On opposite sides of the New River, the twin mining towns of Fayette and South Fayette were established along the tracks of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. The company town of Fayette provided miners with housing, a company store, a school, post . . . — — Map (db m179372) HM
The original Fayette Station Bridge built in 1889 provided a much needed way to reach the other side of the gorge. No longer did people have to take a dangerous and time-consuming ferry to get across the river.
The bridge you are standing on . . . — — Map (db m179369) HM
In the early 1900s, over 80 coal mines and towns lined this gorge and were connected by the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Railway. Freight trains ran every 15 minutes and a dozen passenger trains ran daily during those busy times. The area's industrial . . . — — Map (db m243360) HM
New River coal, the natural resource that created the gorge's boom and bust economy, is the product of a geologic process millions of years in the making.
300 million years ago, the landscape here was a tropical swamp covered with vegetation. . . . — — Map (db m242423) HM
Nine hundred feet below, New River flows north. North? Odd in the American east where rivers don’t flow north. Oddities seem common at New River.
The river’s name and age are both unusual. No one knows the name’s origin: some say explorers found . . . — — Map (db m99982) HM
You may find it hard to believe that the New River Gorge was once teeming with activity. Coal mining dominated the economy and social structure of the state of West Virginia between 1875 and 1950. During this time over forty coal mining towns were . . . — — Map (db m165274) HM
In the early 1900’s, mines and mining towns lined New River Gorge. One such town, Kaymoor, stood in the distance where the river disappears from view. Kaymoor typified New River’s mining era.
For years New River Gorge’s rugged remoteness defied . . . — — Map (db m99988) HM
Completed in 1977, New River Bridge is the world’s longest single-arch steel span bridge. At 876 feet above the river it is American’s 2nd-highest bridge.
Features to Notice Color. The steel used here, Cor-ten steel, rusts slightly on the . . . — — Map (db m99996) HM
When the New River Gorge Bridge
was completed on October 22, 1977,
a travel challenge was solved. The
bridge reduced a 45-minute drive
down narrow mountain roads and
across one of North America's
oldest rivers to less than a minute
drive. . . . — — Map (db m165220) HM
When the New River Gorge Bridge
was completed on October 22, 1977,
a travel challenge was solved. The
bridge reduced a 45-minute drive
down narrow mountain roads and
across one of North America's
oldest rivers to less than a minute
drive. . . . — — Map (db m223789) HM
Notice the tree-covered slopes of the Gorge—they are not as they appear.
From here the solid forest cover from riverbottom to ridgetop all looks pretty much the same, but, a close look reveals great differences. The forest varies with slope, . . . — — Map (db m99980) HM
This walkway leads to views of the New River Bridge. An easily-accessible upper overlook provides a scenic view framed by trees. From there the walkway descends 200 feet down a steep stairway to a broad view of the bridge, gorge, and New River 600 . . . — — Map (db m99993) HM
What is so special here? Why did the United States Congress in 1978 add New River Gorge to America’s system of National Parks? Because at New River Gorge National River there is:
(Inscriptions under the images-left to right, top to bottom) *An . . . — — Map (db m99975) HM
