The Midland Trail is a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

which carries U.S. Route 60 (US 60) through a portion of the southern part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

between Charleston and Sam Black Church. It was part of the longer transcontinental

Midland Trail The Midland Trail, also called the Roosevelt Midland Trail, was a national auto trail spanning the United States from Washington, D.C. west to Los Angeles, California and San Francisco, California ('' though the Lincoln Highway guide published i ...

. In this area, the Midland Trail follows the route of the historic

James River and Kanawha Turnpike The James River and Kanawha Turnpike was built to facilitate portage of shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western reaches of the James River via the James River and Kanawha Canal and the eastern reaches of the Kanawha River. ...

, an early road linking canals in the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

with the navigable portion of the

Kanawha River The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its valley has been a significant industrial region of the stat ...

in West Virginia. The Midland Trail crosses some of the most rugged terrain of the Mountain State. The trail extends for approximately from White Sulphur Springs in the east to Charleston in the west. The trail is believed to have been originally carved into the mountains by buffalo and native peoples. In 1790,

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

ordered the trail cleared. The trail came to be traveled by stage coaches and soldiers in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Prior to 1988, the Midland Trail was heavily traveled, particularly by commercial vehicles, including large trucks transporting coal and timber. Traffic was significantly reduced in 1988 when the final section of

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange w ...

(I-64) was completed. The last section of I-64 (which does ''not'' closely parallel US 60 in this area) cost about $300 million to build, making it one of the most costly sections in the entire U.S.

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

. Although considerably shorter than the Interstate Highway routing via the

West Virginia Turnpike West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

, these days, the Midland Trail serves mostly local traffic and

shunpiker Shunpiking is the act of deliberately avoiding roads that require payment of a fee or toll to travel on them, usually by traveling on alternative "free" roads which bypass the toll road. The term comes from the word ''shun'', meaning "to avoid", an ...

s seeking a bucolic interlude. It passes through both the Kanawha River Valley and the plateau high above. Notable communities and sites along this portion of the Midland Trail include: *

Babcock State Park Babcock State Park is a state park located along the New River Gorge on wooded in Fayette County, West Virginia. It is located approximately 20 miles away from the New River Gorge Bridge. Located near the park headquarters, the Glade Creek G ...

* Camp Washington Carver * Glen Ferris at the falls of the Kanawha River *

Gauley Bridge Gauley Bridge is a town in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 614 at the 2010 census. The Kanawha River is formed at Gauley Bridge by the confluence of the New and Gauley Rivers. Two miles to the southeast of Gaule ...

and nearby Cathedral Falls * Hawk's Nest with a spectacular overlook of the New River far below, Hawk's Nest State Park, and an aerial tram to the canyon. *

Ansted The Ansted was an American automobile; successor to the Lexington and the Ansted-Lexington, it was manufactured from 1926 to 1927. Following the sale of the Lexington plant in Connersville, Indiana Connersville is a city in Fayette Cou ...

, site of the Halfway House, Tyree's Tavern, the home of coal mine operator

William Nelson Page William Nelson Page (January 6, 1854 – March 7, 1932) was an American civil engineer and industrialist. He was active in the Virginias following the U.S. Civil War. Page was widely known as a metallurgical expert by other industry leaders a ...

and the grave of Julia Neale Jackson, mother of

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

General

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

New River Gorge Bridge The New River Gorge Bridge is a steel arch bridge long over the New River Gorge near Fayetteville, West Virginia, in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. With an arch long, the New River Gorge Bridge was the world's longest sin ...

, world's fifth-longest single-arch steel span. At , it is the third-highest bridge in the United States *

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is a unit of the United States National Park Service (NPS) designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains. Established in 1978 as a nat ...

with free overlooks and visitors' center, several whitewater rafting services nearby * Rainelle * Sam Black Church Due to the mountain switchbacks and long, steep grades, drivers of recreational vehicles and inexperienced drivers are advised to use extra caution, particularly during inclement weather conditions.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Midland Trail National Scenic Highway WV Rt.60

Hawk's Nest State Park

New River CVB Guide to Ansted, WV

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20050223193630/http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvcoal/begin.html West Virginia Coal Mines site
Chicago Dragoons

Transportation in West Virginia Tourist attractions in Fayette County, West Virginia Transportation in Fayette County, West Virginia U.S. Route 60

See also

References

External links