Charleston

Intrinsic Qualities in their Context - Surroundings
c T. Paige Dalporto
Midland Trail is Made Up Of Small Towns
Midland Trail Town Pages
Kenova
5.2
Kenova, a small river city founded in 1889, is
named for the three states that converge there:
Kentucky Ohio, and West Virginia. (WV formed
1863).
Beautiful Virginia Point Park is situated at the
western-most point of West Virginia and is located
at the confluence of the Big Sandy and Ohio
Rivers. The park’s scenic qualities are enhanced
by its recreational facilities: soccer fields, softball
field, camping hook-ups, and gazebo/shelter.
Historic Dreamland Pool, built in 1927, provides
additional recreational opportunities.
While
visitors can no longer enjoy the open-air dance
pavilion, orchestras, and entertainers that attracted
large crowds in the 1940s, the facility continues to
afford a good time with its pool, tennis courts, and
basketball courts.
The Kenova Historical Museum Commission
houses an extensive collection by native
companies Pilgrim and Kemple. A large railroad
steam engine outside the Museum acknowledges
the town’s rich railroad history.
Kenova
River town at the western-most point in WV & the juncture of Big Sandy and Ohio Rivers
Scenic - Virginia Point Park - Juncture of Big Sandy and Ohio Rivers
Natural - Big Sandy and Ohio Rivers
Recreational - Virginia Point Park and Dreamland Pool
(Nearby: Beech Fork State Park/Beech Fork Lake)
Historical - Kenova Historical Commission Museum,
The Pumpkin House, Feil and Griffith Pharmacy, and Dreamland Pool
Cultural - Kenova Historical Commission Museum
The 1891 Victorian home located
at 748 Beech Street is listed on the
National Historic Register and was
once visited by President Grover
Cleveland. It is also known as the
Pumpkin House, because of the
over 3000 hand-carved Jack-oLanterns which adorn it each
Halloween.
The inviting gazebo, fountain and
town clock at Towne Square Park
near City Hall is the scene of
concerts
and
community
activities.
A newly refurbished 1929-era
soda fountain and collection of
historic town pictures can be
found at Griffith and Feil Pharmacy
on Chestnut Street, open since
1892.
Virginia Point Park Juncture of Big Sandy and Ohio Rivers
Charleston
Huntington
Lewisburg
Kenova Mile Marker 0, Population 3485, Elevation 567 feet
Ceredo
5.3
Massachusetts Congressman Eli Thayer founded
Ceredo in 1857. Thayer traveled through southern
states for the sole purpose of choosing land for a
new city, one in which he and other abolitionists
would live, work, become leaders and join nearby
northern states in the fight against slavery. He
chose a tract of land in the fertile Ohio River Valley
and named the new town Ceredo, after Ceres,
Goddess of Grain and Harvest.
Ceredo makes important contributions to a
primary industry of Southern West Virginia and
Eastern Kentucky, the coal industry. A working
coal tipple operated by Kanawha River Terminal,
Inc has annual throughput capacity of nine million
tons of coal. Of note is the attractive windscreen,
which serves to help blend industry with the
important natural scenery of the area.
The stately red brick, Ramsdell House (circa 1857),
believed to be a part of the Underground Railroad,
has been restored by the Ceredo Historical
Landmark Commission and is now on the National
Historic register.
The Ceredo Museum, home to the Ceredo
Historical Society and the Ceredo-Kenova Railroad
Museum, features Civil War and railroad
memorabilia, the Ceredo Petroglyph (the largest
and best preserved in the U.S.), an extensive
historical library with census data and a collection
of handblown glass dating back over 50 years.
Ceredo
Founded in 1857 by northern abolitionist Congressman Eli Thayer to prove a
society could work without slavery!
Historical - Ceredo Historical Society Museum, Ceredo-Kenova Railroad
Museum, Working Coal Tipple (Riverside Synfuel/Ceredo Synfuel, LLC),
and Ramsdell House
Cultural - Ceredo Historical Society Museum
Industrial Heritage - Ceredo-Kenova Railroad Museum and Working Coal
Tipple (Riverside Synfuel/Ceredo Synfuel, L.L.C. Kanawha River Terminals)
Archaeological - Ceredo Petroglyph
Ramsdell House (circa 1857) believed to have been a
part of the Underground Railroad.
The Ceredo Petroglyph
Charleston
Huntington
Lewisburg
Ceredo
Mile 3, Population 1675, Elevation 554 feet
A pleasant, well-designed city, WV’s second largest city, situated on the
banks of the Ohio River and home to Marshall University.
Scenic - Midland Trail meets the Ohio and Guyandotte Rivers near 29th
Sreet and then follows the Ohio through Huntington, offering riverside
parks and vistas
Natural - Ohio River and Guyandotte River
Recreational - Camden Park, Harris Riverfront Park, Ritter Park and Rose
Garden, and Guyandotte Riverfront Park
Historical - Camden Park Amusement Park, Museum of Radio Technology,
Heritage Farm Museum and Village, Old Central City, Marshall University,
and Guyandotte Historical Area
Cultural - Huntington Museum of Art, Museum of Radio Technology,
Heritage Farm Museum and Village, Marshall University, Classic Cars
Automotive Museum, Old Central City 14th Street West area, Joan C. and
Edwards Performing Arts Center
Industrial Heritage - Inco Alloys Plant
Huntington is a beautifully designed city, with its
downtown situated on the banks of the Ohio River.
It began as the dream of railroad magnate, Collis P.
Huntington during the industrial revolution,
Huntington needed a town to serve as a terminus
between the East Coast and Midwest rail lines and
the city was born. It has continued to thrive
because of its advantageous location on the Ohio
River.
Along with scenic views provided by the Ohio
River, Huntington offers many recreational
opportunities. Harris Riverfront Park, an ideal
setting for family outings, picnics and walks, also
offers festivals, carnivals, and concerts.
5.4
Huntington
Huntington
On the south side of town, adults and children
enjoy unwinding at the 70-acre Ritter Park with
tennis courts, a fabulous playground, jogging
trails, and room to play. In late spring, enjoy the
park’s accredited Rose Garden. Beech Fork State
Park and Lake offers another nearby recreational
opportunity.
Charleston
Huntington
Lewisburg
Huntington Mile 10, Population 51,475, Elevation 564 feet
Huntington
A pleasant, well-designed city, WV’s second largest city, situated on the
banks of the Ohio River and home to Marshall University.
Camden Park (1903), West Virginia’s only
amusement park, is just west of town. The park
offers 24 rides, including Kiddieland, old-time
wooden roller coasters, and a log flume.
History and culture are also important to
Huntington.
The Museum of Radio and
Technology is the largest radio museum in the
United States and also exhibits hundreds of
telegraph items, early televisions, and computers.
The Heritage Farm Museum and Village recreates
and preserves Appalachian heritage and culture,
with its more than 17 restored buildings.
Marshall University’s beautiful campus lies
between 16th and 22nd Streets and Third and Fifth
Avenues.
More than 150-years old, the
University’s twelve colleges and schools educate
about 16,000 students. Marshall also hosts
numerous art exhibits, concerts, lectures, and
other cultural events. The Joan C. Edwards
Performing Arts Center seats 530 people.
Art lovers will appreciate the nationally acclaimed
Huntington Museum of Art, which features 19th
and 20th Century American and European art and
artifacts. The complex includes 10 exhibition
galleries and sculpture garden.
Central City (1839-1909) began as an independent
manufacturing town just west of Huntington, but
was annexed by Huntington in 1909. Its early
industries included Heiner’s Bakery, today a
leading national bakery. Now known
as Old Central City, the 14th Street
West antique district, makes both
history and Appalachian culture
available to the public.
Huntington
5.5
Special Metals Corporation offers a
glimpse of the city’s industrial
heritage.
Huntington Alloys, a
division of Inco Alloys, began life as
a processing mill for nickel alloys in
1922.
Throughout the years,
research and development became a
key component of the Huntington
facility. The facility can boast that
researchers
in
Huntington
developed many of the currently
manufactured nickel alloy products
on the market today.
Charleston
Huntington
Lewisburg
Huntington
Mile 10, Population 51,475, Elevation 564 feet
One of the Byway’s oldest towns, Barboursville is a perfect blend of quaint and suburban.
Natural - √Guyandotte and Mud Rivers
Recreational - Barboursville Community Park and Main Street Park
Historical - Toll House and Historical Walking Tour of thirty-plus buildings
Barboursville, near the junction of the Guyandotte
and Mud Rivers, once was rich hunting grounds
for Shawnee Indians. The town was chartered by
the Virginia General Assembly in 1813 and served
as the county seat until after the Civil War.
When Route 60 was built through Barboursville in
1930 it bypassed Main Street and the once busy
thoroughfare through town became quiet.
Barboursville now offers the perfect blend of old
and new, with a quaint historical downtown and
the sprawling Huntington Mall.
The 750-acre Barboursville Community Park
(see next page) offers many recreational
activities including fishing, golf, hiking,
horseshoes, and tennis. The park hosts a July
4th celebration and the West Virginia Soccer
Tournament. A new amphitheater will be
used for plays and concerts. Like parks in
towns across America, Barboursville’s Main Street
Park, provides a place for townspeople and
visitors to relax and socialize.
