Lower New Watershed Project
M Juliana Lloreda
West Virginia University
Lower New Watershed project
M Juliana Lloreda West Virginia University
Master of Landscape Architecture LARC 693B Fall 2012
Contents | 5
Table of Contents Chapter 1.0 | The Context of the Watershed
Chapter 3.0 | Conceptual Design
Introduction ................................. 7 Human History ............................ 7 Environmental History ................. 9 Economic History ........................ 12 Social History .............................. 14 Cultural History ........................... 14 The Watershed Today ................. 15 Summary ..................................... 16
Chapter 1.1 | Inventory Maps
Vegetation and Wildlife ............... 19 Hydrology/Sub-Watersheds ....... 19 Flow Direction ............................. 22 Topography and Slope ............... 25 Soil Suitability ............................. 25 Coal Sub-Surface ....................... 25 Marcellus Shale area .................. 25 Climate ........................................ 25
Chapter 2.0 | Site Analysis Environmental Analysis .............. 35 Social Analysis ........................... 38 Cultural Analysis ........................ 42 Economic Analysis .................... 51
Vision ........................................... 55 Cultural Conceptual Plan ............ 57 Recreation Conceptual Plan ....... 61
Chapter 4.0 | Thurmond Site Design
Location ....................................... 67 History ......................................... 67 Inventory ...................................... 67 S.W.O.T Analysis ......................... 68 Conceptual Design ..................... 69 Railway Park Design .................... 74 Details .......................................... 84
References and Sources .............. 87
Chapter 1.0 | Context of the Lower New Watershed| 7
Chapter 1.0
Context of the Lower New Watershed INTRODUCTION
HUMAN HISTORY
The Lower New Watershed is a national treasure area, and holds the New River Gorge, which is perhaps the oldest River in North America. The watershed has an extensive area of 690 square miles that includes part of three different counties in southern West Virginia; Fayette County, Raleigh County, and Summers County. The Watershed includes 53 miles of river that drain into the New River Gorge, offering a broad diversity of wildlife, vegetation, outdoors recreation, and economy (Map 1.0).
Timeline Native Americans lived in the Lower New Watershed area for thousands of years before the early explorers settled in the 1700s. The first immigrants started colonizing the flatlands, followed by the hills. In 1755, Mary Draper Ingles was kidnapped by Shawnee warriors, and escaped three months later. She followed the New River Gorge, and it is said she got back to her husband that way. During the Civil War (1861 to 1865), several battles were fought in West Virginia, and it was during the 1960s that West Virginia was separated from Virginia. In 1865, slavery was abolished in the State.
The National Park inside the Lower New Watershed area is the New River Gorge National River, and there are also two national parks outside its watershed boundaries, although fairly close; Bluestone National Scenic River to the South, and the Gauley River National Recreation Area to the North. The Lower New Watershed study area also comprises three state parks that offer various outdoor recreations like camping, fishing, hiking and biking on trails, water sports, picnic areas, scenic overlooks, cultural sites, and historical sites. The parks within the watershed are: Little Beaver State Park, Babcock State Park, and Hawk’s Nest State Park.
Coal mining began in 1870 in West Virginia. In 1872, the first coal mine and coal-town (Quinnimont) were opened on the New River by Colonel Joseph Beury. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was completed in 1873. During the same year, John Nuttal opened several mines along the New River area. From 1880 to 1910, the AfricanAmerican immigrant population grew from 1% to around 40% due to the mining industry. Between 1890 and 1912, the state of West Virginia recorded the highest death rate, due to coal mining.
8 |Chapter 1.0 | Context of the Lower New Watershed MAP 1.0 General map of the Lower New Watershed
Chapter 1.0 | Context of the Lower New Watershed| 9 In 1902 and 1913, Mother Jones (teacher and dressmaker) led union strikes in the whole state. The New River Gorge Bridge was completed in 1977, with 3,500 foot cable and 330 foot towers.
and bridges provide great scenic views. There are few one-way bridges, which can make traffic difficult in certain areas. (See Fig.3). Due to highway accidents, there are around 400 fatalities per year in West Virginia, so the West VirThe New River Gorge was established as a ginia Department of Transportation encourages National Park in 1978 and it was designated a highway safety plan that includes managing an American Heritage River in 1998. It covers of the r oad infrastructure, discipline from drivaround 70 thousand acres of land, and geolo- ers, and maintenance of vehicles. (source from gists believe that this could be the oldest river http://www.transportation.wv.gov) in North America, and the second oldest in the world, after the Nile. ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY Wildlife Demographics Containing a significant diversification of flora, In the 1950s, coal industry was at its climax with- including uninterrupted forests, cliffs, wetlands, in the watershed, and there were many families and abandoned mine portals, the New River who made a living from this industry. After the Gorge provides habitat for 63 species of mamlast mines closed, the residents started leav- mals, a diverse population of birds, and 48 speing to find opportunities elsewhere, and in 1990 cies of amphibians. Some of the endangered through 2010, the demographics show that the species are the Allegheny wood-rat, the Virginpopulation in these three southern counties has ia big-eared bats and Indiana bats, bald eagle, significantly decreased (Table 1.2). eastern puma, flying squirrel, and the cheat mountain salamander. Some of the endangered TABLE 1.2 plant species are small whorled Pogonia, VirginCounty demographics for each county. ia spiraea, Running buffalo clover, and Harperella (Figure 1.3). The first bald eagle nest that was spotted in West Virginia was discovered in 1981. It used to be an “endangered” species, but in 1995 it was regisCirculation and Roads tered as “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and WildThe main circulation roads and highways in the life Service. There are bald eagle nests around Lower New area consists basically of Interstate the watershed area. The northern flying squirrel Roads: I-64 and I-77; State Roads: 19 and 60; and is listed as “endangered” in Virginia and West County Roads: 16 and 41. Most of these roads and highways had to be built around the hills instead of through the hills, and due to the mountainous terrain, the two-lane main highways may seem narrow, but in some areas, these highways
Virginia. It is believed that this species remained in this region after the last ice age. The “endangered” Virginia big-eared bat is a medium species (up to 4” long), and its status is due to high human disturbance during hibernation, which
10 |Chapter 1.0 | Context of the Lower New Watershed FIGURE 1.3 Top, left to right: northern flying squirrel, bald eagle, Allegheny wood-rat, and Virginia big-eared bat. Bottom, left to right: small whorled pogonia, harperella, Virginia spiraea, and running buffalo clover.
hibernation, which causes the bats to lose fat reserves, and die before the winter ends.
of the hydroelectric project Hawk’s Nest Tunnel, near the Gauley Bridge (underneath the Gauley Mountain), which was scene of a tragic incident State Parks, Inside the Watershed during the Depression era. Many people were The three additional State Parks included in the hurt and others died during this incident. watershed are Little Beaver State Park, Hawk’s Nest State Park, and the Babcock State Park. Babcock State Park was established in 1934, Little Beaver State Park, which was established and it’s located in the center of Fayette County, in 1970, is located south of Raleigh County, and with an area of 4,127 acres. Babcock State Park has an area of 562 acres. This state park sits on holds the Glade Creek Grist Mill (replica of the the shores of the 18 acre Little Beaver Dam which original Cooper’s Mill that was located nearby), was completed in 1942. The dam was listed in which is a magnificent working monument, and the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. one of the many coalfields in the area, called Kaymoor, located is 0.5 miles deep in Babcock Established in 1935, Hawk’s Nest State Park has Park, hiking the steep and rocky ‘Kaymoor Trail’. a 370 acre area, is located North of Fayette County, and offers a scenic view over the New River. The name of Hawk’s Nest State Park comes from the many ospreys (fish hawks) that used to nest on the cliffs. The state park held part
Other National Parks, Outside the Watershed As mentioned before, one of the National Parks located outside the watershed study area is the Bluestone National Scenic River, which
Chapter 1.0 | Context of the Lower New Watershed| 11 was established in 1988, and protects a segment of 10.5 miles, offering a variety of scenic, natural, cultural, geological, and recreational values. Currently, there are 156 rivers protected under this Park, and part of the Bluestone NSR is also protected under the Pipestream Resort State Park, southwest of Summers County. Another Park that is adjacent, North of our watershed area is the Gauley River National Recreation Area. This National Area was established in 1988, and protects 25 miles of the Gauley River, and 5.5 miles segment of the Meadow River. Gauley River National Recreation Area is located north of Fayette County, and South of Nicholas County (Figure 1.4). FIGURE 1.4 Top: Bluestone National Scenic River Bottom: Gauley River National Recreation Area
Climate and Topography within the Watershed Climate in southern West Virginia is a humid, subtropical climate. In the summer, the weather is humid, and in the winter there is persisting snow in the higher mountain areas. The hardiness zone ranges from 5b to 7a in the warmest parts. Most of the rainfall occurs from April to September, and it is said the watershed is one of the cloudiest areas in the nation, especially Beckley. Over millions of years through climate changes, the lowlands in the Lower New Watershed area were covered with thousands of feet of sedimentary rock layers, and deposits resulting from processes like falling rocks, debris flows and slope failures. Because of all those processes, rapids originated in the New River Gorge area throughout the years. The River drops 1,500 feet along the way, and the water moves from South to North, while other rivers in the Appalachian flow from Northeast to Southwest. This water flow allows various species to migrate. (See Fig.7) The mountainous topography of the Lower New Watershed is very moist, and comprises many ridges and steep slopes. Some of these slopes have been created naturally, over millions of years, but some others have inevitably been created from human activity such as mining, logging, and of course road construction. Water The water in the Lower New Watershed area is designated for drinking, for water-contact recreation, and for fishing. However, the water is considered to be impaired; this means that the River doesn’t meet clean water standards established by the Department of Environmental Protection
12 |Chapter 1.0 | Context of the Lower New Watershed (DEP) in West Virginia, in rainy or high weather. The water from the creeks flowing into the New River Gorge are polluted due to human activities; agriculture, mining, logging, human waste and fecal matter, leaking sewer pipes and centralized wastewater. Only 6% of the watershed is developed. There are, nevertheless, a few organizations, like The New River Clean Water Alliance, that promote citizens to get involved to improve the water quality, and proposals for green infrastructure. This organization hopes to sustain the environmental, cultural, recreational, and economic benefits of the River. Another organization that not only has been monitoring the water quality since 1980, but also offers water quality programs is the National Park Service, and they teach people how to understand the water resources, the sources of the water problems and how they can help. In 1949, the US Army Corps of Engineers completed the Bluestone Dam, and since then have been regulating the water flow of the New River Gorge; there are 20 major rapids along the river (Figure 1.5).
