Happy 100th Anniversary
SPCA of Winchester, Frederick
& Clarke Counties
That's right, the Winchester SPCA was founded in 1907. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the shelter. Throughout this year all our events will be focused on the 100 years of service to the Winchester, Frederick and Clarke County areas. In light of this event we would like to give a little history of the Winchester animal shelter.
The original certificate of incorporation was approved on February 19, 1907 and recorded as The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Winchester, Virginia at the courthouse on March 1, 1907. The purpose was to organize an SPCA within the limits of the City of Winchester, Va. The key points of the original incorporation provided for a board consisting of 20 officers. They were, a President, 5 Vice Presidents, a Council, an assistant Council, a Secretary, a Treasurer, an Agent, a veterinarian, and an executive committee composed of 8 members. The first Board President was Thomas P. Spates. He along with Robert M. Ward, J.W. Taylor, H.S. Larrick, James P. Reardon, R.T. Bryarly and J.R. Doran originally established the Winchester SPCA. The area in which the SPCA could operate was limited to the corporate limits of the city of Winchester. They were allowed to own no more then 5 acres of real estate. The City Hall was used for the first board meeting which were held once a month on the first Thursday at 7:30 P.M.
The first SPCA agent, or animal control officer, was Persell Planks. In 1924 Mrs. Emily Ward was very active in the SPCA. She was the secretary and her husband served as council on the SPCA board. She asked Persell Planks to be the agent because he was willing to work for practically nothing. He was paid $8.00 a month when the funds were available. Most of his calls we related to mistreatment of horses.
There were many years of struggling for the SPCA. In 1937 Miss. Frances Page was doing almost all the work. She was the treasurer and showed a balance of .47 cents. Many years later Elsie Rosenberger took over. She was successful in securing the services of Mr. Ervin S. Cleveland as the SPCA agent.
In 1951 the first shelter was built to help handle the dogs. It was built by Mr. Cleveland who was serving as the SPCA shelter manager and Winchester animal control officer. As the SPCA agent he was paid $50.00 a month. The location of this shelter was on 414 Highland Ave. That was the backyard where Mr. Cleveland lived. It was supposed to be temporary until a permanent location could be found. It ended up being the shelter for 14 years.
Elsie Rosenberger's family owned a lumber business. In the early 1960's that business donated a piece of property on Commerce St. to house the new shelter. Not long after this donation the street became a residential area. Since the property was small anyway it was sold for $5000 to go towards a new location.
On September 17, 1965 Fred L. & Fidelia M. Presgraves sold to the SPCA 2.1/4 acres of property at 115 Featherbed Lane for $19,200. There was a house on the property when it was bought and soon after a small white wooden shed was built to house the dogs.Both these structures are still standing on the SPCA property to this day. During the early 1970's, then SPCA board President Wallace Wiener, increased efforts to raise money to build a larger and more permanent structure to serve as the animal shelter. On October 20, 1974 the new and larger shelter building was opened to replace the old white shed. This is the building that is currently being used. At that time this building was considered a prototype animal shelter by the Humane Society of the United States. For $1.00 they would send you the copies of the building plans to build your own animal shelter. The building featured 14 dog runs, 7 puppy pens, 24 cat cages a heating/air conditioning system that circulated the air every 12 minutes and an on site crematorium.
In 1975 Susan E. Ford, daughter of President Gerald Ford, was the Apple Blossom Queen. While she was in Winchester she came to the newly opened SPCA shelter. It was there she signed the shelter guest book. The SPCA still has that book. In February of 1976 the SPCA changed its name to the SPCA of Winchester, Frederick and Clarke Counties. On June 16, 1986 the City of Winchester entered into an agreement with the Winchester SPCA to be their exclusive city pound. That contract is still in effect. In 2005, in an effort to meet the needs of state requirements for a city shelter, an addition was added on the existing structure. It increased the shelter size by 1500 square feet. Today's SPCA can house about 110 cats and around 50 dogs. There are 2 cat and 2 dog isolation rooms. Additionally the crematorium was upgraded. The SPCA also has an animal awareness program that is taken to area schools and other community organizations.
In 1954 the SPCA handled 230 animals. Today the shelter handles about 3000 animals a year. Besides cats and dogs, we deal with rabbits, hamsters, snakes, guinea pigs, ferrets, birds and all sorts of wildlife. Today the Board of Directors consists of 15 members. There is a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. There is no Council or veterinarian required. They meet once a month on the 3rd Monday at 115 Featherbed Lane in the small building next to the main structure. The area that is now covered by the SPCA is the City of Winchester, Frederick and Clarke Counties. Many things have changed over the last 100 years, but one thing has not. The Winchester, Frederick and Clarke Counties Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is still run by a group of people who care about the welfare of animals and the people of our community.