5.6
Barboursville
Barboursville
A Historical Walking Tour of over 30
buildings along Main and Central
Avenues allows visitors to get a feeling
for the “old.” One building, Toll House
(1837) is a log cabin now on Main
Street, but originally located near the
junction of the Mud and Guyandotte
Rivers, the point where a ferryman
collected tolls.
Above Right: Toll House (1837)
Right: Thornburg House
Two of thirty-plus buildings on
Historical Walking Tour
Charleston
Huntington
Nancy Cartmill Park, Barboursville
Barboursville
Mile 18, Population 3183, Elevation 572 feet
Lewisburg
Barboursville
Barboursville
5.7
The Barboursville Community Park offers many
recreational activities including fishing, golf, hiking,
horseshoes, and tennis.
Part of the goal of the Town Pages
section is to show Intrinsic Qualities in
their context, or surroundings. While
this is sometimes a challenge to convey
in pictures, we do want to pause here,
“pull back the camera” and give an idea
of
the
surroundings
for
the
Barboursville
Intrinsic
Qualities
described on the previous page.
Charleston
Huntington
Barboursville
Mile 18, Population 3183, Elevation 572 feet
Lewisburg
Milton
5.8
Milton
Watch world-famous Blenko Glass being handblown in this historic town.
Scenic - Pumpkin Park
Historical - Morris Memorial Home, Restored Covered Bridge, and
Union Baptist Church
Cultural - Blenko Glass and WV Pumpkin Festival
Milton celebrates American life, past and present.
Incorporated in September of 1876, the town
became open to traffic from the James River
Turnpike with the opening of a covered bridge that
same year. The picturesque covered bridge has
been reconstructed and now sets the tone at
Pumpkin Park, home of the West Virginia Pumpkin
Festival and Cabell County Fair.
Two historical buildings of note are Union Baptist
Church and Morris Memorial and Convalescent
and Nursing Home. In 1788 the “Union Church”
was built as a log structure at the present site of
the old Union cemetery. Settlers of various faiths
were served until 1810 when Reverend John Lee
and Reverend John Alderson organized the
“Union Missionary Baptist Church.”
In 1847, the congregation purchased a piece of
property 600 yards east of the old church.
Dedicated in 1849, that
sanctuary still serves as a
place of worship for local
residents.
During the Civil War, Union Troops used the facility
as a garrison to protect the one lane covered
bridge that crossed the Mud River, just below the
church. The covered bridge was a vital link in the
James River and Kanawha Turnpikes. By war’s
end, the troops had completely gutted the church.
Union Baptist Church was restored by 1867 and
regular services resumed. Since that time, it has
grown and additions made to meet the needs of
the expanding Milton community.
Milton is also home of world-famous Blenko Glass.
William Blenko, the London-born founder,
imported the European mouth blown process to
Milton in 1921. Blenko Glass allows visitors to
watch as skilled craftsmen transform molten glass
into its final form using a 1000 year-old tradition of
hand blowing. The Blenko Visitor Center offers an
observation deck, beautiful museum exhibits of
stained glass, and gift shop. Also, see Blenko
stained glass windows throughout the sanctuary
of Milton Baptist Church and in Washington, DC’s
National Catherhal Rose Window and other
windows around the world.
Charleston
Huntington
Milton
Mile 29, Population 3183, Elevation 572 feet
Lewisburg
Hurricane
The City of Murals.
Recreational - Waves of Fun at Valley Park, Skate Park at Hurricane City
Park
Historical - History Row Caboose Museum, Plantation Corner and Murals
Depicting Civil War and Railroading History, Reenactment of the Battle of
Scary Creek and the Skirmish of Hurricane Creek Bridge (Hurricane), and
Mary Ingles Encampment (Winfield)
Archaeological - History Row Native American Petroglyph (Hurricane)
Cultural - Quilts by Phyllis (Hurricane), Reenactment of the Battle of Scary
Creek and the Skirmish of Hurricane Creek Bridge (Hurricane), Mary Ingles
Encampment (Winfield)
Industrial Heritage - Caboose Museum (Hurricane)
Named for a Revolutionary War general, Putnam
County is proud of its rich history. As one of the
fastest growing counties in West Virginia, it is also
known as an economically progressive county
with much to offer new businesses and new
residents.
Putnam County has achieved important economic
growth through recruitment of the recently build
Toyota plant in Buffalo and the cooperative
economic development efforts of Advantage
Valley. Waves of Fun Water Park in Hurricane’s
Valley Park and a Skate Park in Hurricane City Park
are evidence of recreational activities found in the
county as a result of growth.
Hurricane
5.9
Much of Putnam County’s recorded history
centers on the town of Hurricane. Its origins were
that of a stagecoach stop and livestock market.
Subsequent growth occurred as a result of
proximity to Collis P. Huntington’s railroad in the
1880s and construction of Interstate 64 in the
1960s.
History Row, in the center of Hurricane, provides a
glimpse of the past and includes the “Caboose
Museum,” which offers railroad memorabilia and
other historical artifacts.
A 77-inch Native
American Petroglyph depicting the ancient “WaterMonster’s Daughter,” a prized archaeological find,
sits outside the museum.
Charleston
Huntington
Hurricane
Mile 33, Population 5222, Elevation 667 feet
Lewisburg
Hurricane
The City of Murals.
Murals depicting the community’s rich Civil War
and railroading history are found on various
downtown buildings. Hurricane’s restored homes
house private residences and shops, for example,
Plantation Corner, which is housed in a Federal
Style house built in 1885. Cultural and history are
alive in other ways. Quilts by Phyllis offers quilting
fabrics, services, and classes, which allow this
important domestic skill to be passed to a new
generation.
Americans and her later escape. In March, Valley
Park hosts the Civil War Reenactment Weekend.
Over 300 reenactors commemorate the Skirmish
at Hurricane Bridge and the Battle of Scary Creek
with everything from battle maneuvers to a Civil
War Ball.
Hurricane
5.10
Individuals can take part in Living History by
walking the Mary Ingles Trail near Winfield and by
talking to actors portraying colonists from 1757
who tell the story of Mary Ingles’ capture by Native
Charleston
Huntington
Hurricane
Mile 33, Population 5222, Elevation 667 feet
Lewisburg
An well-known archaeological site, downtown dating to 1816, sits on 2000 acres owned by
George Washington, Civil War history.
Scenic and Natural - Byway follows Kanawha River providing views from pulloffs
and roadside parks
Recreational - St. Albans Roadside Park (playground, picnic, day use, boat ramp)
Historical - Historic Sidewalk Tours, Morgan’s Plantation Kitchen, St. Mark’s
Episcopal Church, Turner-Callihan House, Navigating the Kanawha Through History
Archaeological - St. Albans Native American Site Archaic People (7000-1000 B.C.)
Cultural - Pioneer Days Reenactment
St. Albans offers two distinct areas to explore – the
scenic and archeologically important riverside and
the quaint, historical downtown.
Route 60 hugs the Kanawha River through St.
Albans offering beautiful scenic views, especially
at St. Albans Roadside Park, which offers a
playground, picnic facilities, and a boat ramp.
Just east of Roadside Park is the site of an early
Native American settlement, the Archaic People
(7000-1000 B.C.).
During an archeological
excavation in the late 1960s, it was determined to
be one of the first permanent settlements in
present-day West Virginia.
The early Kanawha River attracted early Native
Americans because of the abundance of food it
produced. Later, it made important contributions
to the culture and history of the area because of its
role in the development of transportation and
economic growth, most importantly carrying coal
and other goods to market. The West Virginia
Department of Transportation presents the
opportunity to discover river history at Navigating
the Kanawha through History, held at St. Albans
Roadside Park.
5.11
St. Albans
St. Albans
Morgan’s Plantation Kitchen, also located on the
scenic riverfront, is a good example of a detached
kitchen typical of the 1840s. Originally part of
Morgan’s Plantation, near the present John Amos
Power Plant, Union soldiers were served meals in
the Kitchen during the Battle of Scary Creek, the
area’s first significant battle of the Civil War.
In town, the St. Albans Main Street Historic District
dates back to 1816 and is listed on the National
Register. Brochures available at City Hall help to
guide visitors on the Historic St. Albans Sidewalk
tour, featuring 26 properties. The tour begins with
St. Marks Episcopal Church (circa 1847), occupied
by Federal troops and their horses during the Civil
War, and ends with the Turner/Callihan House
(circa 1832), a one-and-a-half story Gothic Revival.
Charleston
Huntington
St. Albans
Mile 45, Population 11,567, Elevation 596 feet
Lewisburg
St. Albans
St. Albans Riverside
George Washington recognized the value of the riverfront land at present day St. Albans and established a 2000acre tract called Cole River Tract in 1774. The Byway runs along the riverside at St. Albans. St. Albans Roadside
Park is directly on the Byway and provides visitors picnic and playground facilities and fabulous views of the Great
Kanawha River. St. Albans Riverfest brings in sternwheelers, fireworks, and entertainment. MTSHA is partnering
with St. Albans to assure continued growth of the new annual Frontier Reenactment.
