The African American Heritage Family Tree Museum is unique in its mission to support the preservation of African American culture and history in West Virginia. The museum makes efforts to record local oral histories, visit and talk to local schools, and hold community programs to educate the surrounding communities. The museum was founded by two Chautauqua Scholars: Dr. Brucella Jordan and Norman Jordan.Dr. Brucella Jordan is a historian and the curator of the African American Heritage Family Tree Museum. She is a Chautauqua scholar who portrays the social activist Ida B. Wells, and the Harlem Renaissance poet, Anne Spencer.  Norman Jordan was the co-founder and director of the African American Heritage Family Tree Museum until his passing in 2015. He was also a poet and playwright associated with the Blacks Arts Movement, Director of the African American Arts &amp; Heritage Academy for teenagers, and a Carter G. Woodson Chautauqua Scholar. The museum holds the collection of African American photographer William H. Jordan. The collection contains over 1,000 negatives and photographs as well as Mr. Jordan’s personal diaries, his Krona View 8×10 Studio Camera and camera stand, his posing stool and various other two- and three-dimensional artifacts. Jordan was born in 1886 and died in 1976.The African American Heritage Family Tree Museum’s “Jordan Collection” is currently on display in the historic Norton House in Malden, West Virginia. The Norton House is owned and operated by West Virginia State University.

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The African American Heritage Family Tree Museum is dedicated to the collection, exhibition, and preservation of African American culture and history in West Virginia. This museum is open to the public from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The museum was established in 1991 by Norman Jordan and Dr. Brucella Jordan. The Norton House in Malden WV is connected to this museum, and is available to view by appointment.

The African American Heritage Family Tree Museum

This tour begins at the small town of Ansted (population 1000) with stops at several historic buildings and local museums before winding through Hawks Nest.

Ansted West Virginia and Hawks Nest State Park Tour

Originating first as a buffalo trail adopted by Native Americans for east-west tavel, today the Midland Trail remains an important route of travel across West Virginia.

Discover U.S. 60: The Midland Trail

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Tyree's Tavern is the oldest building in Fayette&nbsp;County. The property's origins as an established claim (but not the building) date back to&nbsp;1792 when Charles Skaggs established a patent of 400 acres. The land was sold to William Tyree in 1834 and included this structure which was expanded in the coming years. The location was perfect for many reasons due to its position.&nbsp; The tavern is located between Charleston and Lewisburg making it the perfect spot for travelers&nbsp;who were making the mountainous journey.&nbsp; Seizing this opportunity, William turned his investment into a tavern and occasional stagecoach stop.&nbsp;&nbsp;<div>In 1861 the tavern was the headquarters for Confederate General John B. Floyd when he, along with General Henry Alexander Wise, ran an "unsuccessful Kanawha Valley campaign."1&nbsp; In 1862 the tavern was once again turned into a headquarters but this time for the Union.&nbsp; Captain Charles W. Barker moved his Chicago Gray Dragoons into the area and turned the tavern into&nbsp;Union headquarters.&nbsp; "The original Chicago Dragoons enlisted in April 1861 for three months and were sent to West Virginia in June. Most of the men returned to Chicago when their enlistments expired, but their captain, Charles W. Barker, recruited two companies called the McClellan Dragoons."3 </div>Tyree's Tavern is also located near nine other historical landmarks and marks.&nbsp; The closest being the resting place of Julia Neale Jackson, the mother of Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.&nbsp; Julia Jackson passed in 1831 and was laid to rest in an unmarked grave on the hill behind the tavern.&nbsp; In 1855 Stonewall Jackson stayed at the tavern with hopes of seeing his mother's final resting place.&nbsp; "However, the grave was unmarked, and Jackson was not sure he saw the spot."4&nbsp; One of Stonewall's soldiers, now a captain, visited the grave and placed a marker so her grave would never be lost again.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Tyree's Tavern, also known in the region as the Halfway House of Ansted, was constructed in 1810 and is the oldest remaining building in the area. Constructed in the antebellum period, this tavern and inn served travelers along the Midland Trail. The building is believed to the be the oldest in Fayette County and was owned and operated by William Tyree. During the war, Tyree became the captain of Company C, 22nd Regiment Virginia Infantry. The tavern would be occupied by both Union and Confederate forces during the war. During the American Civil War, it would also serve as a hospital, homestead, and halfway house. The tavern includes the words "Headquarters of the Chicago Gray Dragoons," above the door. This was carved into the door by a Union Civil War unit that occupied the house. 

