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Barton Knob is a mountain summit located on
One of the most notable features is its fire tower, which has graced the top of the mountain since at least 1939. While the tower is still standing , it has been abandoned and is no longer safe to climb. In June 2010, the U.S. Forest Service planned to remove the tower as part of a project to construct a radio repeater on Barton Knob. The radio repeater was installed by May 2012 adjacent to the tower, which was not removed. Barton Knob Fire Tower and Repeater
Cheat Mountain
Cheat Mountain is an exceptionally high and rugged ridge situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is about long (north to south) and more than five miles (8 km) wide at its widest. Its highest point is at its sou ...
in southeastern Randolph County Randolph County is the name of eight counties in the United States:
*Randolph County, Alabama
*Randolph County, Arkansas
*Randolph County, Georgia
*Randolph County, Illinois
*Randolph County, Indiana
*Randolph County, Missouri
*Randolph County, Nort ...
, West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
. Easily accessible during warm-weather months, Bickle Knob is also home to one of the few remaining fire towers in Monongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally managed land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Regi ...
.
Fire Tower
One of the most notable features is its fire tower, which has graced the top of the mountain since at least 1939. While the tower is still standing , it has been abandoned and is no longer safe to climb. In June 2010, the U.S. Forest Service planned to remove the tower as part of a project to construct a radio repeater on Barton Knob. The radio repeater was installed by May 2012 adjacent to the tower, which was not removed. Barton Knob Fire Tower and Repeater
Strip mining
The area surrounding Barton Knob is also notable for having beenstrip mine
Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in whic ...
d prior to its acquisition by Monongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally managed land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Regi ...
as part of the Mower Tract in 1986. Today, MNF's Strip Mine Trail (Trail #350) traverses much of the area mined on the south side of Barton Knob and a ledge created continuing east along Cheat Mountain.
Rainbow Gathering
In 2005, the Rainbow Gathering considered using (and some may have used) strip-mined land near Barton Knob after being displaced from the original meeting site near Alpena.Forest restoration
In late 2010, the Forest Service designated a section of Barton Knob as the Barton Bench Ecological Restoration Site. After strip mining, the land had been replanted with non-native grasses to protect the soil. This also led to an arresting of ecological development as the grasses kept out any native growths. The Forest Service is conducting experiments on various ways to restart ecological succession on the site with an eye towards eventual reforestation with nativered spruce
''Picea rubens'', commonly known as red spruce, is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec and Nova Scotia, west to the Adirondack Mountains and south through New England along the Appalachians to western ...
and hardwood trees.
See also
*Bickle Knob
Bickle Knob is a mountain summit located east of Elkins in Randolph County, West Virginia, USA. Easily accessible during warm-weather months, Bickle Knob is also home to one of the few remaining observation towers in Monongahela National Fores ...
, an open Monongahela National Forest observation tower
* Olson Observation Tower, another Monongahela National Forest observation tower
*Cheat Mountain
Cheat Mountain is an exceptionally high and rugged ridge situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is about long (north to south) and more than five miles (8 km) wide at its widest. Its highest point is at its sou ...
, on which Barton Knob sits
*Monongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally managed land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Regi ...
References
{{Mountains of West Virginia Monongahela National Forest Mountains of Randolph County, West Virginia Allegheny Mountains Mountains of West Virginia