St. Albans Downtown
5.12
St. Albans
Two distinct areas to explore – the scenic and archaeologically important riverside and the
quaint, historical downtown.
Morgan’s Kitchen (circa 1846): On July 16, 1861, the day
before the Battle of Scary Creek, Union troops
commanded by General Jacob Cox camped on the
nearby Morgan Estate and ate in this kitchen. It was
relocated to this site on the Byway and Kanawha River.
Ravenswood House (above) and the restored Train station (right) are part of the downtown
Historical Tour.
5.13
Approximately 10 mile excursion on the opposite side of the Kanawha River.
Scenic - Dunbar Wine Cellar Park
Natural -Kanawha River
Archaeological - Shawnee Reservation Mound and approximately ten other burial mounds
Recreational - Shawnee Park, Wine Cellar Park, Nitro BMX Track and Ridenour Lake
Historical - George Washington surveyed and owned land in the area, WV State University, Historic
East Hall, Cabell Cemetery, Wine Cellar Park, and nearby Nitro War Museum and Civil War Battle
of Scary Creek
Cultural - WVSU, a historically black college and Booker T. Washington Institute
St.Albans-Nitro Bridge spans the Great
Kanawha River giving access to an
interesting side trip on Route 25.
Across the Kanawha River and intermittently in the
direct viewshed of the Midland Trail, Route 25 runs
8 miles between the Nitro-St.Albans Bridge and
the Dunbar Bridge.
Native Americans who originally inhabited this
area on both sides of the Kanawha River (1000 B.C.
- A.D. 500) built a large complex of burial mounds.
Eleven of the remaining mounds are on the north
side of the Kanawha River.
In the late 1700s much of the land along Route 25
was surveyed by George Washington and given to
leaders in his regiments for their military service.
Nitro
Created by the U.S. government to produce
nitroglycerin for the war effort during WWI
Nitro was born when the U.S. government, caught
short of gunpowder during World War I, launched
a crash project to build a manufacturing plant for
the explosive nitroglycerin and homes for the plant
workers. Although the war
ended just after the first
shipment of explosives was
sent to the front, the chemical
industry continued to grow in
the area, providing jobs and
good standard of living.
Today,
many
industrial
companies
and
antique
dealers are based in Nitro.
(continued next page)
Getting There:
Access Route 25 and the
north side of the Kanawha
River by crossing the St.
Albans-Nitro Bridge;
or in South Charleston, use
the Dunbar Bridge for an
interesting trip along the
Nitro-Institute-Dunbar
Route 25 loop.
Nitro-Institute-Dunbar Loop
Nitro-Institute-Dunbar Loop
I-64
Huntington
Rt. 25
Nitro
Roxalana Rd.
Rt. 25
Institute
West Virginia
State College
Nitro St. Albans
Bridge
St. Albans
Dunbar
Rt. 25
Dunbar
Shawnee Park
K anaw ha R iver
MacCorkle Ave. Rt. 60
Midland Trail
Dunbar
Bridge
South Charleston
Charleston
Population? Nitro 6824, Dunbar 8154, Institute
Home of WV State University, a historically black
college on the Great Kanawha River, with a rich
unique history - “a living laboratory of human
relations.”
Originally the rich river valley of Institute was
home to Samuel Cabell and known as the Cabell
Plantation.
Unprecedented at the time, Cabell willed the
plantation to his slave mistress, Mary Barnes.
Upon Cabell’s death in 1865, Mary Barnes and
their thirteen children inherited the plantation.
When the state of West Virginia was looking for land
to build a land-grant instituion for AfricanAmericans in 1890, one of Cabell’s daughters,
Marina, agreed to sell thiry- acres of the land to the
state.
5.14
department, President’s home, and most recently
the College’s Office of Planning and Advancement.
Named to the National Register of Historic Places,
distinguished visitors to the home include Booker T.
Washington, Dr. George Washington Carver, Dr. W.
E. B. Dubois, Mary McLeod Bethune, Dr. Carter G.
Woodson and Eleanor Roosevelt.
The University’s Drain-Jordan Library has a
collection of African-American artifacts relative to
local history. The University’s Booker T.
Washington Institute “preserves and promotes the
rich legacy” of the famous educator who once
made his home in the area.
West Virginia State University
West Virginia Colored Institute, later West Virginia
State College, opened on the site for an
"experimental term" in 1891. The
first two students to enroll, Lottie
Brown and Flayvilla Brown, were
Cabell descendants.
In 2004, WV State College gained
University status and now serves
a diverse student population of
5000, while preserving its landgrant heritage with research and
community outreach projects.
Graves of
plantation owner
Samuel Cabell
and his slave
mistress, Mary
Barnes, are on
the WVSU
campus.
The graves of Samuel Cabell, his
slave mistress, and others are
found on what is now the
campus of West Virginia State
University.
East Hall, built in 1893, has
served as a dormitory, library,
chemistry laboratory, printing
Nitro-Institute-Dunbar Loop
Institute
Historic East Hall, circa 1893, is on
National Register of Historic Places
West Virginia State University
Charleston
Huntington
Nitro-Dunbar-InstituteLoop
Nitro / Dunbar
Population: Nitro 6824, Dunbar 8154
Lewisburg
Shawnee Park
Recreation and archaeology
Shawnee Park, operated by Kanawha County Parks
and Recreation, serves the community with its
boat ramp, golf course, swimming pool, picnic
facilities, playground, and tennis and basketball
courts.
The Shawnee Reservation Mound mentioned
under archaeology is located here.
Three large, restored, stone walk-in wine
cellars still stand. They date pre-Civil War
and were used to store wine made on the
premises from grapes grown in the
vineyards there. The park is enjoyable for
picnics, family gatherings, and fishing at its
well-stocked seven-acre lake.
Dunbar
Ancient Burial Mound in Shawnee Park
George Washington was the first landholder of this
town steeped in history.
Dunbar, like most of the area, is on land originally
occupied by the Native Americans known as
Mound Builders. Archaeologists have identified
eleven remaining mounds in the residental areas
of Dunbar. (See Archaeological Qualities).
Nitro-Institute-Dunbar Loop
5.15
First surveyed in 1774, the land was granted to
George Washington for his military service. It is
believed the town is named for Mary Dunbar, who
inherited the land from her ancestor, Washington.
Dunbar Pocket Park
In 1912, the farming community began to evolve
into an industrial community with the opening of
glass and bottling plants. The Gravely Plow,
invented and patented in Dunbar in 1916, was
produced here until the plant’s move to Ohio.
Dunbar boasts several parks, including Wine Cellar
Park, listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
Dunbar Wine Cellars
Charleston
Huntington
Nitro-Dunbar-InstituteLoop
Nitro / Dunbar
Population: Nitro 6824, Dunbar 8154
Lewisburg
South Charleston
“The Chemical Capital of the World.”
Scenic and Natural – Little Creek Park and Kanawha River
Recreational - Rock Lake Putt-Putt Golf and Games, Little Creek Park, South
Charleston Memorial Ice Arena, and South Charleston Community Center
Historical - South Charleston Museum
Archaeological - Adena Indian Mound
Cultural - Rock Lake Pool and South Charleston Museum
Industrial Heritage - Dow Chemical
The South Charleston Adena Mound, the second
largest Native American burial mound in the state,
is situated directly on the Midland Trail Byway and
provides the centerpiece for downtown South
Charleston.
The Adena culture existed 1000 B.C. to 500 A.D.
The Adena tended to be less transient and
established villages and gardens.
The
Smithsonian Institute excavated the South
Charleston mound in 1883 and 1884.
Archaeologists found skeletons, jewelry, and
weapons, all of which are today maintained at the
Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. (See
Archaelogical Quality for more info).
South Charleston is a unique blend of past and
present, urban and rural – a diverse and friendly
town.Although South Charleston is an active city
of commerce and industry, its residents and
visitors enjoy nature and recreation in a variety of
settings.
Birders can identify eight species of wood
warblers. In winter, kinglets, pine siskin, and other
winter birds find shelter in the hemlocks. The trail
boasts 240 species of plants, five species of
salamanders, two species of toads, and numerous
mammals.
Little Creek Park also has West
Virginia’s only lighted Soap Box
Derby Track, which hosts several
races and events Spring through
autumn.
South Charleston
5.16
Rock Lake Putt-Putt Golf and Games
offers fun for the young and young at
heart with three 18-hole courses, gocart racings, arcade games, and Laser
Storm on the site of the former Rock
Lake Pool, which was converted from
a rock quarry in the 1930s.
Charleston
Little Creek Park is comprised of over 300 acres of
scenic, hilly woodlands. Its Trace Fork Canyon
Trail is an island of wilderness in an urban setting.
Huntington
South Charleston
Mile 55 Population 13,390 Elevation 599 feet
Lewisburg
South Charleston
One of the largest city-owned recreational
facilities, the South Charleston Community Center,
houses a 25-meter indoor swimming pool, two
racquetball courts, basketball courts, tanning beds,
and a health club. The gym has seating for 1500
and is open daily.
South Charleston
The South Charleston Memorial Ice Arena, a newly
opened state-of-the-art facility, has an arcade,
heated seating area for 500, an official size rink for
both hockey team play and figure skating clubs,
plus public skating.