Tyree's Tavern is the oldest building in Fayette County. The property's origins as an established claim (but not the building) date back to 1792 when Charles Skaggs established a patent of 400 acres. The land was sold to William Tyree in 1834 and built this structure in the following years. The location was perfect for many reasons due to its position.  The tavern is located between Charleston and Lewisburg making it the perfect spot for travelers who were making the mountainous journey.  Seizing this opportunity, William turned his investment into a tavern and occasional stagecoach stop.  

Tyree's Tavern is the oldest building in Fayette County. The property's origins as an established claim (but not the building) date back to 1792 when Charles Skaggs established a patent of 400 acres. The land was sold to William Tyree in 1834 and built this structure in the following years. The location was perfect for many reasons due to its position.  The tavern is located between Charleston and Lewisburg making it the perfect spot for travelers who were making the mountainous journey.  Seizing this opportunity, William turned his investment into a tavern and occasional stagecoach stop.  

Tyree's Tavern is the oldest building in Fayette County. The property's origins as an established claim (but not the building) date back to 1792 when Charles Skaggs established a patent of 400 acres. The land was sold to William Tyree in 1834 and built this structure in the following years. The location was perfect for many reasons due to its position.  The tavern is located between Charleston and Lewisburg making it the perfect spot for travelers who were making the mountainous journey.  Seizing this opportunity, William turned his investment into a tavern and occasional stagecoach stop.  



Tyree's Tavern

Westlake Cemetery is "one of the earliest identified cemeteries west of the Allegheny Mountains."1&nbsp; The cemetery is located in Ansted, West Virginia which is located near Hawk's Nest State Park, Tyree's Tavern, the Contentment, Page-Vawter House, and the African American Museum and across the street from the Jackson's Mother Historical Marker.&nbsp; Ansted is a unique small town with a rich history embedded in the Civil War with Westlake Cemetery set right in the middle.Col. William Tyree was the owner of Tyree's Tavern that served as a stagecoach stop, tavern, halfway house, and a hospital during the Civil War.&nbsp; Tyree purchased the property in 1972 where he built most of the structure that we see today.&nbsp; The structure is the oldest building in Fayette&nbsp;County.&nbsp;&nbsp;Due to its location and relation to the cemetery, William was laid to rest in Westlake along with many descendants.&nbsp;Another noted resident of the Westlake Cemetery is General John D. Imboden.&nbsp; Imboden was an attorney and general in the Confederate army.&nbsp; He would later move to Ansted where he would hold political office, fight for industrialization, and become the towns very first, mayor.&nbsp; He died in 1922 and was buried&nbsp;at Westlake Cemetery.The most notable habitant of Westlake Cemetery is the mother of famed Confederate Commander Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson.&nbsp; Julia Neale Jackson was born on February 28th, 1798 in Loudon County, Virginia and died in December of 1831 due to childbirth complications.&nbsp; She left a lasting impression on her son Stonewall who would often talk about her to his troops.&nbsp; After Stonewall was unable to locate her grave at Westlake, Captain Thomas R. Ranson, one of Stonewall's former soldiers, placed a marker on her grave.&nbsp;

The historic Westlake Cemetery is nestled in the mountains of West Virginia in the town of Ansted and serves as the final resting place for prominent citizens, coal miners, teachers, and a significant number of Civil War soldiers. Two of the most prominent people buried here are colonial settler William Tyree who established an inn and tavern prior to the Civil War and the mother of Stonewall Jackson.   

