Creative Communities Under Construction: Richwood, WV
Richwood, WV: My home town. Ramp Capitol of the World. The Lumber City. Richwood is many things, and it is also a Creative Community Under Construction.
Photo by Oncee
Richwood is named for the large timber holding around the town. It was once home to the largest saw mill in the world. It was also at the regional center of a coal boom in the 70s. While Richwood is still the Home of the Lumberjacks, the Big Mill isn't so big anymore. The train tracks have been replaced by hiking and bike trails.
Why is Richwood a Creative Community Under Construction? Richwood has "Quality of Place". Richwood is the Gateway to the Monongehela National Forest. Three tributaries of the Gauley River (Williams River, Cranberry River, and Cherry River) all flow wild within the forest. The Cherry River flows through the town. These rivers has home to some of the greatest trout is the nation.
The forest is also the home of the Highland Scenic Highway, Hills Creek Falls, Summit Lake, and Cranberry Mountain Visitors Center are a few miles east at the intersection of WV 39 and WV 150, which is close to the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area and the Cranberry Wilderness, and some of the best biking and hiking trails in the nation. The Cranberry Glades Botanical Area is the southernmost Canadian bog in the world.
A hour drive to the east is Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, which is home to the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope and the world's largest land-based movable structure, and Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.
"The Sterling Spencer Memorial Sculpture Garden replaced a dilapidated vacant hotel that had partially collapsed near the center of town. The park is named in honor of a respected wood sculptor from Richwood." (Source: Wikipedia)
For a list of other Creative Communities Under Construction see www.createwv.typepad.com or www.abetterwestvirginia.com
posted by oncee at 12:03 AM
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