[5] In 1927, McDowell County hired local architect Hassel T. Hicks to design the memorial building, which was opened the following year.

To each of the building's four columns, Ferguson gave a symbolic meaning: faith in America as a country, hope in ending injustice, charity toward others, and service to the greater community.

[2] In the later decades of the twentieth century, the declining coal industry led to a decreased local population, and the memorial fell into disrepair.

The stone, terra cotta, and brick Classical Revival building stood as a ruin for more than a decade until a restoration.

[7] The building now serves as a live cultural resource and is open to a wide variety of programs, including tours, training classes, conferences, planning forums, corporate dinners, and receptions, as well as social gatherings.

[7] The Kimball World War Memorial show aims to mourn the forgotten past of African Americans in West Virginia and to provide a forum for people of all races and from all over the world to come together in a resurrected dialogue on race relations in West Virginia and the United States.