5.17
dedicated in 1949 and
currently with the 651-acre
South Charleston Technology
Park, a campus-like setting
home to more than 381 labs,
as well as chemical pilot
plants,
a
computer
operations center, and an
engineering center.
While serving the present, South Charleston also
values the past. The South Charleston Museum is
housed in the historic Art-Deco style, LaBelle
Theatre.
The museum actively seeks new acquisitions
relating to the history of the South Charleston and
the Kanawha Valley. It currently holds collections
of photographs and written material, chemical and
industrial histories, and Native American artifacts.
The city’s ability to provide these opportunities is
possible because of its long relationship with the
chemical industry. South Charleston was once
known as the chemical capitol of the world. Union
Carbide Corporations/West Virginia Operations, a
wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical
Company since 200l, has two operations in South
Charleston: the South Charleston manufacturing
site and the South Charleston Technology Park.
The South Charleston manufacturing site
produces approximately 400 million pounds of
different chemicals and plastics for a variety of
product applications.
It has made historic
contributions to the chemical industry as well, first
with the South Charleston Technical Center,
The newly restored LaBelle
Theater will adjoin the planned
South Charleston Mound
Midland Trail Interpretative
Center, scheduled to open in
2006 and funded by the U.S.
Federal Transportation
Administration ‘s Transportation
Enhancement Program through
WV Division of Highways.
Charleston
Huntington
South Charleston
Mile 55, Population 13,390, Elevation 599 feet
Lewisburg
Charleston, one of America’s most beautiful capital cities, is easily recognized by its gold
domed WV Capitol Complex, standing like a temple of democracy on the banks of the
Great Kanawha River. The Midland Trail follows the Great Kanawha through Charleston,
with the MT National Scenic Byway joining the State Scenic Byway at the front steps of
the State Capitol.
Scenic and Natural - Views of Kanawha River, Elk River, and mountains
Recreational - Charleston Power BallPark, Daniel Boone Park, Cato Park,
Haddad Riverfront Park, and Magic Island Nearby: Coonskin Park
Historical - WV State Capitol Complex and Holly Grove Mansion, East End
Historical District, Craik-Patton House, Ruffner Log Cabin, downtown
buildings, Historic Shrewsbury Street with significant African-American
historical sites, and Spring Hill Cemetery
Cultural - Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences WV, WV Cultural Center,
Vandalia Gathering, Mountain Stage, Craik-Patton House, Ruffner Log
Cabin, and University of Charleston’s Erma Byrd Gallery
5.18
Charleston
Charleston
Routing
In Charleston, the Midland Trail Byway follows the
Great Kanawha River from Daniel Boone Park
along Kanawha Boulevard, in front of the Capitol
Complex, through downtown, and the west side.
At Pennsylvania Avenue, the Byway crosses the
juncture of the Elk River and the Kanawha River.
The Byway continues to follow the Kanawha as it
crosses the river at Patrick Street and turns west
towards South Charleston and and St. Albans.
Access the Charleston Historic Loop from
Kanawha Boulevard (pages 5.21-5.24). The Byway
is quickly accessed from I-64, I-77, and I-79.
View Thanks to Southwings Aviation
Charleston
Huntington
Charleston
Mile 61, Population 53,421, Elevation 601 feet
Lewisburg
Charleston
Charleston, began as Fort Lee in 1788-95 with
thirteen houses and a fort, and became West
Virginia’s largest city, its state capital, and a capital
for arts, industry, shopping, and entertainment.
The mountains close around the Kanawha River in
the Kanawha Valley, making for postcard-like
scenery at the West Virginia State Capitol and
along the Kanawha River. The Byway follows the
river through town.
The University of Charleston stands on the
opposite bank of the Kanawha across from the
Capitol, adding to the view. In 2004, UC opened the
Erma Byrd Gallery, the first art gallery dedicated to
WV’s Women Artists. The WV Symphony gives an
outdoor concert on the grounds each year.
The Kanawha River also provides recreational
opportunities. The City of Charleston maintains
two city parks along the Byway. Haddad Riverfront
Park is located along the river in downtown
Charleston. The renovated levee has docking
available, as well as a 2500-seat amphitheater.
Nearby, at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha
Rivers, is Magic Island. Magic Island’s walking
track, sand volleyball courts, and large grassy
areas are a quick walk from the downtown area.
Charleston’s Historical East End
Also on the MT Byway, at Greenbrier Street and
Kanawha Boulevard and adjacent to the
Governor’s Mansion, stands Holly Grove Mansion,
one of only three remaining structures from the
Ruffner salt family. Daniel Ruffner constructed
Holly Grove Mansion in 1815 on what was then a
plantation just east of Charleston. Holly Grove is
now maintained as part of the State Capitol
Complex.
Charleston
Charleston’s Riverfront
5.19
The East End Historical District includes
Kanawha Boulevard, Virginia Street, and
Quarrier Street. Many of these homes remain
private residences.
Most were built between
1895 and 1925. Many styles of architecture can
be seen: Greek Revival, late Victorian, Queen
Anne, Richardson Romanesque, Colonial,
Georgian, Spanish Colonial, Italianate, and
Renaissance.
Charleston’s Spring Hill Cemetery, established in
1870, overlooks the city and the Byway. It bears
the remains of many of Charleston’s founding
fathers, several governors, and other notables.
Today, it has over 80,000 lots.
Charleston
Huntington
Charleston
Mile 61, Population 53,421, Elevation 601 feet
Lewisburg
Charleston
Considered by many to be one of the most
beautiful capitol buildings in the Union, the West
Virginia State Capitol greets the visitor with a
grand, resplendent gold dome. The majestic
Italianate Rotunda contains marble from Vermont,
Tennessee, and Italy; and a two-ton chandelier
crafted with Czechoslovakian crystal.
Eminent master architect, Cass Gilbert, designed
this stone and marble wonder, as well as
Washington, DC’s Treasury and Supreme Court
Buildings. Completed in 1932, the Capitol holds
the state Legislative bodies in separate wings, the
Supreme Court, and the Governor’s Office. Other
state offices are in the adjacent buildings of the
complex.
Located on the grounds of the Capitol Complex, it
also hosts fairs, festivals and exhibits. The
Vandalia Gathering, held each Memorial Day
Weekend, is a three-day festival celebrating
traditional arts and folk heritage. Multifest is
another three-day festival held in early August to
celebrate the music, food, and culture of the many
ethnic groups found in West Virginia.
The Cultural Center is home to West Virginia Public
Broadcasting’s Mountain Stage, a two-hour live
radio show featuring stylistically diverse national
and international acts. Most shows are taped
before a live audience in the
Cultural Center Theater and
then broadcast around the
world.
Charleston
Charleston’s Capitol Complex
5.20
The West Virginia Cultural Center, opened in 1976,
houses the State Museum and State Archives.
Charleston
Huntington
Charleston
Mile 61, Population 53,421, Elevation 601 feet
Lewisburg
5.21
Historical Charleston Loop
Historical Charleston Loop
Historical Charleston Loop
Capitol Street was so named when the State
Capitol building stood at the corner of Capitol and
Lee Streets from 1885 until it was destroyed by fire
in 1921. Capitol Street was the first street in
America paved with bricks (1870). Over the
summer of 2004 Mayor Danny Jones had the
bricks and
downtown.
plantings
redone
throughout
It was almost two decades in the making, but
downtown Charleston has become a tourist
destination. From one end to the other Capitol
Street has a new look. Building facades have been
redone and new tourist-friendly retail shops dot
Capitol Street. Streets such as Summers and
Smith, seedy areas just a few short years ago,
have been revitalized; today Summers Street
features a park and office district, while Smith
Street is one of the best places in Charleston to
shop for home furnishings and carpeting, plus
Capitol Market’s fresh vegetables, plants, and
specialty items.
Midland Trail Scenic Highway recently moved
their offices into a restored building on Capitol
Street.
The lively Capitol Market stands at the north
end of Capitol Street in the former Kanawha
and Michigan Railway Depot. Renovated and
updated in 1997, the market presents visitors
with the last visible remnant of what was once
an active rail yard.
Historical Charleston Loop
Adventures abound on the Historic Charleston
Loop of the Midland Trail. The fifteen-block Loop
leads visitors from Kanawha Boulevard to Capitol
Street, Smith Street, Leon Sullivan Way, and
through the revitalized downtown to enjoy a blend
of historic sites and exciting new tourist-oriented
attractions. New shops in renovated storefronts,
the new $120 million Clay Center for the Arts and
Sciences WV, a new riverfront park, Capitol Market,
and the new $23 million, Appalachian Power
Baseball Park provide the anchors to assure a
thriving downtown Village District.
5.22
Charleston
Huntington
Charleston
Lewisburg
Historical Charleston Loop
Historical Charleston Loop
5.23
Flowering plants of every color and seasonal fruits
and vegetables fill the outside stalls of the Market
every day of the year. Local growers offer tips on
harvesting your own fruits and vegetables.
Inside the market are shops that offer a vast array
of fresh seafood, meats, chicken, fine wine and
beer, plus an upscale fine food restaurant, SoHo’s,
which offers weekend jazz.