Westlake Cemetery

Julia Neal was born on February 28th, 1798 in Loudon County, Virginia.&nbsp; In 1817 Julia Neal married Jonathan Jackson, who was&nbsp;originally from Randolph County.&nbsp;The&nbsp;couple settled in Clarksburg and had two&nbsp;children&nbsp;prior to the arrival of Thomas Jonathan Jackson on January 21, 1824.&nbsp;Like many other families in the antebellum period, tragedy struck the young family&nbsp;two years later&nbsp;&nbsp;when&nbsp;Julia's daughter Elizabeth and her husband&nbsp;perished&nbsp;from&nbsp;typhoid fever.In 1830, Julia married Blake Baker Woodson,&nbsp;the&nbsp;attorney&nbsp;for Fayette County.&nbsp;Records indicate that Blake Woodson "was not fond of his stepchildren" and&nbsp;as a result, Thomas and his siblings were sent to live with her relatives.&nbsp;Julia&nbsp;bore three more&nbsp;children before dying&nbsp;from complications related to&nbsp;childbirth&nbsp;on December 4th, 1831.&nbsp;Neighbors&nbsp;created a&nbsp;homemade coffin for Julia and marked her grave with only a small&nbsp;piece of wood.&nbsp; In 1855&nbsp;Thomas Jackson attempted to visit his mother's grave.&nbsp;The night before&nbsp;visiting the grave he had&nbsp;stayed at Tyree's Tavern, less than a quarter mile from her grave, before setting out to see her final resting place.&nbsp;The tavern's owner, William Tyree accompanied him to her resting place.&nbsp; However, the piece of wood used to mark her grave was&nbsp;missing and he was unable to&nbsp;determine her final resting spot.&nbsp;Sometime after this, Captain Thomas Ranson, a former solider of Stonewall, visited Westlake Cemetery. He reportedly devoted considerable effort to locate the final resting place of Julia&nbsp;Jackson&nbsp;and purchased a stone marker.&nbsp;

This marker commemorates Julia Jackson, mother of Confederate General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson. Jackson is best known as an able military commander who earned his nickname for demonstrating stoic courage under fire during the first battle of Manassas. His mother, Julia Jackson, was born in Loudon County, Virginia in February, 1798. She bore six other children and died during childbirth from complications in December of 1831. Julia Jackson was laid to rest in an unmarked grave in Westlake Cemetery in Ansted. Years later, a former Confederate Captain who had served with her son located her burial plot and placed a tombstone to mark the location of her grave. As of 2017, this is one of only two-dozen historical markers that commemorate women in West Virginia. Like several of those markers, this marker focusses almost exclusively on the actions and lives of men.

Stonewall Jackson's Mother Historical Marker

The Page Vawter House is a historic home located in Ansted, WV. It is a Fayette County landmark that has lasted for over 120 years and was built by Architect William Minter who designed the home in a Victorian style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The property was placed on the register for its significance of 19th century Victorian architecture. The house was established in 1890 and first occupied by William Nelson Page. He was an engineer from Virginia who worked for the Chesapeake &amp; Ohio Railroad. He traveled throughout West Virginia several times while completing the rail line through the New River Gorge. During his travels in West Virginia Page befriended David Ansted, who was an English geologist and surveyor. They would remain friends.Page made a name for himself as a man who could get things done. He was hired by the Hawks Nest Coal Company to engineer the construction of a narrow gauge railroad from Ansted to the main line of the C&amp;O Railroad. He completed this project faster and cheaper than expected and was thought to be a man of great importance. He was appointed by the Board of Directors of the Hawks Nest Coal Company to serve as the company manager. He was a great asset to the company and was an important factor in its success. The company was reorganized as the Gauley Mountain Coal Company in 1884. The company built an elaborate mansion for its president and general manager in the town of Ansted in 1890. The house was originally built in an L-shape Victorian style that was laid on a cut stone foundation. The home has two stories with a wrap-around veranda that made it a marvel for its time. The exterior of the house is adorned with fifty-two, eight foot tall, double hung windows, and five chimneys. The interior of the house is paneled and floored with oak. The window facings are made of solid walnut. The mansion was so large that it required eleven fireplaces to heat it efficiently. Every fireplace has a ceramic tile hearth and carved Victorian mantels of cherry, oak, and walnut. It is said to be one of the foremost landmarks in south-central West Virginia. It is one of the most distinguishable landmarks in Fayette County.Page retired in 1917 and moved to Washington, D.C. The home was divided into two and renovations were completed. The home stood empty for several years until it was offered to Captain John Vawter. He managed the company store in Ansted. Page had been Vawter’s boss, and they had been friends for years.  He was already familiar with the house, so he and his family rented half of the house. He lived there until he died in 1928. His son and daughter continued to live at home. The siblings eventually bought the house and lived there until they died. The house remained in the hands of David Fox a descendant of Captain John Vawter.

