Valley Falls State Park

Valley Falls is known for its beautiful waterfalls flowing over massive rock formations. The Tygart Valley River begins on Cheat Mountain and travels over 100 miles before reaching Valley Falls where the sandstone ledges and two waterfalls (15 and 18 feet) drop the river about 70 feet in a mile. The stone formations are known as “connoquenessing sandstone formations,” considered part of the Pottsville Formation. This is a mapped bedrock ridge-former within the Appalachian region; largely sandstone, these “ridge-formers” are more resistant to erosion than underlying layers, leading to the ledges and outcroppings seen at Valley Falls.

The area that became Valley Falls State Park appears in early recollections of Native Americans and early American settlers, with evidence of Native trading posts and American homesteads and camps. The Catawba Indian Trail follows the river valley until is meets up with the Seneca Trail at Elkins, providing a transportation network for these early travelers. The falls had many early names, but ultimately the river valley was named for David Tygart, a pioneer who settled on the waterway in 1753.

Valley Falls experienced a “boom” in the 1800s, starting with W. W. Fetterman who purchased 1,000 acres around the falls in 1837 and built a whipsaw (lumber) mill there. A decade later, in 1847, John Bradshaw and William Whitescarver built a gristmill at the falls and by 1863 they were producing 70 barrels of flour a day under the “Pride of the Valley” brand. Remnants of the grist mill foundation and the mill traces for both mills are visible at the falls today.

The completion of the Baltimore & Ohio (B & O) Railroad line up to Wheeling in the 1850s completely changed Valley Falls into a bustling, industrial town. This boom town included a post office, hotel, mills and factories, B & O station, and over 100 homes and businesses. During the Civil War, the B & O railroad meant that the town was busy with troops due to the importance of railroads for the transportation for men and supplies. In addition, a factory in town manufactured gunstocks to supply the Union Army.

The 1880s proved devastating for the bustling town of Valley Falls. In 1886 a fire destroyed much of the town, most of which was not rebuilt. Two years later, in 1888, a flood destroyed much of what remained. About three million saw logs waiting for shipment on the railroad were held behind a boom above the falls. Heavy rain caused the river to swell and the boom broke, causing water and a “wall of logs 30 feet high” to hit the town of Valley Falls. While the mill was repaired and continued to operate until 1905, the town’s boom period was over.

In the 1900s the area became a popular recreation area and visitors could take the train out to enjoy the natural settling around the falls. Valley Falls became a state park in 1964 and today visitors can enjoy 1,145 acres and opportunities to fish, picnic, whitewater raft, and hike/bike 18 miles of trails. 

Balderson, Walter. Valley Falls of Old. West Virginia Magazine. September 1st 1973. 30 - 31.

Cain, David. Valley Falls State Park. West Virginia Magazine. March 1st 2000. 8 - 11.

Crockett, Maureen. Book of the Month. West Virginia Magazine. November 1st 2004. 27 - 29.

Curry, Catherine. Valley Falls State Park, West Virginia State Parks. Accessed August 31st 2020. https://www.stateparks.com/valley_falls_state_park_in_west_virginia.html.

Hyde Jr. , Arnout. Valley Falls State Park, The West Virginia Encylcopedia. Accessed August 31st 2020. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/848#:~:text=The%20history%20of%20the%20falls,by%20Bradshaw%20and%20William%20Whitescarver..

Pottsville Formation, Wikipedia. Accessed August 31st 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottsville_Formation.