Nuttallburg and Short Creek

Nuttallburg and Short Creek. New River Gorge National River. , Nuttallburg was built around this picturesque stream, called Short Creek. The creek played a major role in the life of residents. It provided water for residents, water for Nuttalburg industry, and it divided the community socially., Nuttallburg's founder, John Nuttall, channeled water from Short Creek to cool his coke ovens, diverting some of it into town for residents., Socially, Short Creek divided black from white. If you were African-American, you lived east of Short Creek (behind you). If you were white, you lived west, beyond the creek., As you cross Short Creek today, imagine yourself as a Nuttallburg resident a century ago-black or white-and what this small stream might have meant to you.,

[My grandfather] built a flume to carry water from Short Creek along the upper edge of the village to the coke oven reservoir, with branch flumes to carry water down to central parts of the town. , John Nuttall II, grandson of Nuttallburg founder John Nuttall

, Short Creek Bridge , To open Nuttallburg to the public, rebuilding the 1890s-era Short Creek bridge in 2005 and bringing it up to 21st-century safety standards was one of the first tasks. In this remote location, it was not easy. The bridge project illustrates the effort needed to reopen Nuttallburg.