FIGURE 1.5 Top: topography in the watershed Bottom: water in the watershed
Northeast of Raleigh County, began in 1870, flourishing into the 20th century, and declined after World War II. At first the miners were English and Scottish immigrants, followed by southern Europeans, and in the later years, the majority of
nies evolved into developing their own currency, only to be used at their stores, and when workers had an increase in wages, the store prices also increased, in order for the company to balance what they had paid.
miners were African-American, and more than 60 coal towns were located in the New River coalfield. Today, most of these coal towns are “ghost ECONOMIC HISTORY towns� because they are abandoned, and nature Coal Industry is slowly reclaiming these sites where thousands High quality coal and coke have been a great of people used to live and work (Map 1.6). economic industry in the Lower New Watershed, and it was after the Civil War that coal mining ex- Mining companies became huge industries, and panded. The main method of transportation was it is said that these companies rented housing the line of Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railroad, for the workers and deducted the amount from which was completed in 1873 and ran through their pay. The companies also had stores where the center of the New River coalfield. Mining in miners could purchase goods, although everythis field, located South of Fayette County and thing they sold was over-priced. Mining compa-
Chapter 1.0 | Context of the Lower New Watershed| 13 MAP 1.6 Map of the watershed with ghost towns and C&O Railroad
14 |Chapter 1.0 | Context of the Lower New Watershed
SOCIAL HISTORY
The Glade Creek Grist Mill is actually a repThe current lifestyle and economy of the people lica, built in 1975, of the original Cooper’s Mill, in the watershed area, as mentioned before, lies which was located nearby. When the original mill on the mountainous terrain, the river valleys and burned to the ground in 1920, it was decided to the natural resources, and is motivated by out- build the Glade Creek Grist Mill with original parts door recreation. Local residents started busi- of three different mills in West Virginia. The mill nesses in rafting, climbing, zip-lines, and other was utilized to produce flour from whole grains, outdoor sports. In 2013, the Summit Bechtel Re- and people of all ages, including children, conserve for Boy Scouts project is expected to at- tributed in the process of grinding and bagging. tract thousands of people every year. This proj- People also gathered at the mill for social activiect could improve tourism and economy in the ties and some even served as post offices. In area, if well handled by stakeholders and the lo- 2012, the mill still works for education and tourcal governments via identifying and assisting the ism purposes. needs of the resident and tourist communities. The abandoned Kaymoor mine site sits in the Babcock State Park, and is open to the public CULTURAL HISTORY today, although it is overgrown with foliage, and Architectural Sites Just like any other place, in the watershed there is deteriorated due to dust and rainwater. The are various valuable historical elements that say mine was opened to supply coal and coke in a lot about the cultural history and the people 1899, and was abandoned in 1952, while a fire of the area. There is remarkable historical archi- destroyed most of its structures in 1960. Around tecture such as downtown Fayetteville and the the mine, the coal town was built with 50 houses, Altamont Hotel, downtown Oak Hill, the Glade in 1905, and an addition of 24 houses in a subCreek Grist Mill and Kaymoor mine site near urb, in 1919. Babcock State Park, and the Page-Vawter House The Page-Vawter House, located in the middle of in Ansted, amid other places. Ansted, was completed in 1890 for William NelThe town of Fayetteville was founded in the early son Page, who was the president of the Gauley 1800s by Abraham Vandal, who was a Revolu- Mountain Coal Company. The mansion was detionary War veteran, and it was named after Mar- signed as Gothic style, and has 15 rooms and 11 quis de la Fayette later on. The city grew very fast fireplaces (Figure 1.7). after the 19th century due to coal industry. The Courthouse in Fayetteville, which is still in use, was completed in 1897, and is an example of Romanesque Revival architecture. The Altamont Hotel was completed in 1898, and in the 1930s was adapted for apartment use. In 2012, the Altamont Hotel looks abandoned and in damaged conditions.
Trails Hiking trails are also a big part of the Lower New Watershed area, since there is such a wide extent of National and State Parks. The trails that each park offers are very well maintained, with clear signage, clean paths, as well as brochures including maps for visitors.
Chapter 1.0 | Context of the Lower New Watershed| 15 FIGURE 1.7 Top, left to right: Altamont Hotel in Fayetteville, the Grist Mill at Babcock State Park, and the abandoned Kaymoor Mine Bottom, left to right: Fayette Courthouse in Fayetteville, and Page-Vawter House
Entertainment There are many things about and around the New River Gorge, including festivals, farmers’ market, where residents and visitors can come and amuse themselves with all sorts of activities for education purposes and for simple fun; such as marathons, races, birding, hiking, jamborees and more (Figure 1.8).
October 20th) they shut down the bridge for six hours, for people to legally and safely walk across the bridge, and jump with parachutes off the bridge, 876 feet down. It is said this is an experience like no other; to be able to soar through the mountains of the Gorge (Figure 1.9).
THE WATERSHED TODAY
Outdoor Recreation is offered all around the New Various County-based organizations, and even River Gorge. In 1994, local economies increased some organizations from West Virginia Univer- after more than 200,000 people rode West Virsity, that encourage people to participate in all ginia’s outstanding rapids, strengthening southkinds of activities, all year round, and for all ages. ern West Virginia’s image as a valuable destinaIn addition, there are railroads used for excur- tion for outdoor recreation. Each year, more than sion purposes, from Huntington (along the Ohio 100,000 people visit the River for rafting, and in River) to Lewisburg (in the heart of the Green- 2010, around 1,000 people were employed by brier Valley). This 1-day trip is a great attraction rafting companies. In 2012, this image is what for visitors and even residents. drives the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority to encourage people to expand The New River Gorge Bridge holds a festival or relocate their businesses to the area. Through called Bridge Day. Once a year (this year it’s on their website, they provide tools for business
16 |Chapter 1.0 | Context of the Lower New Watershed FIGURE 1.8 Top, left to right: river rafting, hiking trails, canopy tours, birding Bottom, left to right: New River Gorge Bridge, and ‘Bridge Day’
Entertainment There are many things about and around the New River Gorge, including festivals, farmers’ market, where residents and visitors can come and amuse themselves with all sorts of activities for education purposes and for simple fun; such as marathons, races, birding, hiking, jamborees and more (Figure 1.8). Various County-based organizations, and even some organizations from West Virginia University, that encourage people to participate in all kinds of activities, all year round, and for all ages. In addition, there are railroads used for excursion purposes, from Huntington (along the Ohio River) to Lewisburg (in the heart of the Green-
people and help them facilitate an economic development.
SUMMARY Even though, the Gorge National River attracts around one million people per year for outdoor recreation purposes, there are still a lot of people that do not know about the existence of the New River Gorge National Park, the government is trying to promote the National Park Service’s mission to preserve and protect the park for future generations. The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV) is also working, along with the West Virginia Development Office on preserving the historical resources of West Virginia, including the coal mines and the Civil War trails. This
brier Valley). This 1-day trip is a great attraction organization also takes part in improving other for visitors and even residents. historic sites, businesses, and tours. The New River Gorge Bridge holds a festival called Bridge Day. Once a year (this year it’s on
The Lower New Watershed is an area that offers a great potential for wildlife, vegetation,
Chapter 1.0 | Context of the Lower New Watershed| 17 economy and recreation. It is one of the national treasures and comprises an extensive cultural heritage that tells about American social history. Residents and visitors of the watershed are conscious that all these historic values and the natural resources must be protected for the present and the future of the area.
18 |
Chapter 1.1 | Inventory Maps| 19
Chapter 1.1
Inventory Maps VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
According to the Fayette 2001 comprehensive From the 1880s through the 1930s logging was plan, there are portions which have been highpracticed throughout the New River, eradicat- lighted to be for conservations for prime nesting ing the old-growth forests. There were several area for migrating bird species. These extents companies throughout the area that closed, include Meadow Bridge District, Babcock State along with logging towns, mills and railways that Park, parts of the New River, portions of Danese, served the logging industry. Even though all this and a part near Oak Hill. Another stretch that is damage was done, the ancient forests were not included in the prime nesting area for migratodestroyed and natural re forestation has covered ry bird species is from the New River (near US Route 60) to Hawk’s Nest State Park to the borthe topography again with vegetation. der of the New Haven District. The landscape has been repaired to a natural condition and currently The Lower New Watershed is surrounded by different types of vegetation and contains the most diverse flora in the central and south Appalachian Mountains. The land is mainly covered with forest and woodland, agricultural vegetation, shrub-land, grassland, and certainly by developed towns and cities (Map 1.9). Amongst the wildlife of the New River Gorge are peregrine falcons, bobcats, black bears, white tailed deer, red foxes, chipmunks, flying squirrels, bats, owls, turtles, several species of birds and ducks, and other species of reptiles.
The Beury Mountain Wildlife Management Area is located in Fayette County, near the New River and Babcock State Park. It has an approximate area of 9,232 acres and was established by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) and The Nature Conservancy. The area was started with 3,061 acres in 1997, and then it expanded with more land acquisition in 2008 and 2009. Camping is not allowed in this wildlife management area but hunting is, and the opportunities include deer, squirrel and turkey, and grouse, although the wildlife area has a plan designed to improve grouse habitat because the population decreased after the 1990s due to lack of nutritious food (Map 2.0).
20 |Chapter 1.1| Inventory Maps MAP 1.9 Vegetation map
Chapter 1.1 | Inventory Maps| 21 MAP 2.0 Wildlife map, based on the vegetation
22 |Chapter 1.1| Inventory Maps
HYDROLOGY MAP INCLUDING SUBWATERSHEDS
Upper Meadow Creek watershed has 14.7 square miles, 60 un-sewered homes, and the waThe Lower New Watershed is comprised of 10 ter is polluted with fecal coliform. Lower Meadow sub-watersheds; from north to south, the Upper Creek watershed has 17.4 square miles and has New River, Lower New River, Manns Creek, Dun- 84 homes that are not provided with sewage inloup Creek, Upper Meadow Creek, Lower Mead- frastructure. Dunloup Creek watershed has 45.8 ow Creek, Lick and Laurel Creek, Glade Creek, square miles, 477 home do not have sewage Upper Marsh Fork, Piney Creek, and Jumping systems, and the water is contaminated with fecal coliform, although the specific streams are Branch (Map 2.2). not specified (Figure 2.1). According to a water study conducted by Lombardo Associates, the Upper New River sub-watershed has 95.2 square miles and there is an estimate of 1,535 homes that are not provided with sewage infrastructure. In addition, the water is contaminated with fecal coliform. The Lower New River sub-watershed has 121.5 square miles and has an estimate of 1,950 un-sewered homes and the water is also polluted with fecal coliform, according to the water quality samples. Manns Creek sub-watershed has approximately 58.4 square miles and there is an estimate of 544 homes that are not provided with sewage infrastructure. The water is also contaminated with fecal coliform although no streams are qualified as impaired. CHART 2.1 Sub-watershed data
FLOW DIRECTION The New River is a tributary of the Kanawha River. It is about 320 miles long and flows through the states of North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. The specific part that flows through West Virginia is what is called the New River Gorge National River, and it’s a stretch of 53 miles that flow from Hawk’s Nest State Part to Hinton. The New River Gorge is shaped geologically by the flowing water, making it the longest and deepest river in the Appalachian Mountains. Rivers flow downhill, regardless of the compass direction, and the New River Gorge flows northward through deep canyons. In the flow direction map, the direction of each river and stream is delineated (Map 2.2).
Chapter 1.1 | Inventory Maps| 23 MAP 2.2 Hydrology map, with sub-watersheds
24 |Chapter 1.1| Inventory Maps MAP 2.3 Flow direction map
Chapter 1.1 | Inventory Maps| 25
TOPOGRAPHY AND SLOPE
very few soils are somewhat limited for sanitation facilities (Map 2.6).