In 2003, the “long awaited, must see” Clay Center
for the Arts and Sciences WV opened on Leon
Sullivan Way. The 240,000-square foot Center, one
of the most ambitious cultural and educational
projects in West Virginia history, combines a home
for the Juliet Museum of Art, Charleston
Symphony’s performing arts center, Walker
Theater, and Avampato Discovery Museum, an
interactive science museum completed with the
Electric Sky Theater planetarium and I-Max.
Play Ball! Opening Day at Charleston’s new
Appalachian Power Baseball Park was April 14,
2005. The 4200-plus seat stadium stands along
Smith Street between Morris Street and the I-64/77
Brooks Street entrance ramp.
Charleston
Huntington
Charleston
Lewisburg
Historical Charleston Loop
Historical Charleston Loop
5.24
Historic Shrewsbury Street
Central Charleston is the city’s historically AfricanAmerican neighborhood. The Shrewsbury,
Donnelly and Lewis Street area was home to
several distinguished African-Americans, including
internationally renowned Reverend Leon Sullivan
whose Sullivan’s Principles of Equal Opportunity
became the blueprint for ending Apartheid.
Simpson Memorial Methodist Church (circa
1915) continues to be a focal point of the
community, as they spearhead the
restoration of Harden House for use by
community groups and an African-American
cultural museum. The home of first black
state librarian in the United States, Sam
Starks, is located at 413 Shrewsbury Street.
Garnet High School, an African-American
high school (1929-1950), was known for its
quality programs and curriculum. The Mattie
V. Lee Home, named in honor of WV’s first
black female physician, was important in the
early 20th Century for promoting the
“spiritual, intellectual, social, physical, and
vocational development of young AfricanAmerican women.”
Charleston
Huntington
Charleston
Lewisburg
Daniel Boone Park
Daniel Boone Park
5.25
Daniel Boone Park, just east of the Capitol
Complex, has a public access boat launch, picnic
facilities, and fishing available. Daniel Boone lived
in the Valley from 1786 to 1797, during which time
he served in the Kanawha County Militia and as a
Richmond Assembly delegate. Boone took shelter
in a cave on the facing mountain and housed his
family in a double log cabin directly across the
Kanawha River.
At the entrance of Daniel Boone Park stands CraikPatton House. James Craik, whose grandfather
was George Washington’s friend and personal
physician, built Craik-Patton House, at Daniel
Boone Park, in 1834. Colonel George Patton,
grandfather of the famous WWII general, later
owned it. A replica of the early home of an earlier
Ruffner, salt-maker David Ruffner, is also located
on the property.
Charleston
Huntington
Daniel Boone Park
Mile 63
Lewisburg
Malden - An idealic village bringing alive history -home of Booker T. Washington , world
famous quilts, and salt-making history.
Scenic and Natural - Views of Kanawha River and Mountains
Historical - Malden: African Zion Baptist Church, Malden Salt Village,
Booker T. Washington’s Cabin, John Hale House, Norton-Patton House,
Richard E. Putney House, Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church, and
Ruffner Cemetery
Cultural - Malden Historic District and Cabin Creek Quilts
Industrial Heritage - Malden: Port Amherst, railroad yards, Malden Salt
Village and Dickinson’s Salt Works
Malden Historic Village is taking strides to assure
its history is preserved and celebrated as the
boyhood home of Booker T. Washington, the
birthplace of the area’s salt-making history, and
headquarters for the world-renowned Cabin Creek
Quilt Cooperative.
Follow the brown Midland Trail Travel Info signs to
Cabin Creek Quilts Cooperative, housed in Hale
House, the taupe and purple trim Federal-style,
(circa 1838) home. 19th-Century historian and
Renaissance man, Dr. John Hale, who was also the
great-grandson of Mary Ingles, built Hale House.
Ingles, mother of the first Caucasian child born
west of the Alleghenies, is immortalized in the
pages of Follow The River. She used the Ohio,
Kanawha, and New Rivers to retrace her way
home after being captured by Shawnee Indians on
Sunday, July 8, 1755, from her home near presentday Blacksburg, Virginia.
Inside Cabin Creek Quilts are beautiful handmade
quilts and quilted items for sale, plus the
opportunity to meet the ladies who make the
quilts, get travel info, and learn about life in the
mountains of West Virginia. Nearby, Malden
Antiques specializes in railroad and other historical
memorabilia.
5.26
Malden / Belle
Malden / Belle
Local resident, Senator Larry L. Rowe, has
developed a brochure Walking Tour of Old
Malden—Virginia and West Virginia. His Website
www.larrylrowe.com also offers a review of
Malden history and points of interest.
Booker T. Washington Institute
At age nine, as a recently freed slave, Booker T.
Washington walked to Malden with his mother
from the Burroughs’ Plantation in Virginia. In Up
From Slavery, Washington recounts his days in
Malden, first as a boy who was encouraged by
Viola Ruffner to learn to read and then after
college graduation when he lived here and
Charleston
Huntington
Malden / Belle
Mile 65, Belle Mile 70
Lewisburg
traveled the new state of West Virginia to advocate
moving the capital from Wheeling to Charleston.
Visit the replica of Booker T. Washington’s
Boyhood Cabin. Next door is the African Zion
Baptist Church (1872), West Virginia’s oldest AfroAmerican Baptist Church, where Washington
taught Sunday School. At Norton House (circa
1840) a multi-panel mural in the back dining room
depicts the house’s history. Tours and
reenactments can be arranged by calling The
Booker T. Washington Institute of West Virginia
State University.
Salt-Making History
History, culture, and industry blend in Malden,
Belle, and Cedar Grove. Long ago, buffalo beat a
path through undisturbed forests to the basins of
salt brine along the Kanawha River. Native
Americans followed, learning to use hot rocks to
extract salt. Pioneers were next attracted to the
area.
The first recorded history of salt-making in the area
was made In 1671 by Captain Thomas Batts (see
Gauley Bridge). He reported Native Americans
were using hot rocks to extract salt in present day
Malden. Mary Ingles reported that her Shawnee
captors taught her to extract salt here in 1755.
Pioneers followed the buffalo path, which by 1790,
at the urging of George Washington, became a
state road from Virginia to Cedar Grove , and is
today the Midland Trail.
In 1797, with a collection of 24 kettles for salt
production from the area’s brines, Elisha Brooks
started the Kanawha Valley’s first industry near
Malden. By 1817, Malden was the world’s largest
salt producer and site of the country’s first
industrial trust. Malden’s “red salt” with its iron
content was a prized commodity to pioneers for
preserving meat.
5.27
Salt manufacturing requires fuel and the rich
forests along the Kanawha River were cleared to
provide wood fuel for the early salt furnaces. In
1817, David Ruffner became the first producer to
successfully convert to coal fuel. Gas was struck
in 1815. In 1841, William Tompkins of Cedar Grove
became the first in the U.S. to use this gas for an
industrial purpose, salt-making. Two years later,
salt-makers Dickinson and Shrewsbury hit the
great gas reserve of the region. The resource that
attracted buffalo, made Malden the world’s largest
salt producer, enriched the Valley’s early
industrialists, and ultimately spawned the
surrounding chemical industries.
The era of salt making peaked between 1842-55 at
3.2 million bushels. Other industrries began to
grow as a result of this first industry. World War I
made it necessary for
America to locate new
supplies of chlorine and
alkalis. All of the essential
ingredients were here; an
ample supply of high quality
coal, salt brine, natural gas,
oil, ample skilled labor, and
transportation. Scientists,
inventors, capitalists and
government were inspired.
Malden / Belle
Malden / Belle
Charleston
Huntington
Malden / Belle
Mile 65, Belle Mile 70
Lewisburg
Eastern Kanawha County
Towns and Villages: Shrewsbury, Quincy, Cedar Grove, and Glasgow
Scenic - Views of Kanawha River and Kanawha Valley at several pull-offs
Natural - Kanawha River (Route 60 follows the river for 50-plus miles)
Recreational - Glasgow: Glasgow City Park/Roadside Park and Boat Launch
London: London Public Park
Historical - Cedar Grove: Virginia’s Chapel and William Tompkins House
Archaeological Cemeteries - Cedar Grove: Virginia’s Chapel
Cultural - Industrial Heritage - Cannelton: coal tipple and storage
Route 60 continues to follow the scenic
Kanawha River Valley through the small
communities of eastern Kanawha County.
Glasgow, a small residential community of
nearly 1000, is primarily situated on the Midland
Trail. It offers residents and visitors a city park
and pool for summer recreation, as well as a
boat dock and launch for river activities, fishing,
boating, and water. Similarly, the community of
London has a pleasant public park.
