Blackwater Falls State Park is located in the
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...
of
Tucker County
Tucker County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,762, making it West Virginia's fourth-least populous county. Its county seat is Parsons. The county was created in 1856 from a part of ...
,
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 Bur ...
, US. The centerpiece of the park is Blackwater Falls, a cascade where the
Blackwater River
A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black te ...
leaves its leisurely course in
Canaan Valley
Canaan Valley () is a large bathtub-shaped upland valley in northeastern Tucker County, West Virginia, USA. Within it are extensive wetlands and the headwaters of the Blackwater River which spills out of the valley at Blackwater Falls. It is a wel ...
and enters rugged
Blackwater Canyon
Blackwater Canyon is a rugged, heavily wooded, long gorge carved by the Blackwater River in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. For many years, it has been the object of controversy as environmental activists have contended wit ...
. It is among the most photographed venues in the state and appears on calendars, stationery, and advertisements. The river is named for its
tannin
Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.
The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', ...
-darkened water.
Geography
Blackwater Falls State Park is located about two miles (3 km) southwest of
Davis
Davis may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Davis (Antarctica)
* Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago)
* Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land
Canada
* Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community
* Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...
. It protects
of
red 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
eastern hemlock
''Tsuga canadensis'', also known as eastern hemlock, eastern hemlock-spruce, or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as ''pruche du Canada'', is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It is the state tree of ...
upland forest. (Other important tree species in the park include
yellow birch
''Betula alleghaniensis'', the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the pa ...
,
American beech
''Fagus grandifolia'', the American beech or North American beech, is a species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and extreme southeast of Canada.
Description
''Fagus grandifolia'' is a large deciduous tree growing to tall, w ...
,
red maple
''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nativ ...
and
black cherry
''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the g ...
.)
The Falls
The "Great Falls" of Blackwater River drop about at the head of Blackwater Canyon. The major ledge is composed of
Connoquenessing sandstone of the Middle
Pottsville Formation
The Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, and Alabama. It is a major ridge-former in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of the eastern United States. The Pottsville Fo ...
. The Falls are usually cited as the highest above-ground falls (there are higher cave falls) in the state.
[The height of the Falls is between 57 feet (17 m) and , depending on how it is measured.] A rocky prominence near the center of the Falls divides its waters into a distinctive formation, rendering its images instantly recognizable. In winter, the Falls often ice over completely. A broad trail descends about from the Falls parking lot to a wooden walkway and overlook, while a much steeper trail extends beyond to the basin below the Falls. On the opposite (east) side of the river, a longer trail ("Gentle Trail") also accesses the Falls from a higher vantage point.
Other park trails and falls
A nature trail (wheelchair-accessible) near the park lodge leads to the more distant Lindy Point overlook, affording an excellent view south into the Canyon. There are several other smaller falls within the park. These chutes, cascades, and overhanging ledges on Falls Run (multi-ledge drop, 30 feet), Shay Run (
Elakala Falls; 40 feet), and Pendleton Run (Pendleton Falls; plus cascades above and below) are accessible by trail.
History
The name of the first white explorer to observe Blackwater Falls is not known. There was an oral tradition that it was the early hunter/explorer of the
Potomac and
Youghiogheny River
The Youghiogheny River , or the Yough (pronounced Yok ) for short, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Monongahela River in the U.S. s ...
watersheds
Meshach Browning
Meshach Browning (1781 – 19 November 1859) was an early backwoodsman, hunter and explorer of the watersheds of the North Branch Potomac and Youghiogheny Rivers. His memoir is ''Forty-Four Years of the Life of a Hunter'' (1859). He has been c ...
(1781–1859), but while this is plausible there is no documentary evidence for it.
Travel writer
Philip Pendleton Kennedy
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
described the Blackwater Canyon for a popular readership in 1853, but somehow managed to miss the Falls.
The same year however, his companion and cousin, the illustrator
David Hunter Strother
David Hunter Strother (September 26, 1816 – March 8, 1888) was an American journalist, artist, brevet Brigadier General, innkeeper, politician and diplomat from West Virginia. Both before and after the American Civil War (in which he was initi ...
("Porte Crayon"), published "The Virginia Canaan" about his adventures in the Blackwater Country and the Falls entered the literature for the first time.
[It is probable that Strother was the discoverer of nearby Douglas Falls (at the head of the side canyon containing the North Fork Blackwater River), mistaking it for a time for the "Great Falls" itself. He later realized and corrected his mistake.] Strother also published a more lengthy description of his June 1852 visit in an article called "The Mountains". The Dobbin House was built near the Falls in 1858 and provided a popular lodge for visitors to the Falls during the 1860s and '70s.
