Tucker County

Welcome to Tucker County, WV

Tucker County is a county in WV, with a population of approximately 7,500. It was created in 1856 and named after Henry St. George Tucker, Sr, a judge and congressman from Virginia. The county spans 411 miles and is most popular for it's tourist attractions. The per capita income for the county is $16,349, with 18% of the population below the poverty line.


In Tucker County, we visited Parsons,Thomas, Davis, Hambleton, Hendricks, Coketon, Cortland, Hovatter, Lead Mine, Mackeyville, Red Creek and St.George.

We passed this little gas station right as we crossed over into Tucker County, on our way into Davis. Unfortunately, this scene sets the mood for much of Tucker County.

Our first stop in Tucker County was at the Canaan Valley Resort. Canaan Valley was the first site of commercial ski development in West Virginia, and now has 39 ski trails, and also offers airboarding and snowtubing.

The Canaan Valley Lodge opened in 1977 and has 250 guest rooms. The lodge offers activities such as miniature golf, access to indoor and outdoor pool, whirlpool, skate park, volleyball, and tennis courts.

Canaan Valley also has an 18 hole, par 72, four star golf course nestled in the mountains.

One thing is for sure, there seems to be abundant wildlife at Canaan. I shot this picture out the window of the car, and this deer was literally standing right next to me. The deer are very tame and not easily spooked. Be warned though, there is a hefty fine for feeding the wildlife!

The Canaan Valley Store, pictured here, had closed it's doors to business just three days before we visited. It's closing came as a shock to locals. We spoke to a woman who worked at a lodge nearby, and she said the area has experienced some rough times with the recent recession and decline in vacationers.

Timberline Resort is right down the road from Canaan Valley. Along with being an attractive ski resort during the winters months, Timberline offers
summer chair lift rides. For a round trip scenic ride, it's $7, and for a one way ride (with your bike) it's $9. This is an inexpensive activity to do with your family! (We plan to return to do this!)

We had dinner at Big John's Family Fixins in Davis. This is certainly a popular family eatery, and has a wonderfully large menu offering everything from pizza, to pasta, chicken to steak. I hate to give any business a bad review, but I'm afraid this would have to be our first. The food was good, but the employees were unfriendly, and quite frankly rude. Help come and go though, so this is still a place I would recommend and would love to hear comments of those who have visited. Please let us know if you have had a better experience.

Certainly what makes Big John's a popular place for the family, is the arcade located next to the dining area. Again, we faced broken games and machines that were out of tickets. After four dollars in quarters, we were not able to even get enough tickets from any of the machines to buy a tootsie roll with, and believe me, we aren't that bad at video games! Again, this could be attributed to the poor help mentioned above, and hopefully will be resolved     in the future.

The Canaan Village Inn, offers additional lodging for the area. Located on ten acres, it offers a motel, apartments, chalet, and cabin. Although we did not stay at this Inn, we did stop and play a game of miniature golf and had a nice chat with the friendly staff.













I'll admit, sometimes we dont get to spend as much time as we'd like exploring towns because there are sooo many places to visit. We passed this minature golf course several times before we decided that we deserved some slow paced fun in our day.

The atmosphere was great, the course wasn't maintained to it's fullest, but it was still tricky and fun. (Renee won).

Pictured here is the town of Davis. According to Davis's homepage, it is the highest incorporated town in WV, at 3200 ft.Along this main street in Davis, there is a location available for tourist information, with hundreds of free brochures and knowledgeable staff that can lead you to whatever it is you what to site-see in the county.

 Davis was named after Senator Henry Gassaway Davis. It began as a lumber town in the late 1800's, and over the next several decades, the town was very prosperous. Pictured here is the National Bank of Davis, probably dating to the early 1900's.

Davis is probably best known for it's popular tourist location, Blackwater Falls. The falls are called "Blackwater" because of the blackish tint that the water has, a result from tannic acid from needles of hemlock and red spruce.

Here is our funny sign/picture of the trip. This sign is located on the side of the road as you drive to Blackwater Falls. Upon seeing it, Bev and I both exclaimed, Oh NOW we can start viewing the wildlife. NOW... right this very minute, as if we hadnt already seen deer and various others before this sign. While we were mocking and making fun of the sign, a large deer ran out in front of us and we had to break hard and swerve a bit. These signs are for real. Take them very seriously..

I was very, very impressed with Blackwater Falls. The park is easily accessible, and the stairs  (nearly 200!) and deck leading down to the falls are very safe, and clean from debri. There is also a considerable amount of thought that goes into making the area accessible to tourists, yet maintaining the utmost natural appeal.

Here, Bev and I stand, blocking your view of the magnificent falls! We visited Blackwater Falls in early August, when rain was scarce and the falls weren't at their fullest potential. The scenery was still breathtaking, and the other tourists visiting with us that day were so polite and friendly, everyone offering to take each others pictures, and staying a respectable distance behind so that everyone had time to enjoy their visit.

Finally, a picture of the falls! What else can I say, it's beautiful. Blackwater Falls also offers a whole list of other activities that one could enjoy while visiting the state park, including swimming, fishing, biking, hiking, camping, and "viewing wildlife" among other things.

Just past the entrance that leads to the falls, there are several scenic overlook spots. This particular overlook had a small deck that was built looking out over rocks down into the valley below.