Other towns, such as Cedar Grove are of
historical significance. The oldest settled
community in the Kanawha Valley, Cedar Grove
played a significant role in the development of
the Midland Trail. The town’s first resident,
Walter Kelly, settled here in 1773, but sent his
family to Lewisburg for protection against
Native raids; the Natives killed Kelly after his
family departed. The next year, William Morris
built Fort Morris, the Valley’s first settlement. As
the Trail evolved, Cedar Grove became a
terminus for land travel and a beginning point
for water traffic. Morris’ descendants amassed
a fortune building flatboats for westwardmoving pioneers and from Malden’s salt trade
downriver. The Boat Yards, as the town was first
known, also constructed the dugouts for Lewis
Famous
and Clark’s historic expedition.
resident William Tompkins was the first man in
America to use natural gas for industrial
purposes, but is best known for his two brick
beauties. On the Trail is Virginia’s Chapel, the
Little Brick Church which be built in 1853 as a
graduation gift for his daughter. A small
graveyard is also located on the property. The
chapel is on the National Registry of Historic
Places. At the mouth of Kelly’s Creek is
Tompkins’ palatial brick house, built in 1844.
Eastern Kanawha County
5.28
The working coal tipple and storage facility
located at Cannelton is evidence of the area’s
industrial heritage.
Charleston
Huntington
Eastern Kanawha County Mile 85
Lewisburg
Montgomery and Smithers
A heritage of immigrants, education and industry.
Scenic and Natural - Kanawha River
Recreational - boat ramps and fishing
Historical - WV University Institute of Technology
Archaeological - Mt. Carbon Ancient Works
Cultural - Italian heritage and coal mining
Montgomery
Smithers
For his service in the Virginia Militia, Major Henry
Montgomery received land grants on the Kanawha
River and operated a ferry port. Montgomery’s
Landing attracted river traffic which moved as far west
as Cincinnati and New Orleans.
Smithers’ history is closely intertwined with the
Midland Trail. Around 1825, the James River and
Kanawha Turnpike (now the Midland Trail) was
completed through Smithers west to Charleston.
Centuries before, the area thrived with a prehistoric
culture that built the Mt. Carbon Ancient Works, a
stone wall enclosing an area about a mile in width.
Scientific dating places this archaeological feature at
around the 15th Century. Strip mining ultimately
removed all traces of the Works.
Montgomery is home to West Virginia University
Institute of Technology, which offers education,
engineering, print management, and health
professions. The public is welcome to participate in
the school’s Wellness Program and use their olympicsize pool and rock-wall climbing facility. The Bank Bar
and Grill, offers a unique dining experience in a
restored bank building. Boaters can launch their boats
from the public boat ramp located near the bridge.
Montgomery became the commerical center for the
surrounding coal mining and ferro-alloy industries; a
boom town with a hospital, department stores, and
the college.
Early settlers include James Smithers, for whom
the town is named. His descendant Benjamin
Smithers, born in 1809, was brought into the salt
and coal businesses through marriage, first to Julia
Ruffner and later to Eliza Shrewsbury. Smithers
owned 2270 acres of coal-rich land around Smithers
under the name of Peabody Coal Fields. Another
early settler, Aaron Stockton, brother-in-law of
William Tompkins, founded the Glen Ferris Inn.
The influence of Italian immgrants who settled in
the area to work the coal industry is evident today in
the town of about 900. Italian food specialities are
found at Cavalier Market and Lopez Resturant. Of
special interest is the recently unveiled Veterans
War Memorial, which honors over 800 men and
women who entered military service while living in
Smithers or Longacre.
Montgomery and Smithers
5.29
Charleston
Huntington
Montgomery / Smithers
Mile 88, Population 1942 / Smithers Mile 89, Population 904, Elevation 640 feet
Lewisburg
Alloy
5.30
For almost 100 years, travelers along the Midland
Trail have caught an occasional glimpse of furnace
flames blazing from behind the factory walls, as
Elkem Metals Company and its predecessors have
maintained a proud tradition as a large
manufacturer of quality products.
Materials produced at the Alloy facility are
intermediaries for products that improve the ways
we eat, feel, look, and work. When consumers
open a cereal box, use personal grooming
products, or turn on a personal computer, chances
are they are using a product which Elkem helped
make. In fact, half of the world’s computers
contain chips with silicon refined at Elkem. Their
silicon is also the crucial ingredient for the glue,
which binds the space shuttle’s panels to its body.
Production of ferroalloys on the Midland Trail
began in 1901, about 5 miles east of the present
facility at Alloy, when Wilson Aluminum
Alloy
A proud tradiltion on the Midland Trail.
established a smelting plant at Kanawha Falls.
Wilson simultaneously received permission from
the U.S. War Department to tap the river’s force for
hydroelectricity to power its
operation. Today, you can see
the power station at Kanawha
Falls, which still provides some
of the energy for Elkem’s
operations at Alloy. Union
Carbide later purchased the
operation. To meet an everexpanding
market,
Union
Carbide built the present facility
at Alloy. Carbide’s long history
ended in 1981, when Elkem, a
multinational corporation based
in Oslo, Norway purchased the
Alloy plant and associated
properties.
During its 65-year history, Elkem-Alloy has become
the world’s largest silicon metal plant and operates
the largest silicon furnace in the world. In past
years, the facility has produced manganese,
chrome, and other alloys. Today, Elkem is a major
supplier of high-quality refined silicon for the
chemical, electronic, aerospace, and aluminum
industries.
As one of Fayette County’s largest
employers, Elkem has many employees sroking
the same furnaces as their fathers and
grandfathers.
Charleston
Huntington
Alloy
Mile 92
Lewisburg
Fayette County begins the heart of the Trail’s scenic and recreational areas. Numerous
roadside waterfalls and breathtaking rock formations dot the north side of the Byway,
while the Great Kanawha hugs the south side.
Scenic and Natural - Several roadside falls between Montgomery and
Falls View and Great Kanawha River created at Gauley Bridge, unique rock
formations line the mountains
Cultural – Boomer/Alloy: Coal camp town and Elkem’s hydroelectric dam
The Great Kanawha River provides a pleasant
backdrop for travel as it hugs Route 60 from its
headwaters in Gauley Bridge, to below Charleston
and St. Albans, where it turns and heads for the
Ohio River at Point Pleasant. A series of locks and
dams assure its flow. Huge barges carrying coal
and other industrial products routinely pass. As
evident in the history of each town along its banks,
the Kanawha River has played a key role in the
development of industry along what is now known
as Advantage Valley.
Although it is one of the nation’s busiest
commercial waterways, there are also ample
opportunities for public access for recreational
use. Many homes in the six miles between Alloy
and Kanawha Falls, for example the towns of
Boomer, Charlton Heights and Falls View were
built for employees and management of
Alloy/Elkem. Sticks and Stones at mile 32.5 is a
wonderland of speciality garden and decorative
items.
Fayette County begins the heart of the Trail’s
scenic and recreational areas.
Numerous
roadside falls dot the highway, including Kanawha
Falls at mile 97 and Cathedral Falls at mile 99. The
New and Gauley Rivers merge at Gauley Bridge to
create the Kanawha River, which flows to the State
Capitol and eventually into the Ohio River.
5.31
Western Fayette County
Western Fayette County
Charleston
Huntington
Lewisburg
Western Fayette County
Glen Ferris and Kanawha Falls
5.32
Glen Ferris and Kanawha Falls
Hospitality and history amidst natural beauty.
Scenic - Glenn Ferris: Kanawha Falls, Gauley Bridge: Cathedral Falls
Natural - Kanawha Falls, Gauley Bridge: Union of New and Gauley Rivers,
Cathedral Falls
Recreational - Gauley Bridge: New River Campground and Gauley Bridge
Tepees
Historical - Glen Ferris: Glen Ferris Inn
Since Aaron Stockton first opened his doors to
weary, hungry stagecoach travelers in 1839, the
Glen Ferris Inn has provided hospitality for visitors
on the historic Midland Trail. Today, owners Dan
and Becky Hill, as well as manager Natalie Phillips,
carry on Stockton’s tradition in fine style. The Glen
Ferris Inn is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places.
Aaron Stockton was the grandson of Richard
Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of
Independence. He was a salt entrepreneur and
gentleman farmer who built flatboats that carried
those traveling west on the Kanawha and Ohio
Rivers and beyond. Stockton shipped the first
commercial load of West Virginia coal from a
seam of cannel coal that was discovered on his
farm in 1848. His inn served as a Union
quartermaster’s depot during the Civil
War, and his grandson, O. A. Veasey,
who was born at Glen Ferris Inn during
1851, was West Virginia’s first state
mine inspector.
Overlooking Kanawha Falls, the
original red brick structure was
constructed circa 1800. In about 1910,
Stockton’s granddaughter added the
charming columns, a third-story, and
verandas. Union Carbide later
extended the inn’s guest capacity after
constructing an ell in the early 1930s.
Charleston
Huntington
Glen Ferris
Mile 97
Lewisburg
Gauley Bridge
Marriage-place of two rivers.
Scenic - New and Gauley Rivers merge to create the Great Kanawha River
Natural - Kanawha Falls, Union of New and Gauley Rivers, and Cathedral Falls
Recreational - New River Campground and Gauley Bridge Tepees
Historical - Gauley Bridge Historical Society Museum
At Gauley Bridge, the New and Gauley Rivers
merge to create the Kanawha River, which flows to
the State Capitol and eventually into the Ohio
River. As eastbound visitors round the bend at
Glen Ferris (Mile 37) they get their first view of the
merged rivers.
