Beckley, West Virginia: The surprise of beauty

I must have spent a good hour or so trying to convince Mister Siri not to route me through Beckley, West Virginia. I had driven from Knoxville, Tennessee to Princeton, West Virginia in April 2022. From Princeton, West Virginia I’d taken back roads to Morgantown, eventually winding up in Gettysburg. This looked like a repeat of something I’d already seen.

I begrudgingly booked the Hampton Inn in Beckley. It was only a way station, I reasoned, a one-night stop on the way home.

And yes, the Knoxville to Princeton part of the drive was every bit as miserable as I remembered from 2022. A two-mile stretch of freeway in Knoxville took almost two hours because of a crash with fatalities or critical injuries. It had been raining. Apparently a car had hydroplaned into the median.

Saving grace for the Beckley stop was supposed to be West Virginia’s scenery. Princeton, WV may be a no-go, but the Appalachians in West Virginia are breathtaking. A combination of that Knoxville accident and transition to standard time meant that almost everything past Knoxville was “seen” under cover of darkness. So much for enjoying West Virginia’s scenery!

First indication that Beckley was going to be a good stop after all: The Hampton Inn I’d reserved. They haven’t yet moved to Hilton’s IKEA-style furniture. Even the closet was pretty. Dark woods—cherry?—with elegant touches not typically found in mid-range hotel rooms. Larger than most rooms as well, a small thing that permits exhaling.

I had seen signs for something called Tamarack Marketplace as I exited. I’m not generally one for incorporating “shopping” into a road trip. After I settled into my room, I Googled. Hmm, this looked interesting. Not your usual marketplace. Their hook focused on items handmade in West Virginia.

My friend Gwen gave me permission to leave if I saw anything made in China.I didn’t have to leave. Nothing made in China. In fact, nothing made outside West Virginia. Beautiful handcrafted items. If I had had a spare $1000 lying around, I would have bought two rocking chairs and one of the paintings.

Artists and craftsmen and -women hovered in the background, willing to talk about their wares if approached, but without any pressure whatever to buy-buy-buy. My kind of place.

Although I could not afford the two rocking chairs and painting, I did purchase reasonably priced greeting cards (handmade, of course) and local jellies and jams. As of this writing, I’ve finished off the cherry preserves.

Mister Siri routed me up US Highway 19, a development that pleased me, since the map showed I would cross New River Gorge bridge. Although I had crossed that same bridge in 2022, the memory of it called me back.

Often memories shortchange us. When we “go back” to a place we remember fondly, the bridge isn’t quite as long, the ocean isn’t quite as blue, the shops aren’t nearly as cute.

Not the case with New River Gorge Bridge. Unlike 2022, this year I took the exit to the scenic overlook, unaware that that overlook was part of and maintained by the National Park Service. As the NPS sign came into view, I worried that this park too would be a victim of the government shutdown.

People were coming and going from the scenic overlook, so I ventured down the wooden ramp. How many times can the word “breathtaking” be used before it becomes trite or clichéd?

When I left Gettysburg on October 21, I missed south central Pennsylvania’s peak season for leaf-peeping. New River Gorge more than compensated for what I had missed.

The bridge itself is worthy of a more technical side note. It’s a bipartisan bridge, started in 1974 under Gerald Ford, opened in October 1977 under Jimmy Carter. It’s still the longest single-span arch bridge outside of China, and China didn’t catch up until 2001. New River Gorge bridge is a little over 875 feet above the New River and over 3000’ (almost one km) long.

The bipartisan nature of New River Gorge continues with its status as a national park. Jimmy Carter signed the initial legislation in 1978. After a land donation in 1998 (Clinton administration), New River Gorge was enlarged in 2005 during Bush’s second term to include the historic site of Nuttallburg. And Donald Trump—yes, Donald Trump!—expanded the size and designation of the park in 2020.

As I returned to my car, I noticed that quite a few people were headed “into” the visitors’ center. I assumed I would see them head back after reading the shutdown notice on what I assumed would be locked doors, but they went inside. Without immediately returning. Curious, I too ventured to the visitors’ center.

To my surprise, it was open! I asked one of the two NPS employees inside about the shutdown. He said West Virginia voted to fund New River Gorge National Park through November 15, 2025—hence, this post on that date—albeit woefully understaffed. Again, I am not a shopper, but I bought a mug and an NPS bag just to support their efforts.

Beckley was supposed to be one of those quickie way stations, a place to sleep and maybe eat a good meal before the final stretch home.

Instead, it turned into a new “away station” for me, a place I’m sure to return to again and again. Nuttallburg itself, a site I only know about from an unfancy brochure clearly printed on an NPS printer, deserves a full day of exploration. Typical of our National Park Service, they address historical matters usually swept under the rug, for example, the role of African Americans in West Virginia’s mining communities. From the brochure:

Communities were socially and economically self-contained with a company store, churches, schools, clubs and athletic teams. Although all races and nationalities worked together in the mines, above ground Short Creek divided Nuttallburg into two racially-distant neighborhoods. African American families lived on the east side and white families on the west side of the creek.

Beckley, West Virginia. A tiny little corner of these United States. Filled with surprising beauty at every turn.

Note

West Virginia was smart. National Park Service is one of our federal programs that brings in more money than it receives. Keeping it open during the government shutdown likely swelled West Virginia’s coffers!

Similarly, Fulbright and other international educational exchange programs, as well as the IRS!, all bring in more revenue than they receive in funding. Cutting those programs kills the budget.

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