The Page-Vawter House is a 19th century Victorian home in Fayette County that was built by the Hawks Nest Coal Company and served as the home of the company's president and general manager. The property has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985.  

Page-Vawter House

&nbsp; &nbsp; In January of 1880, one of West Virginia's first coal miners strikes began in Coal Valley, what is now Montgomery. Strikers worked for the Hawks Nest Coal Company in Coal Valley and argued that the work of the mine unions was being undercut by the company's nonunionized workers from the nearby Hawks Nest mines. The Coal Valley workers tried to negotiate better conditions and pay. The strikers were pressured by the coal operators who were striking in Kanawha County mines around the same time for better pay. The coal operators in Kanawha County hoped to persuade the C&amp;O Railway Company to build more liens and run more cars through the Kanawha Valley by slowing work in the mines of Fayette County.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Then Governor Henry Mathews feared that violence would erupt as a result of the strike. Matthews was wary of strike violence because of a violent railroad strike in the Martinsburg area not long before. After&nbsp;several Coal Valley miners traveled to Hawks Nest mines to threaten other miners, the state felt that action was needed. In an effort to halt the strike and prevent violence, Governor Matthews attempted to convince Sheriff C.H. McClung of Fayette County to intervene. McClung feared a backlash from voters and refused to get involved in the conflict. Instead, Matthews sent in a militia group from Charleston and Lewisburg on McClung's recommendation. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A total of 25 miners were arrested by the militia and held by Sheriff McClung, each of whom was charged with unlawful interference. The success of militia's efforts to halt the strike was&nbsp;felt by many of those involved. This strategy was repeated by officials for strikes in many subsequent years, including the 1894, 1902, and 1912 strikes. During WWI, the militia was sent abroad to fight and the state formed a police division in 1919 specifically to quell mine related violence.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Several participants in the events rose to prominence after the strike. Emanual Willis Wilson defended the strikers in the Fayette County Circuit Court and went on to become a governor. Militia commander John W.M. Appleton would rise to the rank of adjutant general in West Virginia. Most famously, William Nelson Page, a Kanawha County coal operator, formed the Company C of the West Virginia National Gaurd's 2nd Regiment and served for 20 years as a militia leader.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; One entrance to the Hawks Nest Rail Trail begins at this location. Along the trail, hikers can view the entrance to the abandoned Mill Creek Colliery mine which was involved in the strike.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In 1880 the West Virginia militia was used for the first time to stop a coal mine strike. The clashing of union and nonunion workers in the Coal Valley and Hawks Nest mines led the unionized works to halt work. After the strikers threatened violence to workers in neighboring mines, Governor Henry Matthews called in the state militia to arrest miners and break up the strike. The events at Hawks Nest and Coal Valley set a president for the handling of future mine strikes. The Hawks Nest Rail Trail offers a view of the Mill Creek Colliery Mine which was involved in the strike. 

Hawks Nest Coal Strike

Fayette County was named after the Revolutionary War hero, Marquis de Lafayette and is home to many historic landmarks including this structure which dates back to the 1830s. The home was purchased by Virginian and Confederate officer George Imboden in 1872.&nbsp; Imboden led the 18th Virginia Calvary and later became a prominent citizen of Ansted as well as its first mayor. Before serving as mayor, he had been elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates. His second wife named their home "Contentment."&nbsp;

The home originally consisted of five rooms and a detached kitchen.&nbsp; Colonel Imboden began renovations on the home and added two rooms and extended the porch.&nbsp; The exterior of the home is common for the era and is described as a “cottage.”&nbsp; There were several of these cottage type homes found in Virginia and West Virginia spring resorts at the time.&nbsp; Contentment was originally made with a wooden frame with vertical clapboards in the front and horizontal clapboards on the sides and the back.&nbsp;

The Contentment House was one of two structures that did not burn to the ground during the Civil War. &nbsp;It was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places by the Fayette County Historical Society on October 30, 1974. Its nomination form states the Contentment House shows significance in the areas of 19th&nbsp;century architecture, military, industry, and politics.&nbsp; The Contentment House now serves Fayette County as a museum.&nbsp; &nbsp;

 Contentment House is a pre-Civil War structure that is owned and operated by the Fayette County Historical Society as a local history museum. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home's original structure dates back to the 1830s and the home was expanded to its current state in 1872 by then-owner George Imboden, a former Confederate officer who also served as the first mayor of the town of Ansted. Today, the home serves as a museum with period antiques and Civil War era décor. 

