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The Newsletter Archives is a repository for, not only Newsletters of the past but also, a history archive. Thus, if anyone has factual information of the Association that is not already contained in these pages, please submit your data to the webmaster, or directly to a Board member.

History of The Cacapon Highlands Property Owner's Association, Inc.

The property now known as Cacapon Highlands, was purchased by the Tuscarora Land Company in March, 1980. It was developed into 4 Sections, with 20 lots in Section A, 17 lots in Section B, 31 lots in Section C, and 30 lots in Section D.  Each lot contains at least 5 acres of usable property, with some lots on the ridge containing extra hillside acreage considered unusable for construction. 

At a meeting in March of 1981, the Tuscarora Land Co. turned over ownership of the Cacapon Highlands to a newly established organization called the Cacapon Highlands Property Owners Association. The Association's Board of Trustees was made up of property owners, and became the controlling panel that would operate according to the Covenants and the Constitution and Bylaws as recorded at the Morgan County courthouse. The first recorded Board of Trustees was made up of; John Eaton, Chair; Gus Gruen, Co Chair; Elenore Gay, Secretary; Steve Biegle, Treasurer; Richard Cook, Trustee.

This Board tackled some very touchy subjects like road fees, snow removal, and cabin security. Over the first three or four years break-ins were our biggest concern. There were No Tresspassing signs, security personnel (paid and unpaid), and gates of one kind or another. This combination caused a significant reduction in break-ins over time.

When the Mountain Memo was first published in March 1985, it began a paper trail for this historical archive. It so happens that the gypsy moth invasion began in our area, and it became a major concern, not only to the property owners, but to an extended area of West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.  The northern states had already been devastated by these pests. Spraying, by crop dusters using Dimilin, is the recommended solution. This will be an ongoing event for most areas, and can be costly.

The first 7 years, 1981 to 1988, it was only through good fortune that anyone could get phone and power lines to their cabins. Much of the area had no power lines, and the phones available were split between two carriers. C and P service was a local call to Berkeley Springs, whereas, GTC incurred a toll charge. However, C and P only serviced about a third of the community.

Thanks to Shirley DePaolis, who petitioned the Public Service Commission, both services were able to come to agreement about the coverage. The C and P service area was extended through the whole community, and power lines were also extended without the original exorbitant charges.

In 1993, the Annual Meeting was held at Cacapon State Park and a group portrait was taken, the only group photo taken to date and, I believe, the largest turnout for an Annual Meeting.

Cacapon State Park 1993

One of the notable accomplishments was the installation of an Association sign at the entrance gate in the summer of 1997, and later a similar sign to recognize the North gate. However, things took a turn and the Association in 1998, had to defend itself, in court, to keep loggers from enticing members, with money, for their trees. This ended up putting the Association into a huge debt. The members were assessed $200 per lot. This cost was returned a few years later, through the efforts of Dennis Talley, by reducing their yearly fee by $20 per lot. This caused the Board to keep watch on their budget for a number of years.

The Board, in late 2012, got into a disagreement over the need for insurance and the fear of being sued. Somehow it came to a head in January 2013, four of the five trustees resigned. Sandra Wilson, an alternate, who was one of the protagonists, took the bull by the horns and called for an emergency meeting in February. At the meeting four members were selected for the new interim Board, with Sandra Wilson being the chair person. Immediately the new Board tried to stabilize the situation. The first order of business was the incorporation of the Association, as incorporation provided protection against board members from being sued. Then a Board meeting solved the missing Trustee problem. Past members of the Board were asked to work as liaisons, and a roads committee was established. Thus, a group of diligent individuals became the phoenix that resurrected the new Board of trustees.

The Board has been quite stable since those days thanks to Sandra Wilson's constant urgings. There is still a matter of the tax exempt status of the corporation.

You may search these archives by using this link which also includes survey plats of all four sections of Cacapon Highlands and Documents relating to the Association.

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