Coopers Rock State Forest

According to West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation, Coopers Rock State Forest is named for "a legend about a fugitive who hid from the law near what is now the overlook. A cooper by trade, he resumed making barrels at his new mountain hideout, selling them to people in nearby communities. He lived and worked in the forest for many years₁." 

The park features eleven National Register of Historic Places structures including picnic shelters located close to the overlook. These protected structures were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) out of American chestnut wood during the Great Depression₁. Added in 1970, another National Registered of Historic Places site, is the Henry Clay Iron Furnace, which can be viewed by taking either the Clay Furnace or Clay Run trail. Built approximately between 1834-1836 by Leonard Lamb, the furnace was capable of producing four tons of iron daily, and it provided work for about 200 citizens. The working community lived primitively in the area near the furnace. The workers and their families resided in log cabins and managed to build a school and church as well. The iron produced was generally "sent to Jackson ironworks for conversion into wrought iron for use to make cut nails, while some iron was used to make cast-iron stoves₂."

Besides serving as a recreational and preservation site, Coopers Rock State Forest also is the site of  forestry research, timber management, and watershed and wildlife protection₁.