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West
Virginia New River Gorge
Historic
Parks, Sites and Districts
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Nature's victory over
industrialization -- the central theme of Southern West
Virginia's history -- clarifies dramatically among the
region's museums and historic sites. Industrial
boomtowns such as Kaymoor and Thurmond,
WV
have been all but been erased by the lush forests of the New
River Gorge. Museums illustrate the transition from
wilderness to industrial mecca to wilderness. |
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| Beckley
Exhibition Coal Mine & Frontier
Village |
Beckley,
West Virginia (WV)
museum,
renovated buildings, railcar
tour
Travel beneath the City of
Beckley, WV on a railcar tour of a
remodeled coal mine. Former
miners host the tour of 1,500
feet of underground passages.
Outside the mine, visit a
reconstructed company town,
featuring a church, schoolhouse,
miner's cottage, and
superintendent's house.
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The
Beckley Exhibition Mine
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A
frontier village and the Youth Museum of
Southern West Virginia welcome visitors
next door. The mine is closed Nov. 2
'til this first weekend of April.
304/256-1747 or 1-800-CALL-WVA or
visit: Beckley
Exhibition Coal Mine
For
more information, see WV e-Postcard's
photo tour Beckley
Exhibition Coal Mine. In
addition, NewRiverWV.com's
guide to the New River Gorge provides
more information regarding history
and heritage, coal
mining history, railroad
history, and folklore
in the New River Gorge region.
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| Carnifex
Ferry Battlefield State Park |
 Near
Summersville, West Virginia (WV)
hiking,
overlooks, museum
On the night of Sept. 10, 1860,
Confederate troops under the command of
Gen. Henry Wise abandon their entrenched
position along Gauley River,
relinquishing control of the Kanawha
Valley.
Details of the skirmish are interpreted
on battlefield trails and in the
restored Patteson House museum. Hiking
trails lead from the level woodland
around the battlefield to clifftop
overlooks of the Gauley National Scenic
River.
An annual battle reenactment is held in
the fall.
304/872-0825 or 1-800-CALL-WVA
For more information, visit: Carnifex
Ferry Battlefield State Park
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| Contentment |
 Ansted,
West Virginia (WV)
Civil
War, pioneer history
Former home of Col. George Imboden,
Contentment was built in 1830 along the
James River & Kanawha Turnpike (now
U.S. 60). Furnished with period pieces,
the museum retells the history of
pioneer struggle and the life of one of
Confederate General Robert E. Lee's
staff.
Museums at nearby Hawks Nest State Park
and the National Park Service's Canyon
Rim Visitor Center help complete the
historical overview. The museum is open
June-August, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Tuesday-Saturday.
304/465-5032 or 1-800-CALL-WVA
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| Historic
Pence Springs Resort |
P.O.
Box 90 - Pence Springs, West Virginia (WV) 24962
304-445-2100
1-888-675-1700
Fax: 304-445-3082
From 1897 until The Great Depression, the Pence Springs Hotel was among West Virginia's exclusive resorts. Today, it's among its romantic inns. Double rooms and suites include private baths and unparalleled views of the Greenbrier Valley. After an invigorating day, relax among spacious porches, gracious parlors, or in the Cider Press Lounge. The 400-acre plantation and its mineral spring have been featured in such magazines as Gourmet, Southern Living, and Mid-Atlantic Country. Also of interest, the adjacent Pence Springs Flea Market, on the old polo grounds, has attracted more than 135,000 annual visitors for more than 20 years of Sundays. The hotel is 20-miles west of Lewisburg and the State Fairgrounds on W.Va. 3 and 30-miles south of Interstate 64.
URL: Visit
Web Site
Email: Contact
via Email
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| New
River Gorge: Kaymoor |
 Near
Fayetteville, West Virginia (WV)
industrial
archeology
A strenuous walk through the New River
Gorge leads historians and naturalists
to the site of the Kaymoor coal mine and
town. The mine first shipped coal out of
the gorge in 1899 and employed thousands
of miners before being abandon in 1962.
Many of its structures and mine
entrances remain for exploration. Do not
enter these structures.
For more-detailed information, visit the
NPS Canyon Rim Visitor Center.
304/465-0508 or 1-800-CALL-WVA
Scale drawings of Kaymoor Mining
Complex: Kaymoor
Mines
NPS: New
River Gorge: Kaymoor
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| New
River Gorge: Thurmond |
Thurmond,
West Virginia (WV)
fishing,
hiking, biking, whitewater rafting
Featuring a National Park
Service museum in its restored
passenger station, tiny Thurmond,
WV is the gorge's last remaining
boomtown -- a sleepy shadow of
the industrial society which
once occupied the New River
Gorge.
Most whitewater rafting trips
launch in or near the historic
town of Thurmond, WV. |
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Thurmond, West VIrginia
(WV) Depot
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Virtually absorbed by lush forest,
seldom-explored ghost towns and old
industrial sites line the river north
and south of the town. The
restored Thurmond Depot is open
Memorial-Labor days; weekends May,
Sept., Oct.
304/465-0508 or 1-800-CALL-WVA
Scale Drawings: Thurmond
Depot - Thurmond
Enginehouse - Thurmond
Coaling Tower
Thurmond
Yards
Vintage Thurmond, WV: Thurmond,
WV Photos #1 - Thurmond,
WV Photos #2
Thurmond's railroad heritage: Thurmond,
WV Photos #1 - Thurmond,
WV Photos #2
Thurmond,
WV Photos #3 - Thurmond,
WV Coaling Town Photos
NPS: New
River Gorge: Thurmond -- Download a brochure
here.
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| Theatre
West Virginia |
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Near
Beckley, WV
The
Outdoor Dramas at Grandview
Phone:
304-256-6800 or toll free:
1-800-950-0250
For
almost half a century visitors have been
enjoying the summer outdoor dramas
“Honey in the Rock” and “Hatfields
& McCoys” at the Cliffside
Amphitheatre at Grandview.
Both historical musical dramas are
performed nightly, except Mondays, under
the stars in this beautiful natural
preserve, part of the National Park
Service’s New River
Gorge National River.
Visit:
Theatre
West Virginia
For further information on the theater,
the performing arts and entertainment in
the New River Gorge, see NewRiverWV's
guide to New
River Gorge, which features info
on: the
arts, music,
nearby theater
and outdoor
dramas; restaurants
and dining and night
life and entertainment; B&Bs,
cabins,
camping,
motels
and hotels and other lodging
near Theatre West Virginia's outdoor
dramas
and Beckley,
WV.
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| Wildwood |
 Beckley,
West Virginia (WV)
settlement
& civil war history
The home of settler Alfred Beckley,
Wildwood (c.1836) has been reopened as a
museum. Now surrounded by the suburban
sprawl of East Beckley, the museum
relives life in the early 1800s when
General Beckley arrived in the
wilderness to establish what's become a
small city.
The young engineer foresaw that the lay
of the land would perpetually force
commerce to pass through the wilderness
around which the town slowly developed.
304/252-8216
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