Contentment House Museum

The Great Depression that followed the great stock market crash of 1929 was a devastating economic climate for most Americans. When the prospect of work came along, thousands of unemployed workers usually jumped at the chance. Growing chemical giant Union Carbide &nbsp;then in the process of building a metallurgical plant in Alloy, West Virginia needed both a way to power the new factory and a massive supply of silica for the manufacturing process. The company devised a way to provide both with a new project: the Hawks Nest Tunnel.With the mountainous terrain and falling waters of the area, near where the confluence of the New and Gauley Rivers become the Kanawha, hydroelectric power had been in use since the early 1900s. Union Carbide awarded Rinehart and Dennis Corporation of Charlottesville, Virginia the contract to build a three mile long tunnel through Gauley Mountain which was very rich in silica. The water would be diverted through the tunnel to a new dam for power. The contract was awarded on March 13, 1930 and the company had exactly two years from that date to have the tunnel, dam, and powerhouse completed.There was no shortage of available men to work. The Great Depression provided the opportunity to find an available and easy workforce. &nbsp;Approximately 5000 men were recruited to work on the tunnel over the course of the two years-with ⅔ of them being African American. Of these 5000, 2982 were underground drilling and blasting while most of the skilled positions were filled by men from Union Carbide. Workers lived on site, in shacks, sometimes 8 men to a room. Workers were paid 35 cents an hour and worked up to 60 hours a week--however, they paid $1 a week for shack rent and electricity plus 50 cents a week for the use of a company doctor and local hospital.The tunnel was dug through Gauley Mountain between Anstead and Gauley Bridge. Core ground samples revealed most of the rock to be high-grade silica bearing sandstone. Normally with this type of rock, a “wet drilling” technique would be used, where water is applied to the drill bits to reduce dust. However, with so little time to complete the project a dry drilling technique was used. Workers would often come home covered in a white dust from head to toe. &nbsp;Because this was a civil engineering project, safety measures were reduced. The tunnel had poor ventilation. There was a lack of dust control and only a limited use of personal breathing protection.Within months of starting the project, workers started to get sick. At first, company doctors diagnosed them with pneumonia, but as more men fell ill, their families were less satisfied with the company’s explanation. A Fayetteville law firm took on the case and consulted an independent professional, Dr. Leonidas Ryan Harless, to conduct chest x-rays of affected workers. &nbsp;Harless confirmed that it was not pneumonia, but silicosis: a progressive fibrosis of the lungs caused by inhaling pulverized silica dioxide. The law firm went on to sue for compensation for the workers and their families against Rinehart and Dennis Corporation, aided by an agreement from Dr. Harless that he would examine any worker they represented. The Corporation’s defense stated that tunnel had the best ventilation possible while the machinery and the working conditions at Hawks Nest were the best ever known. A settlement was eventually reached--a mere $200,000. &nbsp;This settlement was split between 538 families and some settlements ranged from $30 upwards to $1,600.The complete death toll from the disaster is not known. The United States House of Representatives held a congressional hearing in 1936, eventually attributing 476 deaths to the disaster. In an award-winning study conducted in 1986 by epidemiologist Martin Cherniack, however, Dr. Cherniak asserts that upward of 764 actually died of silicosis and exposure to the silica dust. Congress did not pursue any punitive actions against Union Carbide or Rinehart and Dennis.While the death toll was still climbing, victims were dying so quickly that it became an issue as to where the dead should be buried. Only 40% of men lasted more than 2 months on the job--a mere 20% made past 6 months. The greatest hardships often fell to the African American workers--who in this segregated era were often not allowed burials in “white” cemeteries. At first, the recently deceased were dumped in the river bed and covered with tunnel rock. When public suspicions were aroused, Union Carbide paid a nearby farmer to bury African-Americans in unmarked graves in a field on Martha White’s farm in Nicholas County, near Summersville.Today, the tunnel continues to divert water and produce electricity for the metallurgical plant in Alloy. Though Union Carbide was dismantled and sold in portions throughout the 1980s and 1990s, their persistent destruction of records coupled with a campaign to silence workers in the 1930s has prevented a meaningful body of scholarship on the disaster since--though in 2016 West Virginia University Press re-published famed New York poet Muriel Rukheyser’s “The Book of the Dead,” written in 1936, which revolves around her interactions with Hawks Nest survivors.Silicosis has since been diagnosed as an occupational disease with compensation for workers. But while the tragedy at Hawks Nest informed this legislation, the tunnel workers of 1930-1932 were not protected by these laws, and their legacy remains largely unrecognized.