The New River Gorge is locates in the Appalachian Plateau, which features sheer gradients. The slope of the watershed is very steep in some COAL SUB-SURFACE areas, and that’s why the first colonizers avoided As mentioned before, southern West Virginia the steep areas, and started settling around the has had some high quality bituminous coal. Currently, the coal sub-surface areas that have flatter parts of the Lower New River Gorge. been identified in the watershed has been surThe topography of the area is composed of face mining, underground mining, and coal not many depressions, side slopes, and ridges, with mined. Surface mining has different types which almost no low-lying lands. The steepest areas can range from auger mining, to high-wall minare usually where there is more sandstone, and ing. Map 2.7 shows the different areas of coal can be appreciated along the major rivers and sub-surface, and shows that here is still a large streams, especially along the Gorge. On Map area of coal that has not been mines, as well as a 2.4, the highest areas are expressed with a dark high area of underground mines. Surface mining green color, while the lowest areas are empha- is shown to be low, in comparison to the other sized with a burgundy color (Map 2.4). The per- types (Map 2.7). cent slope is shown on Map 2.5 with different green colors; the steepest slopes from 81% to MARCELLUS SHALE AREA 90% are clearly shown along the River Gorge, Marcellus Shale is a unit of marine sedimentary while the flattest areas below 10% are further rock which is found along the eastern part of the US, and contains large reserves of natural gas. away from the River (Map 2.5). The coverage of the area goes from New York throughout the Appalachian Basin. In West VirSOILS There are more than 100 types of soils in the wa- ginia, the thickness of the Marcellus Shale range tershed area, although they have been reduced up to 200 feet, although around the watershed, to three different suitability types, due to the the thickness range is from 21 feet to 60 feet complexity of the loams. The dominating soils (Map 2.8). that exist in the watershed are deep silt loams or sandy loams, which are well-drained and stony. CLIMATE On the steep slopes, the soil is moderately fertile Average Maximum Temperature and Average and suitable for growth of trees, although could Minimum Temperature As mentioned before, climate in the watershed is have erosion. a subtropical and humid climate. It is located in a Soil suitability has been summarized as appropriate for buildings, road infrastructure, and sanitation infrastructure. Suitability for each category is shown on the map; most of the soils are very limited for buildings and road infrastructure,while
hardiness zone that ranges from 5b to 7, and has a very moist topography. The average maximum temperatures can be found in Hinton, with an average of the whole watershed of 62.06 °F. The average minimum temperatures can be found in
26 |Chapter 1.1| Inventory Maps MAP 2.4 Topography map, with hillshade
Chapter 1.1 | Inventory Maps| 27 MAP 2.5 Slope percentage map
28 |Chapter 1.1| Inventory Maps MAP 2.6 Soil suitability map
Chapter 1.1 | Inventory Maps| 29 MAP 2.7 Coal sub-surface map
30 |Chapter 1.1| Inventory Maps MAP 2.8 Marcellus Shale area map
Chapter 1.1 | Inventory Maps| 31
CHART 2.9 Top: Average maximum temperature in the watershed Bottom: Average minimum temperature in the watershed
CHART 3.0 Top: Average precipitation in the watershed Bottom: Average snowfall in the watershed
32 |Chapter 1.1| Inventory Maps CHART 3.1 Top: Average sun in the watershed Bottom: Average humidity in the watershed
Fayetteville, with an average of the whole watershed of 40.53 째F (Chart 2.9).
with a typical percentage of 46% and Beckley has a usual percentage of 49% sunshine per year, making an average for the watershed of 49% Average Precipitation and Average Snowfall sunshine and 61% humidity. Humidity in FayetteThe average precipitation in the area is 3.45 ville and Beckley ranges around the same with a inches, being higher in Fayetteville with an aver- regular percentage of 61% (Chart 3.1). age of 3.78 inches, and an average of 3.14 in Hinton, being the lowest. Beckley is one of the areas that have the highest snowfall inches per year with an average of 5.13 inches, while Hinton and Fayetteville are pretty close to each other with averages of 4.70 inches and 4.74 inches, respectively. In the whole watershed area, the usual percentage of precipitation is 3.45 inches while the normal percentage of snowfall is 4.86 inches (Chart 3.0). Average Sunshine and Average Humidity Hinton has the highest percentage of sunshine throughout the year, and the lowest percentage of humidity, with averages of 52% and 60% correspondingly. Fayetteville has the lowest sunshine
Chapter 1.1 | Inventory Maps| 33 MAP 3.2 Climate map
34 |
Chapter 2.0 | Site Analysis| 35
Chapter 2.0
Site Analysis ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
and wastewater. The provision of sewers near human development will ensure the safe disposal Potential Conservation Area The special vegetation in the watershed con- of waste and will improve and promote sanitation sists mainly of wetlands, and there a several along the entire watershed and its communities. of these throughout the area. A wetland offers distinct ecosystems, since it consists of Building planning including housing, coman area flooded with water. It supports aquatic mercial or indoors recreation are to be proplants due to its hydric soil, as well as a va- posed only in zones where the soil is suitable riety of aquatic and terrestrial animals. Wet- for such activity, and where there is possibility lands are important for the environment due to build sanitation facilities, as well as roads. to their capacity of water purification, shore- The potential area should not be within an line stabilization, and flood control (Figure 3.3). existing or proposed conservation area. The possible conservation areas in the comprehensive plan would be all those that are close to a wetland. The constraints of these areas are construction of roads, housing and commercial buildings. There can be a possibility of constructing facilities for outdoors recreation, picnic, and playground areas, after further analysis of the soils in the zone.
Potential Facility for Mining Purposes There have been different types of mining methods throughout time along the watershed. The recorded methods are underground mining, and surface mining which includes auger and high-wall mining. Underground mining is a method in which mineral is removed through tunnels, and the overlying rock is left untouched. Surface mining is the opposite
Potential Building for Housing, Commercial or Recreation, with Sanitation Sewage facilities are important near a development area in order to prevent human contact with hazardous waste, such as garbage
of underground mining, and it consists of removing the rock on top of the mineral deposit. There is still an extensive area in the watershed where mining can be exploited,
36 |Chapter 2.0| Site Analysis Mining facilities will be proposed where the soil is suitable to do so, and where it is also suitable for constructing buildings, roads, and sanitation infrastructure. Mining areas are not to be within existing or proposed conservation areas.
to be established should be between the National and/or State parks with the new conservation areas. In addition, the linkage of those new conservation areas betwe en other new conservation areas is essential as well (Map 3.3).
Potential Area for Transportation Roads are important for any type of development, including housing, commercial, recreational or industrial facilities. These lines of communication may include tunnels, bridges, junctions and crossings. Roads may also help in the connection of different zones, such as a National Park with a State Park, and a housing development with a conservation area.
MAP ANALYSIS KEY POINTS Conservation Area with Connections to other Green Spaces and Development It is suggested that potential conservation areas are connected by trails or green corridors to the adjacent Boy Scout Project and the protected bird nesting areas.
Oak Hill and Fayetteville should have buffers on most sides, except if an outdoor recreation area Every potential area for transportation in this is proposed in order to create relationships becomprehensive plan is to be constructed where tween the community and nature. The links can the soils are suitable for such activity, and it is be created with any of the existing or the prosuggested that areas where there will be hous- posed conservation areas. ing, commercial, recreational or industrial development should be supplemented by one or The adjacencies to coal mine industries, existing more roads, in order to facilitate transportation to or proposed, should also be buffered with trees and from the facility. of some sort, in order to preserve the conservation areas from being fully disturbed by human Potential Connections activity. Throughout the watershed, there are some areas that are already designed as conservation Conservation Area with Connections to areas and wildlife management areas. The main other Green Spaces and Development areas that are constrained from building roads, These highlighted potential conservation areas housing and commercial buildings are the New are fairly close to each other, and they were desRiver Gorge National Park, Babcock State Park, ignated as such because of the proximity to the Hawk’s Nest State Park, Little Beaver State Park, Beury Mountain Wildlife Management Area and the Beury Mountain WM Area, the nesting ar- the protected bird nesting areas. eas for migrating bird species, and the Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve.
There is active coal mine activities adjacent to these two areas, and it is suggested that buffers Based on the potential conservation areas of trees or any other sort are proposed around mentioned before, the potential connections that active mining areas, in order to preserve the
Chapter 2.0 | Site Analysis| 37 MAP 3.3 Environmental analysis map
38 |Chapter 2.0| Site Analysis conservation areas form being disturbed by human activity. Mining Areas with Buffers along other Areas In this zone, there is potential for mining facilities due to the existence of un-mines coal areas, and the proximity to soil suitable for building, road and sanitation construction. The potential mining area is to have a buffer of trees or similar sort, separating it from housing or commercial developments, and even from conservation areas in order to prevent the noise and pollution from the mine facility.
area with several adjacencies to possible housing or commercial areas. In some zones, the conservation areas must be connected by trails or green corridors to development areas in order to create relationships between the community and nature. Housing or Commercial Development with outdoors Recreation This area is proposed to be for housing or commercial development due to the soil suitability for construction of buildings, road, and sanitation facilities. There are conservation areas within because of existing wetlands in the area. Conservation areas must remain un-developed, although they can serve as outdoor parks for the community, as well as connections to other green spaces trhough green corridors or trails.
Human Development adjacent to Conservation Areas This area has potential for housing or commercial development due to the soil suitability for construction of buildings, roads, and sanitation facilities. Connections between existing human SOCIAL ANALYSIS developments and new building developments Sense of Place are suggested, in order to bring the communities Sense of place is the essence of a community, together. described through beliefs, experiences and activities of the people, as well as the physical Proposed conservation area adjacent to Crab properties of the landscape. Sense of place can Orchard and Beckley should be connected by be perceived differently by people, depending trails of green corridors in order to create rela- on their background. If someone is a resident tionships between the community and nature. of the place, they will have a different percepSmall outdoor recreation areas are suggested tion than someone that is a tourist. Education also around all human development areas to may also influence how people perceive sense create outdoor parks for the community, as well of place; a landscape will not be the same for as connections to other green spaces through someone who has studied the environment than green corridors or trails. for someone who hasn’t. Conservation Area with Connections to other Green Spaces and Development In this zone, there will be a proposed conservation
In order to understand sense of place of the Lower New Watershed area, we must understand its history, and evaluate the identity of the
Chapter 2.0 | Site Analysis| 39 community. In a study conducted by a medi- FIGURE 3.4 cal research team in 2002 (WVU Prevention Sense of Place expressed through a mural at the Research Center), the identity of the people in Fayette Theatre in Fayetteville Southern West Virginia was established after gathering information on 61 participants (white and African-American men and women, in five different southern counties, including Fayette and Raleigh). The highlights of the results found that West Virginians are kind and outgoing, with strong faith in God, religion, and family cohesion. The results of the study also states that the residents feel offended when they are considered indigent because of their territory, and it characterizes the people as having good sense of community, hospitality, and commitment and dedication to work. have had a decrease in population of 0.7% and 0.4% respectively, while Raleigh has had an inAccording to the study, the landscape sense of crease in population of 0.3%. The following chart place comes from the attachment to mountains, (source: www.clrsearch.com) shows that the and it states that the participants of the study population by ages in the main cities of the wafelt attached to those mountains and could not tershed have a noticeably low average of people understand how some people would leave the ranging in the ages from 35 to 44 (Chart 3.5). state (Figure 3.4). Although coal is a part of West Virginia sense of Another significant part of the sense of place place, it’s also one of the reasons of health isand culture of the area is manufacturing of wood sues in the community and environment polluproducts, glass and handmade crafts, as well as tion. Some of the negative health effects of coal are lung problems and respiratory issues, heart agriculture, fishing and hunting. failure, cancer, and overall reduction of life exCoal has always been a big part of the heritage pectancy. In addition, the environment is also afof Southern West Virginia. Although the popu- fected by coal activity, specifically because coal lation of the area has decreased due to mine mining produces sludge, which is waste water closings, as well as the modern mechanized that contains mercury and other heavy metals. mining industry, and this has led to a change The Environmental Protection Agency deterof income generation in families. Young peo- mined that that a 10-acre landfill of coal waste ple are leaving Southern West Virginia due to would leak between 730 and 36,000 gallons in education and jobs. According to the US Cen- 10 years, meaning that sludge is guaranteed sus Bureau, Fayette and Summers Counties to filter into groundwater and contaminating
40 |Chapter 2.0| Site Analysis CHART 3.5 Population chart by age in main cities
the drinking water supply. Additionally, the air is also polluted due to fly ash, which is product of coal burning and contains high quantities of the same heavy metals found in water. This fly ash reaches oceans, streams and land (Figure 3.6). FIGURE 3.6 Photo from the 1920s, in Kaymoor Mine (Fayetteville) shows coal miners, and the sense of place that existed through coal mining.
