 Following the war, the residents of Romney set about repairing public buildings and reestablishing the town's antebellum institutions, including the Romney Literary Society. The society remained on a hiatus until May 15, 1869 when a meeting was held by nine members, as only nine original members had responded to the call for reorganization. These nine members tasked with rebuilding the society were James L. Armstrong, David Entler, William Harper, John C. Heiskell, Andrew Wodrow Kercheval, Samuel R. Lupton, James Parsons, Alfred P. White, and Robert White. These men sought to collect what remained of the library's books and engaged in a campaign to recruit new members, which resulted in the enrollment of 20 younger men over a period of a few years. Many of the men who had been members in 1861 had died during the war, and the recruitment of new members was essential to the revival of the society. Among the new members elected between 1869 and 1886 were John Collins Covell, Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy, Henry Bell Gilkeson, Howard Hille Johnson, and Christian Streit White. The society, with renewed vigor, took a lead role in Romney's civil development during the Reconstruction Era.