Despite being considered one of the greatest industrial disasters in United States history, the events at Hawks Nest Tunnel remain remarkably unacknowledged in the development of American labor. As the country sank into the Great Depression, in 1930-1932 a three-mile long tunnel from was dug through the heart of Gauley Mountain in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia by Union Carbide corporation to divert water to a hydroelectric plant, and at the time the project was considered an engineering marvel. Lax safety standards and a disregard for worker welfare, however, caused the death of hundreds of workers from silicosis. Despite later legislation that set precedents in mining and safety standards, Union Carbide avoided any real consequences in the investigation that followed.


Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster 

Chief Justice John Marshall visited this region along the Kanawha River in the early 1800s, and was so impressed by the views that the area became known as “Marshall’s Pillars.” By the time the Civil War broke out, the area was simply known as Hawks Nest Rock--so named for the ospreys, often referred to as fish hawks, that frequent the area. The Gauley River was an important transportation route during the Civil War and skirmishes broke out in the area for control of this vital supply line. Confederate General (and former Virginia governor) Henry Wise established camps on the nearby heights, which provided good views for pickets of any approaching enemies. Later, Union troops consolidated control over the area and pushed out the Confederates. Their camp nearby was the sometime home of future president Rutherford B. Hayes and the 23rd Ohio Infantry.On March 30, 1930, a contract was awarded to Rinehart and Dennis Corporation of Charlottesville, Virginia to build the tunnel and dam nearby. They had exactly two years from that date to get it finished. The tunnel, three miles long, would divert water through Gauley Mountain and supply power to the new metallurgic plant then being built in Alloy. It was drilled directly through high grade silica rock. With such a short window in which to complete the project, Rinehart and Dennis often ignored safety protocols and took shortcuts, resulting in a lack of safety equipment for the workers. And workers were not in short supply: even as many fell ill from the copious dust in the mine, more stepped forward to take their place, as the Great Depression had deprived many American men of employment.Using a dry drilling technique instead of wetting down the rock to reduce dust--a technique already well-known at the time-- produced such large amounts of silica dust that many miners were too ill to work within fifteen weeks of starting. A Congressional hearing eventually attributed 476 deaths. A study published by epidemiologist Martin Cherniack in 1986 estimates the total to be 764.In 1935, the state of West Virginia bought the land around the dam and the tunnel to build a state park. The area includes cliffs, streams, and a lake. The lake was formed by the damming of the river in 1934. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) performed the work of transforming the area near Gauley Bridge, blighted for years by the Tunnel tragedy, into a State Park. The CCC was considered one of Franklin Roosevelt’s greatest New Deal programs, often shaping national and state parks programs in ways that survive to this day. For example, the CCC planted more than 3 billion trees and constructed trails and shelters in more than 800 parks across the country. The CCC built several of the stone buildings featured in the park. The park museum, main overlook visitor complex, picnic shelters, and even the unique round tower shaped restrooms were built by CCC workers. The museum has a glassed observation room that offers a view of the gorge.In 1939, after the park had been completed, it was included in a state guide written by the Works Progress Administration--which, as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal employment relief programs, was writing visitors’ guides for all (then) forty-eight states. Called West Virginia: Guide to the Mountain State, its publication was held up by then-Governor Homer Holt, who insisted that it was “propaganda” for its frank admission of labor troubles during the Miner’s March of 1921 and the Hawks Nest Tunnel tragedy. Holt had been the state’s Attorney General during the Hawks Nest affair, and had stalwartly backed Union Carbide throughout the proceedings. He later served as a lawyer for Union Carbide after his governorship. Holt’s battle with the WPA lasted his entire tenure in office and nearly killed federal funding for the guide; finally, the WPA was able to publish the book intact after Governor M.M. Neely was elected in 1941.The Department of Natural Resources took control of the property in 1963. A four-story lodge was built shortly after, designed by Walter Gropius’ architectural firm. Gropius was a world-renowned architect whose works remain influential to this day. He also designed, among many other structures, the Huntington Museum of Art and John F. Kennedy Federal Office Building in Boston. The lodge contains 31 rooms while the restaurant features a wide, two-story window wall that faces the gorge.The park features seven different hiking trails of varying distance and difficulty. A golf course within the park began operation in 1999 until a budget deficit resulted in its closure in 2013. The park’s famous views and rich history, along with its close proximity to the perennially popular New River Gorge, draws thousands of visitors annually.