Clean Water as Indicator of Sense of Place According to the EPA, one reason for water impairment in Southern West Virginia is mainly because of fecal coliform (Chart 3.7). Chart 3.6 shows the pollution indexes for each
town. The national average for each pollution index is 100. If the index is 200, it’s twice the national average. If the index is 50, it’s half the national average. Many people in the community have shown interest in conserving and repairing the environmental issues, and this is an indicator that some people want to create a sense of place based on having clean water. In addition, there is a visual pollution problem in most areas of the watershed; since there are a lot of people in that don’t upkeep their own properties and front yards. This shows there is a lacking of sense of place in the community given that aesthetics and order is not relevant. Organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency, the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA), the National Committee for the New River, the Boy Scouts, the New River Gorge Development Authority, and the Plateau Action Network are proposing conceptual solutions, by striving to protect, conserve and restore the watershed. They are working together, and have established different programs to teach the community how they can help with
Chapter 2.0 | Site Analysis| 41 CHART 3.7 Pollution indexes in the watershed
the current issues that threaten health and the wooden structure that looks like a house, and in environment. Thurmond, fire hydrants on the street are painted as figures (FIgure 3.8). They even have programs to reclaim a sense of place throughout the area. For example, the FIGURE 3.8 NRGRDA has a program called “The Beautifica- Sense of place expressed through garbage cans tion Toolkit” in Fayetteville, in which they help the in Oak Hill and fire hydrants in Beckley community improve the visual appearance of the town, starting with their own storefronts, houses and streets. Another program that has been implemented is the “Community Clean-Up”, meant to clean up the city, which was very successful after 16 months, where they collected 320 tons of trash and around 17,000 tires. The program offer tools for the people like free dumpsters and trash hauling, and offer guidance to help other It is a fact that the New River Gorge attracts members of the community join the cleaning around one million people per year for outdoor program. Public transportation improvement is recreation purposes, and this has created a sense another subject the organizations are trying to of place for visitors of the watershed related to address. outdoor activity, fun and relaxation. Now, with the Boy Scouts of America project mentioned before Summary which is going to start in 2013, will strengthen Even though it may not be very evident, the peo- the sense of place of Southern West Virginians. ple in Southern West Virginia do have somewhat The project will attract so many people per year sense of place. They still need incentive to work that it will be something that the people will be on that identity, but an indicator of sense of place proud of having in their community. is in downtown Oak Hill, garbage cans have a
42 |Chapter 2.0| Site Analysis
CULTURAL ANALYSIS Historic City Maps and Architecture The main cities in the Lower New Watershed area are Fayetteville, Beckley and Hinton, since they are the county seats of Fayette, Raleigh and Summers Counties, respectively. Fayetteville was founded in the 1800s by Abraham Vandal who was a local farmer and a veteran of the Revolutionary War. The name of the town was changed to Fayetteville in 1837 after Marquis de Lafayette, a Revolutionary War hero. During the Civil War, Fayetteville was partly destroyed. During the late 19th century, Fayetteville grew very fast due to the coal industry. It is said that the coal mined in the 1900s in Fayetteville was the highest coal on earth, with the lowest sulfur. After the last mine closings in 1960s, the economy of Fayetteville changed to being based on the tourism industry. Fayetteville has experienced a growth of 4.5 times since the time it was founded (Chart 3.9 and Maps 4.0).
US, taking a more eclectic style and visible columns. The main characteristics were design with two stories, symmetrical front facades, accented doorways, evenly spaced windows, sunrooms and columned porches. Greek revival architectural style was a movement in the early 19th century, predominant of northern Europe and the US. The style was a product of Hellenism, and accentuated on Greek architectural elements like Doric and Ionic orders, but in each county that was introduced, the style was portrayed as an expression of nationalism and local qualities. Gothic revival style began in England in the late 1740s, and spread to the US in the 19th century. The characteristics of the style were arched elements and other decorative and ornamental architectural elements.
The Fayette County courthouse is located on the former Vandal farm. It was completed in 1897 with a Romanesque revival architectural style. This type of architecture is a style that was employed at the beginning of the mid-19th century There are around 75 historic buildings and homes mostly in Germany, and tends to feature round in Fayetteville. The national historic downtown and semi-circular arches on windows and belt Fayetteville includes buildings with a range of ar- courses. The Romanesque revival style was chitectural styles such as colonial revival, Greek used for churches, synagogues and it became revival and gothic revival. Colonial revival archi- popular for university campuses in the US, durtecture was very used in the 19th century in the ing the late 19th century (Figure 4.1). CHART 3.9 Chart of city growth
Chapter 2.0 | Site Analysis| 43 MAPS 4.0 Maps of city growth
01 Fayetteville
03 Beckley Founded in 1838, Beckley is now one of the largest cities in the watershed. The map shows itsgrowth from 1981 through 2012.
Fayetteville was founded in the 1800s, and the map shows the growth of the town since its beginings in 1802 through 1908 and 2012.
04 Shady Spring Shady Spring was founded in the 1830s, and the map shows the growth from 1981 to 2012.
02 Oak Hill Oak Hill was founded in 1820 although the map only shows the extents of the town in 1969 and the expansion it had up to 2012.
05 Hinton Hinton was founded in 1873 and the map shows its growth from 1887 to 2012.
44 |Chapter 2.0| Site Analysis FIGURE 4.1 Top: Fayette County Courthouse Bottom: Downtown Fayetteville
the building in 2012 is unkown but it appears to be structurally sound (Figure 4.2). FIGURE 4.2 Altamont Hotel in 1911 and in 2012, Back façade and Front façade, respectively
According to the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel is of vernacular quality and it falls in the Victorian architectural style. The Victorian style was employed primarily during the mid and late 19th century, and it is said to be a mix between Asian, British and French influences. This style features steep roofs, multi-colored walls, stairs to the front entrance, bay windows, cone-shaped turrets, and horizontal ridges at the roof line, above the windows. The Altamont Hotel features many of these characteristics, including a steep red roof, red-orange colors of the brick walls, prominent stairs to the main entrance, and a Victorian veranda. In the 1930s, the Hotel was slightly altered, to be adapted for apartments, and the current state of
The New River Bridge, near Fayetteville was completed in 1977 and it’s the longest arch bridge in the western hemisphere. The steel arch has an architectural influence that comes from Arch bridges in Greece, from about 1300 B.C., and is near 3,000 feet in length and 876 feet above the New River. The bridge was the highest bridge in the world until 2004, and in 2012, it’s the 5th highest. The material of the structure is weathering steel, which allows developing a rust-like appearance after exposed for several years. Before the bridge was built, the travel time form one side to the other of the Gorge was 45 minutes, and it was cut
Chapter 2.0 | Site Analysis| 45 down to 45 seconds after the completion of the the 8th largest city in West Virginia, and a regionbridge. Underneath the bridge, there is a 2’ cat- al hub for more than 200,000 residents, the town walk, originally built to facilitate construction, and has experienced a vast expansion (Figure 4.5). is used today as tourist attraction (Figure 4.3). Tamarack: self proclaimed the best of WV opened FIGURE 4.3 in 1996, it’s a destination for tourists that originatNew River Gorge Bridge ed for the local arts and craft products such as glass, wood, pottery, metal and jewelry. The architecture of the building features a multi-peaked red roof building with a high amount of glass windows, located in an extensive landscape. It was built with a $10 million budget, and attracts over 500,000 visitors per year. Manifacturing is a big cultural heritage of southern West Virginia, The John Hughart House in Fayetteville was and that is why Tamarack was built. The purpose completed in 1917, with wood and stone, under of the building is for artists to sell and showcase an architectural style called American craftsman, their creations; wood, glass and handmade which started in the 19th century, and was origi- crafts (Figure 4.6). nated by the British arts and crafts movement. The style is characterized by two story houses FIGURE 4.5 with hip roofs, bays, and gable roofs, round Top: Downtown Beckley turrets, warp-around porches, and complex fa- Bottom: Raleigh County Courthouse cades. The Hughart house features an extensive front porch (Figure 4.4). FIGURE 4.4 John Hughart House
The Cities Today Beckley was founded in 1838 by Alfred Beckley, and it was named after his father, John James Beckley who was the first Clerk of the House of Representatives. Beckley is known for Tamarack and for the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. Being
46 |Chapter 2.0| Site Analysis FIGURE 4.6 MAPS 4.7 Tamarack bulding, self proclaimed the best of Maps of city pattern West Virginia
01 Fayetteville
Fayetteville and Beckley are cities that have grown very fast, and they both have an irregular, more organic looking grid that has expanded through the years according to the landscape topography. Fayetteville has been built along route 19 with an irregular grid of roads that accommodate to the landscape, while Beckley is close to I-64, which is one of the reasons why it may have been growing rapidly through the years. Hinton, on the contrary is a town that is closer to the river and is located on a more flat landscape allowing the grid to be more regular. Route 20 provides the main entrance to the town, and it crosses it from side to side. The three county cities are not very dense in footprint, and they all have homes that are in the outskirts, creating decentralized towns. Fayetteville, Beckley, Hinton, Oak Hill and Shady Springs are shown in the following maps that display the expansion growth since the time they were founded, until 2012 (Maps 4.7 and Map 4.8).
02 Beckley
03 Hinton
Chapter 2.0 | Site Analysis| 47 Native-American Influence The major Native American trails evaded direct proximity to the Gorge River due to the harsh nature of the landscape, which is also a reason for the location of the villages. Instead, the trails were close to the River and in some cases ran parallel to it. The trails were used by Native American mainly for transportation, war, hunting, gathering, and trade. Paint creek trail was a route for Native Americans, and its name comes from the symbols painted trees which were how the Native American used to communicate. Some of the recorded Native American tribes that used this path are the Mingoes, Delawares, Ottawas, Shawnees, Senecas, Catawbas and Cherokees. When Mary Ingles was kidnapped by the Shawnee tribe, they led her through the Paint Creek path, until she escaped. Paint Creek was transformed into industrial land after the first nearby railroad in 1853.
trails actually crossed paths with it, like the western Indian trail which led from Kanawha to Paint Creek, close to where Beckley is today, extending across the New River Gorge and above the mountains of Bluestone. From the Western Indian trail evolved a riverbank road called the Bluestone Turnpike. This path was used by farmers and timber industries until 1940s. In 2012, this path serves as an entrance to the Bluestone National Scenic Park. The New River and southern trail extended from North Carolina to the New River Gorge passing though Mercer County. The Native American path was called the “great Indian warpath�, and it became the Kanawha trail which later reached Ohio. There are no actual records of settlers that used the New River and Southern trail although it is thought that the first pioneers arrived from the Great Valley Road route, in Virginia (Map 4.8).