At this marriage-place of two rivers, learn about
the junctions of past and present at the Gauley
Bridge Visitors Center and adjoining Gauley
Bridge Historical Society Museum. Kanawha Falls
Post Office, Fayette County’s first, has also been
relocated to the complex. Gauley Bridge was first
explored in 1671, when Captain Thomas Batts
discovered and claimed the area east of Kanawha
Falls for King Charles II of England and Ireland.
Although their expedition stopped at Kanawha
Falls, they learned through their Native American
guide that Native Americans were making salt at
present day Malden.
Gauley Bridge’s position at the confluence of the
rivers made it a strategic location during the Civil
War. Gauley Bridge takes its name from a tollbridge which crossed the Gauley River and which
Confederate troops burned; today you can see its
old mossy piers. When the iron horse roared
across the state’s landscape, Gauley Bridge was a
railroad stop for the old New York Central
Railroad. Gauley Bridge Town Hall (304632-2505) is housed in the renovated
railroad passenger depot. Inside hangs a
print of Corporal J. N. Roesler’s 1862
depiction of the Camp Gauley Civil War
Encampment.
Gauley Bridge
5.33
Step back in time with a visit to a
downtown diner, housed in the former
Greyhound Bus Terminal. Evan Scent
manufactures candles at their facility on
the Trail and also operates a gift shop
and the Gauley Bridge Visitors Center.
Charleston
Huntington
Gauley Bridge
Mile 99, Population 738, Elevation 680 feet
Lewisburg
Climb 1000 feet in elevation in eight miles of curvy mountain road with
breathtaking views of the New River Gorge Canyon and heart-stopping twists
and turns. Scenic views of the natural elements of the New River and its
canyon, reveal why this is known as the Grand Canyon of the East.
The driving fun begins as travelers climb the
Gauley Mountain between Gauley Bridge and
Ansted.
Can you really see your taillights in the rear view
mirror as the car bends around the twisty turns
near Chimney Corner? Or is it just another
mountaineer tale? These curvy roads challenge
and delight the best of car enthusiasts. Recently
Car and Driver Magazine sent seven high-end
sports cars along the Trail for a performance
comparison.
As you maneuver the twists and turns, enjoy the
picturesque views on the western slope of Gauley
Mountain. Fetty’s Country Store & Crafts in the log
cabin at the Y at Chimney Corner offers a rest stop,
plus a variety of mountain crafts and souvenirs.
Landmarked by a Volkswagen protruding from a
quonset hut, The Mystery Hole allegedly sits over
a hole in the
ground where the
law of gravity does
not apply. Balls roll
up hill. Chairs sit
half-way up a wall.
Money
vanishes
from your pocket in
the the gift shop.
Kids and adults
alike are awed.
5.34
Gauley Mountain
Gauley Mountain
Take a moment to ”Be Shocked and Amazed“ at
the Trail’s renowned tourist trap—oops, we meant
to say roadside attraction—The Mystery Hole.
Charleston
Huntington
Gauley Mountain
Lewisburg
Ansted and Hawks Nest
5.35
The Town of Ansted, located at the top of
Gauley Mountain, is the western edge of the
outdoor region of the Trail and is a center
from which to enjoy West Virginia’s natural
beauty. Hawks Nest State Park, which is inside
the town limits, sprawls over the top of the
mountain and down to the base of the New
River Gorge. East bound travelers first see the
newly spruced-up Hawks Nest Golf Course on
the north (left) side of the road, then the
Hawks Nest Picnic Area and Overlook, which
offers wonderful walks and a breathtaking
overlook of the “Grand Canyon of the East,”
the New River Gorge. Nearby, enjoy an
incredible view of the Gorge while dining on
great home cooked food in the Hawks Nest
Lodge’s glass dining room, or inch down the
Gorge on the tram for a picnic and jet boats at
the base.
Rich coal seams originally led settlers to the
hilltop town of Ansted in the 1790s. Today,
travelers seek the opportunity to enjoy the
rich-flavored Blue Smoke Salsa and the
chance to explore the “Grand Canyon of the
East,” the New River Gorge. When we say
“Head For the Hills on the Midland Trail,”
Ansted is the town that pops to mind.
Perched in a fold atop Gauley Mountain and
hugging the rim of the New River Gorge,
Ansted is building on its unique geography to
transition from a coal to an environmental and
tourism based economy.
Ansted and Hawks Nest
A town with a hawk’s view.
When chartered in 1891, the town was
named for British geologist, David T.
Ansted, who mapped out the seams of
the area’s high-grade coal. On a knoll in
the middle of town, the Victorian-style
mansion of industrialist William Nelson
Page stands as evidence of the once
thriving coal business. Built from native
wood in the 1890s by the Gauley
Mountain Coal Company, the
mansion was a perk for
Page.
At the western edge of
Ansted is Hawks Nest State
Park,
with
spectacular
canyon views, a tramway to
the bottom of the New River
Gorge, a lodge, restaurant,
gift shop, and facilities for
swimming, hiking, tennis,
golf, and jet boats. The
famous
Hawks
Nest
Overlook is just west of the
lodge complex.
Take time to enjoy the recently created
2.5 mile Ansted-Hawks Nest Rail Trail that
retraces the rail path used to convey coal
from the mines around the Town of
Charleston
Huntington
Ansted
Mile 107, Population 1576
Lewisburg
Ansted and Hawks Nest
Ansted and Hawks Nest
5.36
Ansted to larger tracks at the bottom of the
New River Gorge. The trail is unique in that
hikers and bikers can access the bottom by
using the Gorge Tram from Hawks Nest
Lodge. Bike racks are being installed on the
gondola to encourage round trips. Along the
way, visitors see the entrance to Mill Creek
Colliery Mine, rebuilt bridges, and beautiful
unspoiled foliage, cliffs and streams.
Robin Hilderbrand, nationally-recognized
Entrepreneur of the Year, operates Blue
Smoke Salsa’s manufacturing facility in
downtown Ansted. There’s ample space to
accommodate visitors by tour bus who want
to enjoy the homegrown salsa that is
becoming a nationwide favorite.
Historical landmarks include the grave site of
Julia Neale Jackson, mother of Thomas
“Stonewall” Jackson; Halfway House, a
former tavern on the Kanawha Turnpike and
headquarters of the Chicago Dragoons during
the Civil War; the African American Heritage
Family-Tree Museum which helps AfroAmericans trace their roots and Contentment
Historical Complex, an 1830 home that
houses a museum and headquarters for the
Fayette County Historical Society.
The grounds of Hawks Nest Park are filled with
food, artisans and entertainment during
Country Roads Festival on the third week in
September. During the Holidays don’t miss
the Festival of Lights at Hawks Nest Park.
Nearby, the Fayetteville Theater offers wellproduced plays, including an annual holiday
play the first few weekends of December.
Charleston
Huntington
Ansted
Mile 107, Population 1576
Lewisburg
Hico - Crossroads of U.S. 60 & Gateway U.S. 19
Hico
The center of West Virginia’s world-renown recreational activities.
opportunities. Just north of the 900-foot high
Gorge Bridge is the Canyon Rim Visitors Center.
The hip town of Fayetteville is the outdoors
sevices and gear capital of West Virginia.
Downtown shops offer recreational gear, book
shops, natural food restaurants, and works by
local artisans.
At Hico, U.S. Route 19 intersects U.S. Route 60.
The heavily traveled U.S. 19 provides an important
gateway to the Midland Trail as it links I-79 and I77 South to the recreational offerings of the New
River Gorge National River and the town of
Fayetteville.
5.37
Cross the world’s longest arch span bridge to
reach Oak Hill, Mt. Hope and Beckley.
North,Summersville Dam and
Lake
provides
fishing,
camping, hunting, and the
best Class VI rafting east of
One of the oldest rivers in the world and one of the
few on earth that flows north, the New River offers
visitors spectacular vistas and recreational
Charleston
Huntington
Hico Mile 114
Lewisburg
Babcock State Park, Winona, Camp Washington Carver, and Sewell Mountain
Scenic and Natural – Clifftop: Babcock
Recreational - Hico: whitewater rafting, canoeing, kayaking, mountain
biking, rock climbing, and camping
Clifftop: Babcock State Park, Fishing, Climbing, whitewater rafting,
horseback riding, hiking, and biking
Historical – Fayetteville: Lee’s Tavern-peak of Sewell Mountain and
Morris Harvey House
Lookout: Lookout Baptist Church and Camp George Washington Carver
Winona: Garvey House
Archaeological – Cemeteries
Cultural – Fayetteville: Court Street Gallery
Clifftop: Camp Washington Carver and WV String Band Festival
5.38
Eastern Fayette
Eastern Fayette County
East of Hico, the Midland Trail curves through
some of the most beautiful scenery in our
country as it crosses the highest point on the
Trail—Big Sewell Mountain at 3170 feet.
At Lookout, look out for the turn off for
Winona for an adventurous side trip to what
was once the largest town in Fayette County.
Recently, the road to Winona has been
extended all the way to the New River through
a beautiful, pristine forest.
A bit further east, Route 60 is intersected by
Route 41, which leads to Babcock State Park,
home of the frequently photographed Glade
Creek Grist Mill. The park offers cabins for
rent, seasonal swimming, and cross country
skiing.