A published account of a May 1879 visit to the Falls by recreationalists further popularized the site.
At least four deaths have occurred at the falls. In 1933, a local was accidentally washed over the Falls during a flood.
Rudolph Kendzior of
Monongah, West Virginia
Monongah is a town in Marion County, West Virginia, United States, situated where Booths Creek flows into the West Fork River. The population was 972 at the 2020 census. Monongah was chartered in 1891, based on Chapter 47 of West Virginia code. ...
, died cliff diving in 1937. In 1973, a couple were swept over the falls when a woman lost her footing on a slippery rock and her husband lost his balance while trying to catch her.
Beginning in the early 1930s, various leases and donations to the state from the West Virginia Power and Transmission Company (WVPTC), later called
Allegheny Power Systems
Allegheny Energy was an electric utility headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It owned and operated electric generation facilities and delivered electric services to customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. Allegh ...
, which then owned much of Blackwater Canyon, protected and facilitated tourism at the Falls. The first of these (1934) resulted in establishment and maintenance, by the
West Virginia State Forest and Park Commission, of a scenic overlook at the head of the Canyon which included the celebrated Falls itself.
A state park was formally established in 1937. Additional donations of land in 1953 and 1955 by the WVPTC, , and by the
U.S. Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
, , in 1957, brought the total to some .
The Park was day-use only until the mid-1950s. The years 1955 and '56, however, saw several improvements to buildings and grounds including construction of 25 cabins, a dammed fishing/skating lake, and a 55-room lodge dubbed "The Lodge in the Sky" (since the park is the highest in the state) which was opened and dedicated in 1957. Annual visitors numbered 240,000 (over 18,000 of them overnighters) by 1960.
In May 2000, West Virginia Governor
Cecil Underwood
Cecil Harland Underwood (November 5, 1922 – November 24, 2008) was an American Republican Party politician from West Virginia, known for the length of his career.
He was the 25th and 32nd Governor of West Virginia from 1957 to 1961, and fro ...
purchased of Blackwater Canyon for $50,000 an acre and added it to Blackwater Falls State Park.
Allegheny Wood Products, the timber company that owns about half of the Blackwater Canyon today, donated an additional .
In January 2002, Governor
Bob Wise
Robert Ellsworth Wise Jr. (born January 6, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 33rd Governor of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, Wise also served in the United States House of Representatives from ...
bought an additional along the river upstream of the falls from Allegheny Power and added them to the park.
Amenities and recreation
![Pendleton Lake1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Pendleton_Lake1.jpg)
* Park lodge with 54 guest rooms
* 39 cabins (13 modernized)
* Campground with 65 campsites (30 have electrical hookup)
* Restaurant
*
Nature center - open from Memorial Day through Labor Day, exhibits about the park's natural history
*
Mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
*
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
* Cross-country ski rentals in the winter
*
Hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
*
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
in Pendleton Lake and the Blackwater River
Accessibility
Accessibility
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...
for the
disable
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
d was assessed by
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
. While the park lodge is generally accessible, the 2005 assessment indicated some issues with telephone volume control, the height of door knobs, and excessive slope of certain ramps.
''Guide to Accessible Recreation and Travel in WV'', WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities web site, accessed July 31, 2006
See also
*List of West Virginia state parks
There are 37 state parks in the U.S. state of West Virginia . The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) Parks and Recreation Section is the governing body for all 37 state parks and directly operates all but one of them. In addi ...
*List of waterfalls in West Virginia
There are about 275 waterfalls in the U.S. state of West Virginia.
Surface waterfalls
Underground waterfalls
Many of the state's subterranean waterfalls far exceed the surface falls in height.
See also
* List of West Virginia-relat ...
References
Citations
Other sources
*Fedorko, N., 1994, "Bedrock Geology Map of Blackwater Falls", 7.5’ Quadrangle: West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, Open File Geological Map OF-9405.
*Ludlum, J.C., and Arkle Jr., T., 1971, ''Blackwater Falls State Park and Canaan Valley State Park: Resources, Geology and Recreation'', West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, State Park Series Bulletin 6, 60 p.
Footnotes
External links
*
Blackwater Falls
at American Byways
{{authority control
State parks of West Virginia
Protected areas of Tucker County, West Virginia
Waterfalls of West Virginia
Nature centers in West Virginia
Protected areas established in 1937
Campgrounds in West Virginia
Landforms of Tucker County, West Virginia
IUCN Category III