Another well-known and important Native American path is the buffalo trail or Kanawha trail which was used later on by settlers until 1786. This path passed from the Kanawha all the way down to Ansted across the Meadow creek, to the Greenbrier. This trail evolved to be the Midland Trail (US 60), which is a main road through Ansted today, and it is believed that buffaloes and Native American originally carved into the mountains. During the Civil War, coaches and soldiers traveled through this path. Before 1988, the trail was used for commercial transportation of coal and timber, and it is currently used for local traffic.
Transportation As mentioned before, some of the roads that are included in the watershed are derived from Native American trails. The main interstates that cross the lower new watershed are Interstate Roads I-64 and I-77, which serve Beckley and have main junctions near the city, and also connect the three counties from South to North, and East to West. The County Roads are US19 and US41 across Fayette, connecting it North to South with Raleigh and Summers counties, respectively. County Road US3 and US219 across Raleigh and Summers connect them with each other.
Even though Paint Creek was one of the most important Native American trails, many other
Some bridges that can be identified in the Lower New Watershed are:
48 |Chapter 2.0| Site Analysis MAP 4.8 Map of Lower New Watershed with Native American trails and ghost towns included. Note: Locations of towns and trails are approximate based on historic maps.
Chapter 2.0 | Site Analysis| 49 Fayette County. New River Gorge Bridge, Hawk’s Nest Bridge which was originally built for the C&O Railway, the Fayette Station Bridge, built in 1889.
C&O Railroad was completed in 1873 at Hawk’s Nest. Some of the most known coal towns were Hawk’s Nest, Nuttalburg, Kaymoor, Fire Creek, Thurmond, Glen Jean, McKendree, Prince, Quinnimont, and Sewell.
Raleigh County. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Bridge which was built in 1899 over the Ghost Towns (Map 4.8) New River on the CSX Railroad, and the Glade Hawk’s Nest town was located on the North Creek Bridge built in 1988. side of Hawk’s Nest Lake, and was built around a hydroelectric dam that was completed in 1933. Summers County. The Bluestone Lake Bridge The Hawk’s Nest Bridge was built for coal transwhich was built in 1950 over the Bluestone Dam, portation, as part of the C&O Railway. and the Main Street Bridge at the entrance of Hinton, built over the CSX tracks (Figure 4.9 and Nuttalburg town was founded by John Nuttall, Figure 5.0). and it was completed around 1873. The population in this coal town was 75 people in 1903, FIGURE 4.9 and 359 by 1920. Henry Ford bought this mine Top: Bluestone Lake Bridge in 1920 to provide coal for his automobile plant. Bottom: Hawk’s Nest Bridge FIGURE 5.0 Top: Fayette Station Bridge Bottom: Main Street Bridge
Coal as Cultural Element and Ghost Towns As the previous map shows, the main railroad called the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad originated along and parallel to the New River for coal transportation, and many of the first towns in the area were founded along the trail. The
50 |Chapter 2.0| Site Analysis Kaymoor town was founded by James Kay, and its operation went from 1899 to 1924 after a fire destroyed the coal processing plant. Remains of tipple and coke ovens are still there, and hikers can get to it by traveling 0.5 miles on a rocky, steep trail. Fire Creek town was founded around 1877. In 1896 it had a population of 142 people, and by 1920, there were 420 people. There were some remains of wooden depot until the 1930s.
1910 was 540 and in 1920 it was 315. The name Quinnimont means “five mountains� in Latin, and it seems to describe the nearby landscape. Sewell town was a large coke production center. Currently, it has around 70 remnants of coke ovens, two dilapidated buildings and machinery. FIGURE 5.1 Top: Kaymoor ghost town Bottom: Thurmond town
Thurmond town was one of the biggest coal towns along the C&O Railroad. The town has been restored for visitors featuring a park, museums and exhibits. Thurmond was one of the towns that brought the largest revenue from the mines, and its banks were the richest in the State. Glen Jean town is not a ghost town, since the population was 210 in 2010. It was a railroad junction, and was founded in the 1870s by Jean and Thomas McKell. Most of the town has disappeared, although there are still some buildings present. FIGURE 5.1 Top: Glenn Jean town McKendree town was mostly known because of Bottom: Quinnimont town the McKendree hospital which closed in 1939. It was re-opened later until 1956, and in the 1980s, the structures decayed. Prince town was founded by William Prince. The town is also a semi-ghost town, since the population presently decreased to 100 people, after having 235 people in 1910. Quinnimont town was first founded to support an iron furnace, which only lasted three years after coal mining appeared. The population in
Chapter 2.0 | Site Analysis| 51 Summary Most of the towns in the Lower New Watershed have cultural, urban and architectural influences from all around the world that the first settlers brought. The main cities of the watershed mentioned before have grown to a larger scale since their beginnings, and will continue to do so. For that reason, each city should be prepared to do so in a manner that does not affect the New River Gorge National Park, and the adjacent State Parks.
shops, lodging and restaurants.
Even though, most of the ghost towns are now abandoned due to the economy decay of the coal mining industry. The National Park Service is striving to conserve the history of the Lower New Watershed and all its Native American influence as well as its coal heritage.
Real estate industry is low in the area, and this could be basically because the population that is moving into the area is not high. Instead, many people have left the watershed to look for other income opportunities.
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS Economic Diversity, Employment Rates, and Employment Types As mentioned before, the main economic activity of the Lower New Watershed area used to be mainly coal industry, and is currently mostly education and health, retail trade, and outdoor recreation. (Chart 5.2).
As mentioned earlier, manufacturing is an important cultural trend in Southern West Virginia, and it is also one of the economies that exist in the area, as well as agriculture, fishing and hunting. These are not only for small business economy, but are also a big part of the tradition of the area, and that may be why there are still a lot of people that own their own farms and produce their own food.
Income Levels and Employment Statistics In the main cities, the average household income in 2010 was around $46k; lower than the average income in West Virginia being around $54k, and much lower than the United States, which is about $74k (Chart 5.3).
Even though people are finding new ways of income by working in outdoor recreation, lodging, food and retail supplements, the area is still posThe watershed has been resilient after the mine sibly struggling to stay afloat while tourist activiclosings, and the economy in the area has ties become more stable. changed to a new type of income. According to the chart statistics, the main economic activi- Housing Statistics ties are retail trade, accommodations and food As the following chart shows, most of the houses services. The reason why these categories are in the watershed were built in between the 1950s at the top of the chart is possibly due to outdoor and the 1960s. This may be an indicator that recreation in the area; since the closing of the most of the houses that are occupied today in mine fields, a lot of people have changed their in- the area were built when the coal mining induscome and are now supplementing outdoor rec- try was at its peak, before the coal fields closed. reation with having their own businesses in retail Beckley is the town that has the most housing
52 |Chapter 2.0| Site Analysis CHART 5.2 Employment rates by industry in 2010 for main cities. (Source: www.clrsearch.com)
CHART 5.3 Employment and average household income in 2010 for main cities.
Chapter 2.0 | Site Analysis| 53 units with a high occupancy rate, while Hinton is the town that has the least amount of housing units with the highest amount of unoccupied units (Chart 5.4). In Fayetteville, most of the housing units were built around the 1980s, and this coincides with the New River Gorge National River being established in 1978 as a national park system. Perhaps the people in the area started realizing that the new economy was going to be in tourism and started settling. This could explain why Fayetteville has a high tourist attraction. CHART 5.4 Housing statistics in 2010
CHART 5.5 Education level in the watershed area
Education Level Fayetteville and Beckley have the highest high school education levels in the watershed, while the education levels in Oak Hill and Hinton are pretty low according to the chart. College education throughout the area is somewhat balanced although in average the totals are rather low. Hinton has the highest percentage of people that are not enrolled in school, while the other towns have a high indicator as well, but nonetheless low in average throughout the watershed (Chart 5.5).
54 |
Chapter 3.0 | Conceptual Design| 55
Chapter 3.0
Conceptual Design VISION
through recreational activities, events, and proThe Lower New Watershed is an area that has grams especially during off-seasons. Abanmany opportunities to be worked on. As a con- doned buildings will be restored, reused and ceptual design, two types of plans have been maintained for business, commercial, housing proposed in order to enhance the cultural heri- and communities. tage, the economic development, the preservaArchitectural structures will be protected though tion of the environment, and the communities. regulation. Furthermore, supporting preservation and restoration with funding programs and Cultural Enhancements 01 Preserve cultural heritage and historical build- volunteers in the community is proposed. ings in order to maintain the community’s link with the past through active education, and in order to improve tourism and recreational activities. To do this, tourism and recreational uses must be enhanced by developing a driving tour path with specific stopping points, and creating a historic story using existing routes. Cultural heritage sites will be identified such as industrially significant locations, National Register places, Native American Paint Creek trail, suggested ghost towns to visit, and ATV trails.
02 Public transportation will be improved citywide and regionally, and alternative transportation will be provided to promote healthy lifestyle and reduce impacts on the environment. For this, incentives for healthy transportation like biking, walking and perhaps public transportation during big events like Bridge Day will be proposed. 03 Centralized cities and infrastructure will be proposed to reduce impact on the environment and cost, by creating buffers around towns to
limit rapid growth, prevent sprawl, and promote In addition, the conceptual design includes sig- re-development inside the cities in order to crenaling of historic sites will be provided, as well as ate sense of community. It will be proposed to learning programs and brochures for visitors to expand cities in a centralized way, in order to use along their path. Tourism will be promoted have centralized grids instead of spread-out.
56 |Chapter 3.0| Conceptual Design Economic Enhancements 01 Diverse economic development will be encouraged by proposing programs for re-educated former coal miners, by promoting sustainable economic development to attract sustainable green industries, as well as by proposing outdoor recreation stores, which will bring people to the area while supporting recreation and generating jobs. 02 Local economies will be encouraged by creating centralized districts of diverse businesses in each county, by providing affordable rent and lower taxes for local businesses and creating opportunities to encourage local business collaboration, as well as by promoting local farming and creating connection between local food and food services.
Areas not suitable for development will be identified along with areas that are important for wildlife habitat and corridors; especially for endangered or threatened species. Open spaces between the Beury Wildlife Management Area and the New River Gorge National Park will be preserved. Open spaces in cities (Fayetteville, Oak Hill, Beckley, Shady Springs and Hinton) will be identified for recreation development in the community.