First established as a State Park in 1935, the importance of Hawks Nest dates back to well before West Virginia became a state.  Taking its name from the ospreys (also known as “fish hawks”) that are a common sight on nearby cliffs, the area was first called Marshall’s Pillar when it was frequented in the early 1800s by John Marshall, then fourth Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Decades later, the area bore witness to several Civil War skirmishes involving Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Henry Wise. In the 1920s, a nearby tunnel and dam were built to supply power for corporate chemical giant Union Carbide’s plant in Alloy.  Finally in 1935, the state of West Virginia bought the surrounding land to build a state park. The Civilian Conservation Corps built several of the structures in the park including a scenic overlook and museum, which draw thousands of visitors annually to this day.


Hawks Nest State Park

Lovers’ Leap is located in&nbsp;Ansted, WV. This
area is part of the Historic Coal Heritage Trail, and Lovers' Leap itself is
inside Hawks Nest State Park.&nbsp;Lovers' Leap stands nearly 500 feet above
the New River Gorge.2 This area gets its name from the legends of several
couples making the fatal fall or “leap” in hopes of being together forever in
the afterlife. Each couple had their own reasons for wanting to jump; however,
for some, it has been said that they fell in a tragic accident even after
running away to be together.&nbsp;Either way, the legends have resulted in West
Virginia’s very own, tragic Romeo &amp; Juliet kind of&nbsp;tale. &nbsp;

According to&nbsp;George W. Atkinson in his 1876
book,&nbsp;History of Kanawha County, the original story of Lovers’ Leap began
with a young Native American couple. It is said that a Shawnee
Indian&nbsp;Chief disapproved of his daughter’s love for a young brave man
within the same tribe.2 &nbsp;In protest of an arranged marriage by her father,
the young maiden, along with her true love, escaped the confines of her tipi.
The two decided the best thing to do was to run away together. In search of the
couple, the chief and his warriors soon cornered the lovers on the cliff now
known as Lovers’ Leap. Rather than be separated in life,&nbsp;they decided to
be together in death.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Another very similar story is that of a pioneer
couple from Lewisburg, WV. Supposedly, they jumped from the cliff of Lovers’
Leap because the girl’s parents forbid the relationship. Another&nbsp;version
of&nbsp;the same story is that the girl&nbsp;became dizzy while taking in the
grand view and stumbled forward and off the cliff. Her lover, not being able to
catch her in time, leaving him heartbroken, decided to jump off the cliff to be
with his lover for all eternity.Although the history of this spot may be somewhat tragic,
the view from Lovers’ Leap is still considered a romantic one. When
telling the legends of Lovers’ Leap, Sandy Spradling quotes Atkinson’s book
as he writes about the young pioneer couple mentioned earlier: 

<blockquote>Their steps were directed
west ward, with the hope of finding another settlement, there to be duly united
in wedlock according to the style and customs of frontier life. On arriving at
this romantic spot, beholding the lofty precipice, and being deeply impressed
with the scenery sublime, they stood entranced upon its summit.1</blockquote>

Lovers’
Leap presents a gorgeous view, and according to Kathryn Stewart’s article, “this trail starts at Hawk’s Nest State Park office and
travels down steep wooden steps to the overlook.”2

Lovers’ Leap is located inside of Hawks Nest State Park at the top of a cliff that stands 585 feet above the New River Gorge. After climbing 100 stones steps, you can view the New River Valley from the cliff’s edge. Lovers’ Leap is situated along the historic Midland Trail, and has been a common location for suicides dating back to the early 1800’s; this history has resulted in the naming of the location, as it is rumored that several lovers have leaped from this cliff, for they would rather be together in death than be without love.  