As you can see, the overlook provides a beautiful view of the valley and the stream below.

We passed by Blackwater Falls late one evening and decided to take the opportunity to watch the sunset from the overlook. What an experience.

Although this picture is similar to the one above, I just couldnt bare to chose between the two.













This was a stream (sorry I don't know the name) that we passed as we were exiting the Blackwater Falls State Park Area. I took it solely for my own aesthetic purposes, but I wanted to show that the water in the area is certainly clean looking.

A pile of construction material. Where is Renee going with this one? This was located on the drive from the Overlook to the Falls. I just found it kind of sad that the land here was being developed. I like there being campsites available for tourists, I'm just  not sure how I feel about building cabins/homes this close to such a beautiful state treasure.

We had lunch at this adorable little place, called the Thomas Cafe.

As you can see, it was a quaint little cafe that the locals like to hang out at. Our waitress was extremly nice and polite, and very willing to make recommendations on what two out of towner's should try at her cafe.

I decided to take a ride on the wild side, and eat what the waitress recommended. In case you couldn't tell, it's a chili cheeseburger! I'd never heard of it! But obviously, I thought it was pretty darn good. (There is a burger under that pile of chili~!)

Bev ordered a steak salad? She was pretty happy when it came out with steak, french fries, and cheese piled on top. Who wouldn't be? We were both very satisfied with the meals and service provided at this roadside restaurant.

After eating, we drove into downtown Thomas. The town of Thomas named after Thomas Beall Davis, brother of the Senator for which Davis was named.

Along the river in Thomas, there is a row of stores that look like they belong somewhere in a timeline of a few decades ago. The stores were very popular though, with many people carousing and walking up and down the sidewalks.

At the end of the row of stores, sits the Purple Fiddle Cafe, Brews, and Stage. This deli style restaurant has a diverse lineup of music, which is displayed on a chalkboard outside. It is non-smoking and family friendly.

Next to the restaurant is the Purple Fiddle Hostel. This is an inexpensive place for travelers to stay overnight, with a charge of only $20 per person and no pets or children under 18 allowed.

Here, Bev stands over the Fairfax Stone, a large stone that currently marks the boundaries of Preston, Grant, and Tucker Counties. Behind Bev is the headspring of the North Branch of the Potomac River. The site is easily accessible by a paved road and is maintained as a state park.

The Fairfax Stone was originally placed in 1746 to mark the boundaries of the land given to Lord Fairfax by King Charles II. Some believe that the marker was placed by George Washington. The original stone was stolen, and has since been replaced with this much larger stone. The stone also marks the boundary between WV and MD.

A view of the beautiful mountains, taken while driving a back road in Tucker county.

Pictured here is the small, unincorporated town of Lead Mine.

Tucker County shares a portion of the Monongahela National Forest, as does ten other counties. The forest was originally started in 1915 to act as a long term natural resource management project after much of the eastern portion of West Virginia experienced massive cutting in the late 19th century.

Farmland in Tucker County, between Lead Mine and St. George. Flat farmland in Tucker County did not appear to be the norm on our visit there.

Pictured here is the old St. George Academy, incorporated in 1885. It operated for only a few years, and schooling ceased in 1893. It was relocated to its current location in 1985 by the Tucker County Historical Society.

We found this small graveyard right off the road, actually in someone's side yard. The massive gravestone pictured here is for David Minear, who died in 1814 and was a Soldier of the Revolutionary War. Other stones were for Jonothan Minear, killed in 1781 by Indians. I think the other smaller stones were for wives and children.

In 1856, when Tucker County was first created, the first courthouse was built on this site in the town of St. George.

 The courthouse and county seat has now moved to the city of Parsons. Shown here, is the original courthouse spire that now resides on this hillside in Parsons.

In the background of this picture and the picture above, is an old school building that Parsons has transformed into various offices. One of those offices is the Tucker County Historical Society, which has a museum of county history open on Sundays at this location. Every county we visit has very interesting uses for their old school buildings.

The city of Parsons, which is now the county seat of Tucker County.

The Cheat River is formed in Parsons by various forks. In 1985, the Cheat flooded like many other rivers in WV. A normal flow rate is between 1000-5000 cubic feet per second, and during the flood was estimated at 190,000 cubic feet per second! A memorial for the 1985 flood, pictured here, sits along the main street in Parsons.

This picture, courtesy of John Warner and the West Virginia State Archives, shows a bit of the devastation caused by the 1985 flood. Here, a cow carcass is lodged under the bridge crossing the Cheat River. Debris lodging underneath the bridges is thought to have played a part. Debris would essentially create a dam underneath the bridges, causing the water to rise very quickly and devastate certain towns, such as Parsons.

The courthouse was orginally in St. George, until Ward Parsons and the citizens of Parsons marched to St. George, stole the records and the courthouse bell, and relocated them to Parsons in 1893. http://www.polsci.wvu.edu/wv/Tucker/tuchistory.html

Hambleton and Hendricks were the last two incorporated towns that we visited in Tucker County. The picture shows our drive out of Hambleton as we entered Hendricks.

And that folks, was Tucker County, which I believe is the fourth smallest county in West Virginia. Known for it's multitude of tourist attractions, Tucker is a county that you MUST visit.

To see our video for this county, you'll need to click on this link:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9KI9zRvrW4