02 Water quality will be promoted through green infrastructure implementation for preserving the ecosystem and recreational industry. Stormwater management is proposed through constructed wetlands that incorporate plants which will remove pollutants from the water and provide aesthetic and habitat value, as well as stormwater retrofit which manages runoff after develop03 Downtown areas of main towns will be revital- ment has occurred. This system improves water ized in order to prevent sprawl and encourage quality, protects downstream channels and recommunity development by involving local citi- duces flooding. If the whole watershed is retrozens in the downtown revitalization planning pro- fitted, it could provide an educational value as cess, by providing farmers markets, events, and well. Sewage infrastructure will be restored and opportunities in the downtown areas, as well as improved to recover water quality in streams and by connecting downtowns to parks and trails for the New River and improve the leaky pipes within tourism and recreation and re-using empty build- the infrastructure. ings or vacant lots for central housing development. 03 Incentive programs will be proposed for private land owners in order to create environmenEnvironmental Enhancements tal opportunities, such as reduced property tax01 Open space will be encouraged and con- es encouraging private land owners to designate served through expanding existing trail systems, part of their land to wildlife conservation. Cleandesignate open space in order to promote pres- ing of private properties will be promoted by proervation of the environment and enhance the viding opportunities and tools such as event proidentity of the area. In order to do this, there will grams and gardening tools. be an analysis where connections of trails can be made, such as linking parks to other parks, Education opportunities will be proposed as and connecting parks to town developments. well as guidance to developers, residents, and
Chapter 3.0 | Conceptual Design| 57 other community members on methods to protect water resources by reducing the amount of stormwater and industrial water draining into the sewer system and local waterways. Social Enhancements 01 New housing opportunity will be developed for newcomers, young generations, and workers at recreational jobs, through accommodating town growth and higher density in selected and abandoned areas. For example, Rental and starter homes for the Fayetteville area appeal to young people. Buildings in downtown areas will be reused, and marketing of new housing will be done through the internet and other media.
has been proposed in order to enhance tourism as well as cultural heritage through education and recreation. The major cultural heritage sites of the watershed have been identified and proposals of three different trips and routes have been proposed along with signage and learning programs. Route for 1-Day Trip, Option A This trip has been designed to be done in 1 or more days, depending on the traveler. The 1-Day trip is ideal for a family with children since it doesn’t include very strenuous or high-effort activities. It includes several of the highlighted recommended cultural sites to visit, where most of the cultural heritage of the Lower New Watershed will be displayed. The trip includes, and starts with: 01 Hawk’s Nest State Park 02 Canyon Rim Visitor Center 03 Downtown Fayetteville 04 Paint Creek Trail 05 Tamarack 06 Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine & Youth Museum 07 Downtown Beckley
02 An objective is to create strong sense of place in which communities can thrive, by creating space for communities such as open spaces, community centers, and community gardens. Streetscapes will be improved by implementing vegetation, signage, and aesthetic storefronts. Programs like the Regional Redevelopment Authority’s Beautification Toolkit will be promoted and advertised to help downtowns clean-up or tear down dilapidated buildings, as well as providing green infrastructure for communities to Route for 1-Day Trip, Option B improve water quality, and flood control. This trip has been designed to be done in 1 or more days, depending on the traveler. This 1-Day 03 Public education systems will be improved by trip is suitable for people who are apt of enduring providing incentive for new employment to move mid or high-effort activities. It includes several of to the area, by offering and connecting educa- the highlighted recommended cultural sites to tion facilities to provide higher education, and visit, where most of the cultural heritage of the by improving technological infrastructure of the Lower New Watershed will be displayed. The trip community such as cell phone and Internet cov- includes, and starts with: erage and quality of service. 01 Hawk’s Nest State Park 02 Kaymoor Coal Mine Site CULTURAL CONCEPTUAL PLAN 03 Canyon Rim Visitor Center In complementing the vision, a cultural sites’ tour 04 Downtown Fayetteville
58 |Chapter 3.0| Conceptual Design MAP 5.6 Cultural Sites’ Map
Chapter 3.0 | Conceptual Design| 59
05 Whitewater Rafting near Fayetteville 06 Paint Creek Trail 07 Tamarack 08 Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine & Youth Museum Route for 2-Day Trip This trip has been designed to be done in 2 or more days, depending on the traveler. The 2-Day trip includes several of the highlighted recommended cultural sites to visit, and a few lodging places to choose from, including several outdoor activities. The 2-day trip includes, and starts with: 01 Hawk’s Nest State Park 02 Kaymoor Coal Mine Site 03 Canyon Rim Visitor Center 04 Whitewater Rafting near Fayetteville 05 Downtown Fayetteville 06 Thurmond 07 Grist Mill at Babcock State Park 08 Downtown Beckley 09 Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine & Youth Museum 10 Tamarack 11 Paint Creek Trail 12 Sandstone Visitor Center 13 Hinton Historic District and Railroad Museum (Map 5.6).
LIST OF CULTURAL SITES
the outdoor swimming pool, and other outdoor activities. S2 Canyon Rim Visitor Center The Canyon Rim visitor center welcomes around 300,000 visitors per year. Information of cultural historic and natural heritage, coal industry history and tourism material are provided in the center through brochures, videos and an exhibit room. Go hiking on the boardwalk to the New River Gorge bridge overlook, and be amazed by the monumentality of the structure. Learn about the culture and history of the New River Gorge National Park, the Native-American influence, and the culmination of the coal mining industry of the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, tourists can choose to do activities such as the catwalk under the New River Bridge, zip-lining, and other high effort activities. S3 Whitewater Rafting near Fayetteville Take a whitewater adventure by visiting one of the most famous class V whitewater rafting spots in Fayetteville. Learn different things like what is a watershed and the history of the Lower New Watershed, as well as how outdoors recreation started in the area and how the New River Gorge area was logged and is now recuperating and re-growing.
S1 Hawk’s Nest State Park One of the main attractions of the park is the aerial tramway to the marina. Take this exhilarating journey to the marina at the bottom of the Gorge, and learn about the history behind Hawk’s Nest S4 Downtown Fayetteville Park, and the tunnel disaster. The Fayetteville Historic District was designated in 1990 and it includes several buildings that are Bring your family and do many more activities in the National Register of Historic Places. Learn like staying overnight at the lodge or cabins, hik- about the history of Fayetteville, the Civil War ing to the nature center with the kids, enjoying events in the town, as well as the extensive coal
60 |Chapter 3.0| Conceptual Design history of the area.
If you want to stay overnight, schedule some outdoor activities like hiking, biking, horseback riding, plan various sports, boating, swimming and fishing.
Choose from different visiting sites in the brochure, and tour various historic buildings, theatres, monuments, dining, and recreation areas for all ages. Learn about the architecture and the S8 Downtown Beckley history of the town. Beckley is known as the “Gateway to Southern West Virginia”, and is a major hub in Southern S5 Kaymoor Coal Mine Site West Virginia. Visit downtown Beckley and see Kaymoor is one of the abandoned ghost towns. the Raleigh courthouse, the Federal Building, There is a steep, medium-effort hiking trail and the Raleigh County National Bank. Learn which is 0.5 miles. At the abandoned coal mine about the growth of the town, the architecture, and processing plant learn about the history of and the coal mining industry. Kaymoor mine and town, as well as about coal towns in general and why they became ‘ghost’ S9 Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine and Youth towns. Furthermore, learn about the coal com- Museum panies and the benefits they provided for their Take the guided tour through the 1,500 feet unemployees. derground coal mine, and visit the coal museum and the visitor center. Learn about the history, S6 Thurmond culture and character of the coal mining region Thurmond was a coal town designated mostly for while appreciating coal miners’ daily routine, coal transportation. Visit the historic Thurmond mining artifacts, tools, and learn about life in coal Depot, which has been transformed into the visi- towns. tor center and get info and brochures of the area. Hike along the CXO Railroad, and learn about The main gallery of the Youth Museum consists the history of the town, about the C&O Railroad of four railroad boxcars that feature different exand coal transportation in Thurmond. hibits per year. In addition, there is a planetarium and other tours that showcase the main artifacts In addition, walk to Thurmond beach and learn and antiques by the settlers of the region. about the frequent high-class visitors and the residents of the coal town. S10 Tamarack The wonderful Tamarack is a perfect stop to shop S7 Grist Mill at Babcock State Park around for hand-made crafts and learn about the Take the Grist Mill tour inside the mill, and learn artisans and see various arts and crafts demthe history of the Grist Mill; how and why it ended onstrations. The site offers various hand made up being built. Also learn about Babcock State products in glass, wood, apparel, jewelry and Park and fell free to stay at one of the cabins with much more, so people can shop, learn and the whole family. observe about southern West Virginia cultural heritage. Explore and enjoy the specialty foods
Chapter 3.0 | Conceptual Design| 61 while learning about the traditional foods of southern West Virginia.
affected the railroad. In addition, learn about Bluestone State Park.
S11 Paint Creek Trail The Paint Creek Scenic trail offers education programs along 44 miles of trail, where you can learn about the Native-American influence and heritage in southern West Virginia, as well as multiple outdoor activities like camping, hiking and cycling, kayaking, canoeing, fishing and geocaching.
RECREAT ONCEPTUAL PLAN T1 Hawk’s Nest State Park Trails Hawk’s Nest State Park has some outdoor recreation activities that they offer to tourists. Amongst those activities, there are several hiking trails that lead tourists to their camping and fishing grounds, museum, picnic areas, and restrooms.
Cliff Side Trail leads from the east parking lot to Choose from three different day trips or one the Park overlooks, around a cliff. Northwest of overnight trip that includes information about that trail is Loop Trail which leads to the picnic highlighted locations such as Beckley, Tama- area. Fisherman Access Trail leads visitor to the rack, Mount Hope, and other destinations in the Hawk’s Nest Lake, and it goes along the north watershed. side of the Lake. Lastly, Hawk’s Nest Trail is on the other side of Mill Creek, leading to the gift S12 Sandstone Visitor Center shop and picnic areas. GSYP Trail connects the The Sandstone Visitor Center is a 9,800 square sports courts to the lodge and the southwest foot facility and it features information about the parking lot. natural and cultural history of the New River. Visit the gateway of the southern part of the New RivPOTENTIAL CONNECTIONS er and get info and brochures of the New River Loop Trail should be connected with Cliff Trail Gorge National Park, tour the interactive museand these two should also be connected to one um and learn about sustainable energy efficienof the proposed trails by the NPS, located NW cy and water conservation, and about the natural of the Park. Fisherman Access Trail should be and cultural history of the watershed. connected with Cliff Side Trail in order to allow the visitors an easier access to fishing. Hawk’s
S13 Hinton Historic District and Railroad MuNest Trail should be integrated with GSYP Trail seum so that visitors can have walking access over Hinton is located in the southern tip of the New Mill Creek, toward the other side of the Park. River, and was a town that was built due to coal industry. Within Hinton runs what was a main line T2 Trails near Fayetteville and the Mary Ingles of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. Draper Trail Near Fayetteville, the main existing trails are the While visiting the historic district and the Hinton Mary Ingles Draper Trail, and other various NaRailroad Museum learn about the history of the tional Park trails. There are also some proposed town, about the C&O Railroad, how the Civil War biking trails as well as hiking trails by the NPS
62 |Chapter 3.0| Conceptual Design MAP 5.7 Trail Connections Map
Chapter 3.0 | Conceptual Design| 63 that connect the town with the New River Gorge National Park. These potential trails are an opportunity for connection with the existing Park trails. One of the main objectives of connecting these trails is to provide the visitors with more areas to hike closer to the River. POTENTIAL CONNECTIONS The Mary Draper Ingles Trail in this area should be extended to the New River Gorge and should also be connected to the National Trails
T4 Babcock State Park Trails The proposed Fayette County Bike Route overpasses the River, stopping right after crossing it. Currently, there is another proposed Bike Route, by the NPS, that enters Babcock State Park, and links all the trails within. In addition, that Bike trail stops and continues outside Babcock. NativeAmerican Buffalo Trail is located east of Babcock State Park, and one of the proposed trails by the NPS is already linked to this Native-American trail.
that exist in the area. In addition, some the connections of these trails should be done over
POTENTIAL CONNECTIONS
the River, to connect both sides of the National
The proposed Fayette County Bike Route
Park, and allow hikers to have more places to
should be connected with the other portion
walk to. There are two proposed connections
of the trail that leads to Babcock so the visi-
over the River which can be used as hiking
tors can have a more established connection
trails or trails that lead to fishing or even boat-
to get to the State Park. Another connection
ing activities.
should be established over the River from east to west, so there is a constant link between the
T3 The Thurmond to Cunard Rail-Trail tThe Mary Ingles Draper Trail become the Thurmond to Cunard Rail-Trail, and it is located parallel to Babcock State Park. The Fayette County Bike Route is a proposed trail by the NPS, and it is a good opportunity for connecting the internal National Park trails, going over the New River, with the biking trail that leads to Babcock State Park. POTENTIAL CONNECTIONS The Thurmond to Cunard Trail overlaps with the Fayette County Bike Route, which is proposed by the National Park Service, and these should also be connected over the New River with the internal trails of the National Park. This way, hikers and bikers will have the chance to reach Babcock State Park, and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
proposed bike trail by the NPS, and the internal National Park trails. The proposed trail by the NPS that is connecting all the trail within Babcock should also be linked to the proposed trail passing outside the Park, in order to create connection with the Paint Creek trail portion that is nearby Babcock. This way, a connection with Native-American heritage can be established through trails.
