Built, 1830, on the old James River and Kanawha Turnpike. Restored antebellum home of Colonel George W. Imboden, on General Lee's staff, C.S.A. Property and headquarters of the Fayette County Historical Society, organized in 1926. — — Map (db m50392) HM
Regular stop on the James River and Kanawha Turnpike. The original building, dating from before the Revolution, was rebuilt by William Tyree, 1810. During the winter of 1861-62, it was headquarters for Chicago Gray Dragoons. — — Map (db m67013) HM
After the Civil War, George W. Imboden lived here with his wife, Mary Tyree, the daughter of William Tyree of Tyree Tavern. When the war began, Imboden enlisted in the Staunton Artillery in Augusta County, Virginia, where he then resided. He . . . — — Map (db m34371) HM
The Birdman of West Virginia
When thinking of the early aviation history of the United States, many times we think of Dayton or Kitty Hawk. However, the town of Ansted also holds a very special place in the story, as it was the birthplace of . . . — — Map (db m173335) HM
Once called Marshall’s Pillar for Chief Justice John Marshall, who came here, 1812. U.S. engineers declare the New River Canyon, 585 feet deep, surpasses the famed Royal Gorge. Tunnel for river makes vast water power here. — — Map (db m20675) HM
Mouth of the great Hawk's Nest Tunnel, three miles long, which diverts water of New River from its five-mile long gorge. The tunnel, a mile of which is through solid rock, and a 50-foot dam give waterfall of 160 feet for electric power. — — Map (db m34421) HM
Like many other areas of West Virginia, coal mining has played an important role in the history of Ansted and the surrounding area. Soon after the 1873 completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, coal mines began springing up in the New River . . . — — Map (db m173339) HM
In 1930 the Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation was in the process of building its new electrometallurgical plant in nearby Boncar (later known as Alloy). It was decided a hydroelectric power station would be constructed near Gauley Bridge with a . . . — — Map (db m173337) HM
Construction of nearby tunnel, diverting waters of New R. through Gauley Mt. for hydroelectric power, resulted in state’s worst industrial disaster. Silica rock dust caused 109 admitted deaths in mostly black, migrant underground work force of . . . — — Map (db m34417) HM
Eight panels mounted to the inside of the town gazebo depict some historical and notable features of the town.
Panel 1 - Town of Ansted
The town of Ansted, West Virginia chartered in 1891, was created because of coal. The town's . . . — — Map (db m173340) HM
In Westlake Cemetery is the grave of the mother of General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The monument at the grave was placed by Captain Thomas Ranson, who had fought in Jackson's old brigade in the War between the States. — — Map (db m34376) HM
The sheer cliffs of Nuttall sandstones forming the walls of the New River Gorge are the "Salt Sands" of the driller. These sands produce oil and natural gas in West Virginia and commercial brines on the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers.
Sponsored . . . — — Map (db m34420) HM
During his and Gen. Henry Alexander Wise’s unsuccessful Kanawha Valley campaign, Confederate Gen. John B. Floyd made his headquarters here, August 17-18, 1861, while Wise camped on the top of Big Sewell Mountain. In 1862, according to an inscription . . . — — Map (db m59937) HM
This is one of the earliest identified cemeteries west of the Allegheny Mountains. William Tyree, owner of nearby Tyree Tavern, and Confederate Col. George W. Imboden, brother of Gen. John D. Imboden, are buried here. The cemetery is best known, . . . — — Map (db m173345) HM
William Nelson Page became one of the leading managers and developers of West Virginia's coalfields in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with much of his time being spent here in Ansted. While president of the Gauley Mountain Coal Company, . . . — — Map (db m173338) HM