Charleston
Huntington
Eastern Fayette County
Lewisburg
Eastern Fayette County
Eastern Fayette
5.39
Also on Route 41 at Clifftop, Camp
Washington Carver serves as the state’s
Mountain Cultural Arts Center. There is a
family styled dinner theatre series and an
Afro-American Arts Camp in the summer.
Near the end of July, the five-day West
Virginia String Band Music Festival attracts an
audience of over 3000 music lovers who
come from all over the world to hear great
music and enjoy this gathering of friends and
musicians.
Near the western slope peak of Big Sewell
Mountain is the 1824 Old Stone House (or
Tyree Tavern) and on the eastern slope is
Lee’s Tree where General Lee camped during
the Battle of Big Sewell and met his beloved
warhorse, Traveller.
Charleston
Huntington
Eastern Fayette County
Lewisburg
Western Greenbrier County
5.40
Western Greenbrier County
Rainelle, Rupert, Meadow River, and Sam Black Church
Scenic - Big Sewell Mountain Overlook Greenbrier Valley – Big Levels
Natural – Big Sewell Mountain, Meadow Creek/Meadow River Wildlife Management
Area, and numerous small creeks for fishing
Recreational - Rainelle: Meadow River Park/Greenbrier Youth Camp, Greenbrier Hills
Golf, Rupert: Picnicking Shelters
Historical – Hern’s Mill Covered Bridge and Sam Black United Methodist Church
Cultural – Sam Black Church: Sam Black Methodist Church
Industrial Heritage - Rainelle: Meadow River Lumber
G reenbrier County begins near the eastern base of
Big Sewell Mountain and the town of Rainelle.
Ancient buffalo trails guided the first settlers
through the area’s undisturbed forests. Colonel
Andrew Lewis and his father dubbed the area
Greenbrier, after unpleasant encounters with
prickly green briers while surveying the river valley
in the mid-1700s.
In 1774, Colonel Lewis and his men used the route
to travel to the Battle of Point Pleasant. This
overland portion of the trail became known as the
Lewis Trail when George Washington advocated
for an all-Virginia route to connect the Virginia
tidewater basin with the Ohio River, and ultimately,
to the Gulf of Mexico. In 1785 the Virginia
Legislature authorized money to build the old state
road along the path of Lewis Trail, which is the
present-day Midland Trail. The road was finished
to Cedar Grove by 1790 (Mile19).
Around 1906, the Raine brothers, for whom
Rainelle is named, established the Meadow River
Lumber Company. Known for the quality of its oak
hardwood, New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel and
West Virginia’s Governors Reception Hall were
crafted with Greenbrier County lumber. The mill
ceased operation in 1970. The Meadow River
Charleston
Huntington
Lewisburg
Mile 130, Population 1545, Elevation 2425 feet
Rainelle
5.41
Western Greenbrier County
Rainelle, Rupert, and Meadow River
Festival, held the first weekend in August,
celebrates the history of the lumber and coal
industry, and the Midland Trail itself. Greenbrier
Hills Golf is a public nine-hole course right on
Route 60.
The Meadow River Park/Greenbrier Youth Camp, a
renovation project of the MTSHA, is located
between Rainelle and Rupert and is open for public
camping.
The headwaters of the Meadow River, near Mile 85
at Sam Black Church, creates West Virginia’s
second largest wetland and a home for sport fish
and fowl.
Greenbrier County CVB recommends five area
mini-tours. Hern’s Mill Covered Bridge, one of only
seventeen surviving in West Virginia, is on Tour #
5, as the Trail winds through the rolling farms of
Greenbrier Valley, between Sam Black Church (I64, Exit 156) and Lewisburg, through the villages of
Clintonville and Richlands.
Charleston
Huntington
Lewisburg
Mile 130, Population 1545, Elevation 2425 feet
Rainelle
Lewisburg and White Sulphur Springs Area
5.42
Lewisburg and White Sulphur Springs
Two of West Virgiinia’s oldest towns, a culture of creativity, the world-famous Greenbrier Resort, surrounded by
a state and national forests.
Scenic - Greenbrier River
Natural – Greenbrier River, Lost World Caverns, and Organ Cave
Recreational - Lewisburg: Lewisburg Roadside Park and Lost World
Caverns; Caldwell: Greenbrier River Bike Trail, canoeing and river access;
White Sulphur Springs: Greenbrier State Forest, Federal Fish
Hatchery, Oakhurst, and the Greenbrier Resort and Bunker;
Ronceverte: Organ Cave
Historical – Lewisburg: North House Museum, Old Stone Presbyterian
Church and Cemetery, Andrew Lewis Park, The General Lewis, Battle of
Lewisburg Reenactment, The Wisteria Bed and Breakfast; White Sulphur
Springs: Oakhurst, The Greenbrier Resort and Bunker, Battle
of Dry Creek Reenactment, James Wylie House and Lillian’s
Bed and Breakfast Caldwell: Old Stone Manse Bed and
Breakfast; Ronceverte: Organ Cave Civil War Days;
Lewisburg: Lewisburg Cemetery (surrounds Old Stone
Church), Confederate Cemetery
Cultural – Lewisburg: Carnegie Hall, WV State Fair, Battle of
Lewisburg Reenactment, “one of the best small art towns in
America,” American Heritage Music Hall; White Sulphur
Springs: The Greenbrier Hotel and Bunker, The Battle of Dry
Creek Reenactment; Ronceverte: Organ Cave Civil War Days
Charleston
Huntington
Lewisburg
Lewisburg White Sulphur Springs Area
Lewisburg
To get the flavor of Lewisburg begin with the twohour Walking Tour of Downtown, which boasts
more than sixty 18th- and 19th-Century buildings
in a town that dates to 1774 and has both
Revolutionary and Civil War history.
The Taste of our Town (TOOT) Festival on the
second Saturday in October offers a great
opportunity to sample offerings from local
restaurants. Little wonder that Lewisburg is one of
only seventy U.S. towns included in National
Geographic’s Guide to the Best Small Town
Escapes and is also distinguished in the book The
100 Best Small Art Towns in America.
Lewisburg
Chartered in 1782 by the Virginia Assembly,
Lewisburg is one of the oldest towns in West
Virginia. The town’s old section is a National
Register Historic District.
5.43
Lewisburg is a small town begging to be called
home. The streets are lively and friendly. The
shops quaint and inviting. Residents and travelers
alike embrace the relaxed pace that offers respite
from a more hurried, crowded world. Antiquities,
culture, heritage, scenery, music, food, and
recreation create a juxtaposition of both old and
new in West Virginia.
The shops are platforms for artisans who work in
canvas, wood, paper, cloth, metal, stone, culinary
delights, and more.
Lewisburg has become a haven for West
Virginians by choice, those who have fled larger
cities for the benefits of simple living or who
choose to stay where that influx adds to the culture
of the area. Artists, photographers, writers, and
chefs have made their way to Lewisburg and
brought with them the trappings of a more
cosmopolitan culture, such as galleries and live
theater. All of this makes Lewisburg a fascinating
place for a weekend or a longer stay. Unique food
and civilized discourse abound.
Charleston
Huntington
Lewisburg
Mile 170, Population 3624, Elevation 2300 feet
Lewisburg
White Sulphur Springs
For two centuries the world-famous, luxurious
Greenbrier Resort, has treated Trail travelers to the
best in hospitality, featuring grand decor, thirtyplus lobby shops and three championship golf
courses situated on 6500 acres in the Allegheny
Mountains. Used as a military hospital in WWII,
The Greenbrier became the site of a former topsecret Cold War-Era Congressional bunker buried
some 720 feet into the hillside. The Bunker is now
open for tours.
Oakhurst Links, established in 1884 by a Scottish
family, was the first established golf club in the
United States. Visitors today can golf the original
course using replica wooden equipment. Sheep
groom the grounds.
Ronceverte’s Organ Cave celebrates its Civil War
history in late July-early August. The large
entrance room of the cave provided shelter for
many Confederate soldiers. It was large enough to
hold religious services for 1100 of General Robert
E. Lee’s men. The cave also was an important
source of saltpeter, a necessary ingredient in
gunpowder.
White Sulphur reenacts the 1862 Battle of Dry
Creek, on the third weekend in August.
Recreational offerings include Allegheny Trail,
White Sulphur Springs is home to a visitors center
for the 800,000-acre Monongahela National Forest,
as well as Sherwood Lake, a 164-acre lake offering
boating, swimming, fishing, picnic facilities, and
camping.
Nearby, the Greenbrier State Forest offers hiking,
picnic facilities, rustic cabins, swimming, hunting,
camping, and scenic overlooks on its 5130 acres.
Each year, Greenbrier State Forest hosts a
weekend reenactment of the Battle of Dry Creek
the third week in August. The weekend includes
maneuvers, an actual battle reenactment, and
settlement camps.
The area’s U.S. Federal Fish Hatchery offers a selfguided tour of the facility, which produces 10
million trout eggs annually for shipment to other
hatcheries.
White Sulphur Springs
Since the 18th Century, the wealthy have flocked
here to experience the legendary curative powers
of the area’s sulphur springs.
5.44
Charleston
Huntington
Lewisburg
Mile 180, Population 2315, Elevation 1923 feet
White Sulphur Springs