T5 Trails near Stretch Neck Near McKendree and Qunnimont ghost towns is Stretch Neck, and there are some proposed trails by the NPS that connect with the inside trails of the National Park. To the northwest there is the Mt. Hope Garden Ground Rail Trail which is actually outside the Park. South of the area is the Mary Draper Ingles trail proposed by the NPS, which goes parallel to the Paint Creek trail
64 |Chapter 3.0| Conceptual Design stretch that goes from east to west.
POTENTIAL CONNECTIONS Little Beaver State Park should be connected
POTENTIAL CONNECTIONS
with Glade Creek Trail as well as with the pro-
The Mt. Hope Garden Ground Rail Trail should
posed trail by the NPS passing west of the
connect with the interior trail by the northwest
Park. Another good opportunity of trail linkage
edge of the National Park, and then over the
in this area is to connect the interior trails with
two stretches of the River Gorge, in order to
the Western Indian Trail that passes through
connect the whole area which is curved and
the Park, going from Beckley to Hinton.
divided by the River. The proposed Mary Draper Ingles Trail should be connected to the Paint Creek Trail that goes east to west, in order to create linkage between
T8 Trails near Sandstone and Hinton The few trails located near Sandstone and Hinton are not connected with the proposed trails by the NPS.
the visitors and the native-American heritage of southern West Virginia.
POTENTIAL CONNECTIONS The trails nearby Sandstone and Hinton should
T6 Glade Creek Trails Where Glade Creek passes is a trail named after the stream. There are also a few interior trails of the National Park; some are connected between each other, but some are not. POTENTIAL CONNECTIONS The interior trails of the National Park should be connected between each other, as well as linked with the Glade Creek Trail to allow visitors a wider choice of hiking or biking. In addition, Glade Creek Trail should also be connected with Little Beaver State Park in order to pro-
be connected with the proposed trails by the NPS in order to create more hiking opportunities for the visitors, as well as fishing opportunities.
Buffers around National Parks The National Park and the State Parks are areas that must be preserved. The National Park Service (NPS) is an entity that takes care and preserves around 400 National Parks around the US. In addition, the NPS also preserves local history and cultural heritage, as well as revitalizes communities.
vide more hiking opportunities for the visitors.
In this conceptual plan, a 0.2 mile buffer has been proposed around each park in order to prevent excessive development around them. This buffer will also help maintain the limits of the Parks, allowing wildlife and flora to be conserved.
T7 Little Beaver Trails Little Beaver State Park is around 1.4 miles southwest of the New River National Park, where Glade Creek is, and adjacent northeast of Shady Spring. There are many trails within Little Beaver SP, although they are only linked to each other Green Belts around Cities rather than connected to any trails located on the Each city in the watershed has been identified outside. as a potential growing developed area. Since the
Chapter 3.0 | Conceptual Design| 65 National Park crosses the whole watershed, sdvsv and since preservation is key for the preservation of the Park, a 0.1 mile green belt has been proposed in this conceptual plan, around each city. The purpose of these green belts is to limit the growth of human developed area, especially those which are fast-growing areas such as Beckley. The green belts will also prevent sprawl, as well as promoting re-development inside the cities, creating sense of place and city identity.
66 |
Chapter 4.0 | Thurmond Site Design| 67
Chapter 4.0
Thurmond Site Design LOCATION The name of the park is “Thurmond Railway Park” since Thurmond town has always been for its coal and railroad history. Thurmond was founded in the 1900s, and the location of the town within the Lower New Watershed is approximately in the center of it, in Fayette County. Getting closer into the map, Thurmond is located close on the north side riverbank of the New River Gorge, between Arbuckle and Dunlop Creek and it has an elongated shape that corners the landscape. The site itself, where the Thurmond Railway Park is proposed, is approximately 20,000 ft2, with estimated dimensions of 65’ x 305’ and it is located between the Town Hall building and the National Bank, which is included in the National Register of Historic Buildings.
turned into the main road of the town. Companies shipped their coke and coal through Thurmond but they also used the railroad for other shipments like timber, produce, clothing and equipment. Thurmond got to thrive in the coal industry and there were many entertainment activities like gambling and alcohol consumption, until the depression years came. The main businesses left the town including the National Bank, the New River Banking and Trust Company, the Armor Meat Company and the C&P Telephone District Company.
INVENTORY The site has a cliff line along the back, as well as some vegetation. It is surrounded by mountainous landscape which can be appreciated from every angle, and the sun of rises in the East and sets in the West.
HISTORY The town was a thriving community powered by coal and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. The portion of C&O Railroad that passed through southern West Virginia was completed in 1973, and the portion that passes through Thurmond
The abandoned coaling tower structure is across from the railway line, and between this and the site, there are the railroad tracks, and next to it is the vehicular circulation and the pedestrian circulations.
68 |Chapter 4.0| Thurmond Site Design Currently, there is the Town Hall which is a 1-story building made out of concrete block masonry units, painted over with a tan yellowish color. It has a small staircase and the entrance on the front. Presently, the Town Hall is completely closed on the façade that faces the site. Adjacent to the Town Hall, there is a very modern-looking metal bench, which has decaying grass underneath.
are in good condition although they are vacant, and the façades pertain to the era of the town. In addition, the residential portion of the town is adjacent to the site, and the town is located in an area where the views can be focalized to the mountainous landscape (Figure 5.8).
Weaknesses The weaknesses of the site are the wooden utility poles. In addition, the National Register BuildThere exists a small plaza that displays an an- ings have windows although they are shut to the tique water pump and has another metal bench site. There are poor pedestrian and vehicular and a metal table as well. Three deteriorated accesses which are currently covered in gravel, stone slabs serve as stairs that lead to this plaza. making circulation difficult, and there is no handBehind this plaza is a storage building made of icap access to the site (Figure 5.8). plywood and painted over with the same tan yellowish color. Adjacent to that, going East, there The façades of the existing town hall don’t match is a lawn area that has some holes in the dirt. the façades of the existing buildings; it seems Then there is an abandoned concrete slab which the building does not pertain to the architectural is slowly deteriorating. Along the plaza, the lawn style of the town, and the storage building is not area and the concrete slab, there is a dry-stone very aesthetically appealing either. The existing stacked wall, which seems to be crumbling. metal benches are very modern-looking for the era of the town as well. Lastly, there is lack of Going further towards the East side of the site, potable water for the visitors of the site, and there there is a more extensive lawn area followed by is a demarked area that has poorly drained soils store front building. This building has some ex- and could potentially flood portions of the site. isting windows that face the site, although they are sealed. Opportunities The opportunities for design in this site are the S.W.O.T ANALYSIS usage of the abandoned National Register BuildThe SWOT analysis consists of Strengths, Weak- ings and the influence of its façades. There is nesses, Opportunities, and Threats in the site. potential aimed at usage of slopes for terrace effects along with the removal of the abandoned Strengths slab and reuse of that area. More signage along One of the strengths of the site is its flatness and the site can be provided, along with parking. even though there is abundance of existing vegetation along the cliff line, there are no planted The two existing antique water pumps can be trees that interfere with the lighting post electrical displayed for exhibition and education purposlines. The existing National Register Buildings es. Finally, another opportunity is the proximity
Chapter 4.0 | Thurmond Site Design| 69 to the New River Gorge and it can benefit to create access to it (Figure 5.9).
FIGURE 5.9 Top: Opportunities Bottom: Threats
Threats The existing threats in the site are mainly the danger of the railroad line to pedestrians since it’s very close to the pedestrian circulation. Also, pedestrian and vehicular accesses are combined which poses a threat for walkers. In addition, another threat is the existing low-hanging power lines (Figure 5.9). All these topics were taken into account while designing the Thurmond Railway Park (Map 6.0 and Map 6.1). FIGURE 5.8 Top: Strengths Bottom: Weaknesses
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN As mentioned before, Thurmond has an important history with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, it is said the railroad was essence of the town, since it brought jobs, merchandise and passengers. For that reason, this design adopts important elements of a railway layout. Thurmond Railway Park is divided into 4 main plazas, and the design includes connections between the plazas. Each design element of the park adopts several railroad layout elements. The plazas are Reversing Loop Plaza, Continuous Loop Plaza, CSX Bridge and Passing Loop Rest Area, and Traverser Plaza.
70 |Chapter 4.0| Thurmond Site Design MAP 6.0 Note: The site has been divided into two areas for visualization purposes.
Area No.1, West side, adjacent to Town Hall.
Chapter 4.0 | Thurmond Site Design| 71 MAP 6.1 Note: The site has been divided into two areas for visualization purposes.
Area No.2, East side, adjacent to National Bank building.
72 |Chapter 4.0| Thurmond Site Design Design Elements station in the 20th century. The benches will be The following are the railway elements in the custom made for the Thurmond Railway Park, park design (Figure 6.3 and Map 6.4). and will be made of aluminum with a faux wood finish in green wood. 01 A reversing loop is a railroad arrangement that allows a train to return down the line from Coal cars were used to transport coal, coke and which it came from. stone out of the mines, so models of those antique coal cars are displayed along the park and 02 A continuous loop or a “tail chaser� which can filled with coal for the purpose of exhibition and be a circle shape, an oval or even an 8 shape, for education of visitors (Figure 6.2). and this layout allows trains to run indefinitely. Signage is also provided along each car and 03 A switchback intersection is an arrangement along each plaza, explaining the coal and railused for trains to climb or descend steep hills, as road cultural heritage of Thurmond, and explainwell as zigzagging in up-hill direction. ing the purpose of the Thurmond Railway Park design. The information signs will have an an04 Passing loops are composition of two rail tique rusted metal finish. switches, and like the names states it, it allows two trains to pass each other. FIGURE 6.2 Top left: Bench design / Top right: Lighting 05 CSX Bridges have always been important el- Bottom: Coal cars ements of railways due to the ability of connecting train paths over bodies of water and mountainous landscapes, such as the Thurmond landscape.
06 Turntables are arrangement for locomotives or small trains to reverse, while providing multiway switch functions for storage sidings.
07 Traverser or Transfer Tables are used for storage sidings and also to increase car moving possibilities in a switching layout. Seating, Coal Cars and Signage The type of seating there will be throughout the park in the plazas and rest areas, is a design of an antique garden bench that has an aged green color, to resemble those that were used in a train
Chapter 4.0 | Thurmond Site Design| 73 FIGURE 6.3 Design elements of a railway layout.
74 |Chapter 4.0| Thurmond Site Design MAP 6.4 Conceptual Design, divided into four main zones for visualization purposes.
