

The courthouse is so crowded that it rents the third floor of the post office across the street for storage. Rinehart says $2,000 through $3,000 are spent on storage costs for the courthouse each month. He says the new annex would provide extra storage space, so it would save the county a lot of money.

But not everyone wants the Arnold Edwards house demolished. Some residents say it has a lot of historical and architectural value.

"The interior of it with pocket doors, wood spiral staircase. Plus the outside with the stained glass," says concerned resident James Bandy. But Rinehart says the house is in bad condition and says estimates to fix it have been as high as $600,000. He says an architect's suggestion to knock it down makes sense.

"Looked at everything and determined that this, right next door to the courthouse, would be the best utilization of the tax dollars to design and implement the building," says Rinehart.

Rinehart says the new annex would be built in the same style of the courthouse, but Bandy says it won't be the same.

"If we don't have a past, we don't have a future," says Bandy.

For now, the future of the building is undecided.

Rinehart says the Commission is waiting to hear from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History about whether the house can be knocked down. He says he's not sure when that decision will be made.

Rinehart says the new annex will cost about $6 million, and says federal loans will fund the project.