The roadway of the New River Gorge Bridge is 876 feet above the New River making the bridge the highest in the US. When completed in 1977 it started attracting daredevils and to appease the enthusiasts they offer the annual "Bridge Day", during which hundreds of people, with appropriate equipment, are permitted to climb on or jump from the bridge. Oh no thank you. I understand we missed this event by two weeks!
The New River is recognized as the “second oldest river in the world” and is estimated to be around 200 million years old. It’s headwaters begin near Blowing Rock, NC and is one of the few rivers in North America that flows northerly.
Nuttallburg was one of almost fifty towns that sprang up along the New River in response to a growing nation's need for coal.
Conveyor to bring the coal down from the mine.
In 1870, John Nuttall saw opportunity in the coal rich New River gorge and began buying land and building infrastructure. When the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway was completed through the gorge in 1873, the town was ready for its arrival.
Fill station for the trains.
Nuttallburg became the second mining town in the New River gorge to ship the "smokeless" coal, processed in coke ovens. The Navy was particularly interested in smokeless coal because the enemy couldn’t see smoke from the battleships.
Coke ovens to make coal smokeless.
Nuttallburg was a bustling mining community by the turn of the century and continuing to thrive after Nuttall's death in 1897. The Nuttall children took over the mining operation.
The town became the focus of national attention in the 1920's when, automobile industrialist Henry Ford leased the town's mines to provide coal for his steel company.
Production ceased in 1958 and Nuttallburg became like so many other riverside communities that rose and fell due to changes in the industry. The Nuttall family gave the mining property to the National Park Service in the 1980’s
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