Continuous Loop Plaza Reversing Loop Plaza/Switchback Intersection This is place where people can sit down under This is an area that can be used by visitors as the specimen tree, and enjoy some shade, as well as for outdoors Town Hall meetings. This well as enjoying the view of the landscape that space features raised planters, a pergola cov- surrounds Thurmond. The Continuous Loop Plaered in climbing vines to protect from the sun za features a beautiful specimen tree which is a and also tables for users to sit and chat, while Gingko biloba, which will have a showy yellow enjoying the views of the mountainous land- fall color. scape that surrounds Thurmond. The tables will also be made of aluminum with a faux wood fin- This plaza also features a catch garden that adopts the shape of a turntable. This catch garish in green wood (Map 6.5 and Figure 6.6). den is strategically located close to the poorly The switchback intersections throughout the drained soils in the site, in order to catch water park come to a merging point, and are designed that could potentially flood areas of the park. The garden features wet-tolerant plants (Map 6.7 and to allow the users to decide which path to take. Figure 6.8).
THURMOND PARK DESIGN
The existing Town Hall will remain although it will have a faรงade improvement, with brick and stone to match the existing National Register Historic Buildings. The existing storage building will be removed, leaving the working water pump exposed as education purposes, and a new storage building will be built behind the Town Hall, to supplement the need for storing. The addition of the storage room will also be matched with brick and stone faรงades.
CSX Bridge The CSX Bridge is a design that has been integrated into the park as a cultural heritage focal point that shows the structure of a CSX Bridge at a smaller pedestrian scale (Map 6.9 and Figure 7.0). Next to the bridge is the Passing Loop Rest Area which is a transition area where pedestrians can sit and get some rest, or just sit and enjoy the park.
Chapter 4.0 | Thurmond Site Design| 75 Traverser Plaza The path coming from the east of Thurmond directs and invites pedestrians into the park and the people are then welcome to Traverser Plaza, which is the first stop of Thurmond Railway Park. In this plaza, people will stop to see some of the signage that explains Thurmond’s railroad and coal history, as well as the exhibition coal cars (Map 7.1 and Figure 7.2).
76 |Chapter 4.0| Thurmond Site Design MAP 6.5 Zone 01: Reversing Loop Plaza
Chapter 4.0 | Thurmond Site Design| 77
FIGURE 6.6 Reversing Loop Plaza Perspective: Here we can see photos of the existing context, and to the right we can see how the design will be implemented in this area. Since this is one end of the park, there is a big sign in antique rusted metal finish with the name of the park. The plaza is shown with the raised planters, the tables and the pergola, and in the back, the coal cars can be seen along with the working water pump that is now exposed.
78 |Chapter 4.0| Thurmond Site Design MAP 6.7 Zone 02: Continuous Loop Plaza and Turntable Catch Garden.
Chapter 4.0 | Thurmond Site Design| 79
FIGURE 6.8 Here we can see photos of the existing context, and we can also see how the Ginkgo biloba tree will be a focal point for the park. The perspective also shows the Turntable Catch Garden.
80 |Chapter 4.0| Thurmond Site Design MAP 6.9 Zone 03: CSX Bridge and Passing Loop Rest Area.
Chapter 4.0 | Thurmond Site Design| 81
FIGURE 7.0 In this perspective, we can see how the CSX Bridge will look, giving Thurmond Railway Park an interesting element that speaks of its cultural heritage and history. The Passing Loop Rest area is also shown focusing the attention of the users on the bridge and the landscape behind it.
82 |Chapter 4.0| Thurmond Site Design MAP 7.1 Zone 04: Traverser Plaza.
Chapter 4.0 | Thurmond Site Design| 83
FIGURE 7.2 We can see here the access point of the plaza features a big sign in antique rusted metal finish with the name of the park, and in the middle of the plaza is one of the water pumps that were originally in the site inventory, for exhibition and education purposes. This water pump will be another focal point in the park.
84 |Chapter 4.0| Thurmond Site Design
DETAILS Rubble Stone Detail All the plazas will have the same material which is a 3� thick rubble stone over aggregate bedding, restrained by a concrete curb, like the detail shows (Detail 7.3).
There are proposed antique steel lighting posts located along the park which will serve the purpose of illuminating the pedestrian and vehicular circulations.
The integral concrete of all the walkways will be tan color, and the steel rails will be embedded in the concrete to resemble train tracks. These Retaining Wall Detail This is a detail of the retaining wall will be along steel tracks will be flushed with the concrete in the reversing loop plaza. The wall is built with order to prevent the users from tripping (Detail concrete masonry units on a concrete footing, 7.6 to Detail 7.9). with structural reinforcement re-bars. There will be a drainpipe behind the wall for water overflow. On the top of the wall, there will be a precast U DETAIL 7.3 shape planter with a smaller drainpipe that al- Rubble Stone Paving Detail lows excess water out of the planter. The wall and planter will have a river stone veneer to match the material of the plazas in the park (Detail 7.4). Pergola Detail The pergola in Reversing Loop Plaza will be made of aluminum with a faux wood finish so that it can have a longer life than wood. The pergola features four posts that are 4 inches by 4 inches, on a metal anchor that is bolted to a concrete footing. On the top, the pergola will have DETAIL 7.4 notched aluminum beams with faux wood finish Retaining Wall Detail as well. This pergola will be weather-sealed, and covered with some climbing vines so there can be more shade during the summer season (Detail 7.5). Other Details Town Hall and Storage Room will match the façade of the National Register Buildings on site; stone in the bottom, and brick on the top. All three main plazas will have rubble river stone which can be locally extracted from the Gorge.
Chapter 4.0 | Thurmond Site Design| 85 DETAIL 7.5 Pergola Detail
DETAIL 7.7 Rubble Stone
DETAIL 7.8 Integral Tan Concrete
DETAIL 7.6 Top: Town Hall Facade
DETAIL 7.9 Steel Rails
86 |
References and Sources | 87
References and
Sources FOR CONTEXT
Hawk’s Nest State Park WV Historical Society Quarterly, A History of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawks_Nest_State_ Park Whitewater Rafting in WV (A. Gruspe) http://www.hawksnestsp.com/ http://www.wvculture.org/history/wvhs124.html WV State GIS Data Clearinghouse GIS Maps Upheaval: The New River Gorge Story http://www.nps.gov/neri/photosmultimedia/mul- http://wvgis.wvu.edu/data/data.php Endangered Animal and Plant Species in WV timedia.htm Lower New River, State of the Watershed (New http://www.endangeredspecie.com/states/ wv.htm River Clean Water Alliance) http://www.npca.org/assets/pdf/NewRiverState_ http://www.wvdnr.gov/Wildlife/RareSpecList. shtm ScreenView_Full.pdf http://www.americanwhitewater.org/resources/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_River_Gorge_ repository/NewRiverGorge-OriginOfRapids.PDF National_River http://www.wvdnr.gov/wildlife/magazine/ Gauley River National Recreation Area http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauley_River_Na- archive/02Fall/WDN_The_American_Bald_Eagle.shtm tional_Recreation_Area http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail. http://www.nps.gov/gari/index.htm asp?recNum=MA0112 Bluestone National Scenic River http://biology.eku.edu/bats/vabigearbat.htm http://www.nps.gov/blue/index.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluestone_National_ Coal, New River Field http://www.coalcampusa.com/sowv/river/neScenic_River wriver.htm Babcock State Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babcock_State_Park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_River_Coalfield http://www.newriverwv.com/History_and_Herihttp://www.babcocksp.com/ tage_Coal_Mining.php Little Beaver State Park http://www.littlebeaverstatepark.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Beaver_State_
88 | References and Sources Demographics and Income http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayette_County,_ West_Virginia http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/county/ west_virginia/fayette http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summers_County,_ West_Virginia http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/county/ west_virginia/summers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh_County,_ West_Virginia http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/county/ west_virginia/summers New River Gorge Regional Development Authority http://nrgrda.org/ Official Bridge Day http://www.officialbridgeday.com/ Water Quality http://www.npca.org/assets/pdf/NewRiverState_ ScreenView_Full.pdf http://www.nps.gov/neri/naturescience/rivers. htm h t t p : / / w w w. n p s . g o v / n e r i / n a t u r e s c i e n c e / upload/2009-WQ-report-FINAL2.pdf Preservation Alliance of WV http://www.pawv.org/index.htm WV Department of Transportation http://www.transportation.wv.gov/highways/traffic/roadsidememorials/Pages/default.aspx
Summers: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/ states/54/54089.html EPA, WV Water Impairment http://ofmpub.epa.gov/waters10/attains_watershed.control?p_state=WV&p_ huc=05050004&p_cycle=2010&p_report_ type= Beautification toolkit NRGDA Projects: http://www.google.com/url ?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source= web&cd=5&cad=rja&ved=0CDsQFjAE&ur l=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nrgrda.org%2Fthesummit-bechtel-reserve%2Fcommitteedocuments%2Fdoc_download%2F1092012-sept-rts-steering-comm-mtg-notes-&ei= AOltUMDEPIn00gHbpYBQ&usg=AFQjCNFby UI_EV1YSKcicj9Ox07FMb0glA&sig2=dmbN6Ci LsVZ9-j29mosxlA West Virginia Culture http://www.wvculture.org/sitesearch/search. aspx?Terms=&Area=history Paint Creek Scenic Trail http://www.paintcreekscenictrail.com/story.html Semi-centennial History of West Virginia http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id =_8s0AQAAMAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=india n+trails+wv&ots=E3FWjLfKcF&sig=t2QdPi_Cs H4z1b1pB5JEk3CsFWY#v=snippet&q=indi an%20trail&f=false Buffalo Trail (or Kanawha Trail) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluestone_National_ FOR ANALYSIS Scenic_River Medical Research Study about West Virgin- http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1136 ians http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/837 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ Cultural Affiliation Statement, New River PMC1779288/ Gorge National River and Gauley River NationDemographics al Rec Area, Prepared by Robert F. Malowski Raleigh: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/ http://www.nps.gov/neri/parkmgmt/upload/neristates/54/54081.html gari-final-2-ca-2011.pdf
References and Sources | 89 New River and southern trail https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/New_River_and_Southern_Trail Victorian Style: http://library.thinkquest.org/16545/data/low/victoria.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_architecture Altamont Historic Register: http://www.wvculture. org/shpo/nr/pdf/fayette/79002574.pdf Romanesque revival style http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesque_Revival_architecture WV History on View, historic photos: http://wvhistoryonview.org/ Bridges in WV: http://bridgehunter.com/wv/fayette/ Native America and other Populations in the Gorge: http://www.wvculture.org/arts/ethnic/newriver. html http://www.wvculture.org/arts/ethnic/native.html Ghost Towns: http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/wv/wv.html Tribes: http://www.native-languages.org/wvirginia.htm Facts about Counties: http://timeswv.com/local/x1638285769/Howwell-do-you-know-the-history-of-your-county/ print American Heritage: http://www.americanheritage.com/category/article-keywords/west-virginia http://www.americanheritage.com/content/going-back-water Beckley Exhibition Coal Mines http://www.wvcommerce.org/travel/gettinghere/ wvbyways/coalheritage.aspx http://www.wvcommerce.org/travel/gettinghere/
Coal Mines wvbyways/newgreenbrier.aspx http://wvtraditions.com/default.aspx http://auroralights.org/map_project/theme. php?theme=coal_river_101&article=primary http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/print/Article/837 Economic Facts: http://www.clrsearch.com/Fayetteville_Demographics/WV/