Lovers' Leap, Hawks Nest State Park

Civil War Battles Near Hawk's Nest After the Battle of Monassass, the Northeast was secure for the Confederate Army allowing General Robert E. Lee turn his attention to the Allegheny region. &nbsp;Lee's left army operating in the area was commanded by General Floyd and General Wise. &nbsp;Skirmishes broke out in August, 1861 the area at Hawks Nest and later at Pigott's Mills. &nbsp;The operations conducted in the vicinity were in preparation to take Gauley. &nbsp; In the Trans-Allegheny region, General Robert E. Lee pursued
a campaign to control the Gauley River and the surrounding region.&nbsp; This area was valuable because the Gauley
River was one of the main routes for the transport of commerce and supply into
West Virginia.&nbsp; General Lee split his
army into two wings, the right wing being controlled by General Loring at
Summersville, and the left wing which was controlled by General Floyd and under
him, General Wise which held camp near Hawk’s Nest.&nbsp; At their encampment on the mountainside, the
Confederate troops suffered from lacking proper food and shelter.&nbsp; Due to the torrential downpour that lasted
for several weeks, there was an outbreak of fever and measles within the troops.


&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On July
10th, 1861, Colonel Davis who was occupying an advance location at
Meadow Bluff spotted Union troops to his front.&nbsp;
After reporting this information, Floyd advanced to the location
immediately.&nbsp; It was not until July 14th
that Floyd ordered Wise to move to his location, but Wise was sluggish in his
response because he was lacking half the wagons he needed, his horses didn’t have
shoes, and he was facing command problems in his troops.&nbsp; Whenever Wise sent troops, he sent 2,000 men
to occupy Big Sewell Mountain.&nbsp; Floyd
then took up a position at Summersville where his forces could flank General
Cox at Gauley or General Rosecrans if he attempted to move down from the
north.&nbsp; General Cox was seen as a serious
threat because he overinflated the size of his force even though he only had an
Ohio regiment under Colonel Tyler.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; August
20th, near Hawk’s Nest, Lieutenant Colonel Craghan was involved in
two skirmishes on that resulted in a few killed and wounded on both sides.&nbsp; Later, August 25th at Pigott’s
Mill, Colonel Jenkins and his cavalry suffered defeat due to an infantry ambush
leaving eight to ten wounded on each side.&nbsp;
The next day, August 26th Floyd managed to cross the Gauley
River at Canafax Ferry and surprise Tyler’s forces early in the morning for a
decisive Confederate victory.&nbsp; The defeat
of Colonel Tyler forced General Rosecrans to move to Gauley, pushing General
Cox and his forces towards Floyd’s position.&nbsp;
The maneuvers that took place set the battlefield for the control of
Gauley.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It was September
2nd that General Wise moved on the Union position at Hawk’s
Nest.&nbsp; Colonel Anderson began by
attempting to take the rear of the small mountain that the Union forces
occupied by holding positions along the base.&nbsp;
In an attempt to take the position, companies of Summers, Ryan, and Jane
crossed Big Creek and climbed the hill to take control of the summit.&nbsp; The Confederates used a Howitzer from another
mountain to clear the enemy off the location, but abandoned the hill whenever a
Union rifled cannon began firing on their position.&nbsp; After abandoning the Confederate position,
they took up positions that oversaw Miller’s Ferry and Liken’s Mill.

Hawk's Nest Overlook was built during the Great Depression as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) construction projects. Chief Justice John Marshall explored this section of Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1812 and was so impressed by the view of the New River valley that this area was often referred to as "Marshall's Pillar." During the 1930s, young men were employed by the CCC to create what is now Hawks Nest State Park. The area is best-known for another construction project, the creation of a tunnel with hydroelectric equipment that generated power as the water of the New River travelled through Gauley Mountain. The government failed to provide protective equipment for the workforce, composed mostly of African American laborers. A Congressional investigation ruled that the failure to provide protective equipment led to the deaths of 476 men whose inhaled silica rock dust while they built the tunnel. Today, Hawks Nest offers a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities, historic markers, and a hotel and gift shop. 

Ansted West Virginia and Hawks Nest State Park Tour

The African American Heritage Family Tree Museum

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information