Pendleton County

Welcome to 

Pendleton County, WV

Pendleton County, located in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, has a population of approximately 8,000. The county was created in 1788 and named for Edmund Pendleton, a Virginia statesmen and jurist. The county spans 698 square miles. The county is best known for it's tourist attractions, including several caverns, national forests, and having the highest point in West Virginia. The per capita income for the county is $15,805, with 11% of the population below the poverty line. 

In Pendleton County, we visited Franklin, Circleville, Dahmer, Harper,  Judy Gap, Kline, Mozer, Onego, Riverton, Ruddle, Seneca Rocks, and Upper Tract.

Here the Eastern Continental Divide passes through Pendleton County.

Our first stop of the morning was at Harpers Old Country Store, near Seneca Rocks. The store has been around since 1902 and offers just about everything, ranging from food to clothing, hardware and souvenirs too.

Harper's Old Country Store had very friendly staff, and even offers a front porch restaurant with a great view of Seneca Rocks.

Sitting adjacent to Harper's Store, is Yokum's Store and Motel. The store is large and well suited for travelers. Souvenirs can also be purchased here. The motel is located above the store, and reservations can also be made here for the Princess Snowbird Campground. The campground is unique in that it has teepee tents that are 12' across and can be rented nightly for $25. http://www.yokum.com/village.htm



Within Yokum's Store is a small area that serves hot food. Bev and I had breakfast sandwiches here the morning of our trip.

Across from Harpers and Yokums is The Mountaineer Wall, a rock climbing wall that is open to all ages. A certified instructor is on hand to supervise children who just need to burn off energy, or adults who want to test their skill. The cost is $10, and they're open all summer and on weekends during the fall. There are also other rock climbing schools located nearby, including Seneca Rocks Climbing School.

This is Seneca Rocks! It's a natural formation, made of Tuscarora Sandstone, and it rises over 900 feet!
It's one of West Virginia's best known landmarks.  In 1943-1944, the US Army used the rocks to train for assault climbing. In 1969, the rocks were purchased by the government. Soon after, a visitor center was built. The center was damaged by the flood of 1985, and later destroyed in 1992 by arson. The current visitors center was completed in 1998.

Seneca Rocks also has a unique story. Local legend says that Princess Snowbird, who was very beautiful and sought after by many suitors from various tribes, devised a plan to choose her perfect mate. On her wedding day, those men who were seeking her were brought to the base of the rocks, and told that the first to reach the top of the rocks would have the Princess's hand in marriage. Of the seven men to attempt, only one survived and made it to the top to marry the Princess and become the successor to the Chief of the Senecas.

Here's our funny sign of the trip. With Pendleton County boasting the highest point in West Virginia, you can imagine the slopes that we were driving on! Now imagine your brake light coming on as you're driving down these mountains. Makes for a very interesting drive..

Although there are some gigantic mountains and steep inclines, there does seem to be a fair amount of flat, usable farm land. I typically like to take at least one picture of a farm throughout each county. This farm was located just outside of Riverton.

Pictured here is Raines Store in Riverton. The store appears to have closed, or at least does not sell gas anymore, as the signs still advertised gas at $1.50

This building was once a barborshop, and then became the post office of Riverton for several years until a new building was built.

We found this memorial in Riverton that marks The "Battle" of Riverton, which was the first union raid into Pendleton County. The battle occurred on March 2, 1862. Union forces rallied and were able to push the Confederates from the field. Perry Bland and Thomas Powers were killed  in the battle.

Riverton is home to the well known Seneca Caverns. The caverns were created some 460 million years ago, and were thought to have been first discovered by the Seneca Indians in the 1400's. They were opened to the public in 1930. The caverns have a continuous temperature of 54 degrees. It is located on Germany Valley Road (Co. Rd. 9). This is a bit tricky to find, so pay close attention to the signs! Especially large billboard like signs!

Seneca Caverns also offers the Stratosphere Cavern, a cave that is used for adventure style caving. It was opened to the public for a brief time before natural fungus destroyed the stairs and made it too dangerous. The cave has since reopened in 2005 and can still be explored today.


An important note about Seneca Caverns - they are only opened Wednesday through Sunday, April - October. We unfortunately visited on a Tuesday and were unable to explore the caverns. Thanks to whoever left the gate wide open for us to come in and explore and take these pictures!! And I would recommend calling first, because different websites list different hours! I believe cost is $13.

This was taken on the drive back from Seneca Caverns. I thought it was a neat picture - an old log cabin that has slowly succumbed to gravity

Pictured here is one of the saw mills that we passed while driving through Pendleton County. The saw mill began in the 50's and changed hands several times before John Crites took it over in the 70's. This is one of Allegheny Woods first saw mills.

Although located in a neighboring county, I did want to mention a little bit about Smoke Hole Caverns here on the Pendleton County page. Smoke Hole Caverns is just 13 miles North of Seneca Rocks, and it is often compared to Seneca Caverns, and coincidently, confused with it. We were mislead to believe that one of the caverns was closed due to a fire.

Smoke Hole Restaurant and Gift Shop did suffer a fire in November of 2009, but the caverns ARE NOT CLOSED. They have a makeshift gift shop that is open for business, and the tour guides recommended a great restaurant down the road for us to eat at. The difference though - Smoke Hole Caverns are open every day, 9 -5 pm, and remember, Seneca Caverns are only open Wed-Sun. I think this is the cause of the confusion! Tours run every half hour, and cost is $13.

This picture illustrates the beautiful drive up Spruce Mountain,the tallest mountain in the Alleghenies, as we make our way to Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia!

At 4,863 feet high, Spruce Knob definitely has a more "northern" feel than most of West Virginia. As you can see here, and in other pictures below, the top of the mountain is covered in a dense forest of spruce.

At the top of the knob, and easily accessible by trail from the parking lot, is the look out tower. The road to access Spruce Knob is paved and very well maintained. This is a beautiful place to explore and so easy to access! I did read though, that the mountain receives roughly 160 inches of snow annually, and is nearly impassible between October and April. Keep that in mind!

Both of these pictures were taken from the tower, and the left picture shows the path that winds through the forest back to the parking lot. It is very, very windy on Spruce Knob, and many of the trees have more limbs and needles on one side of the tree versus the other, due to the winds.

The photo on the right is the view from on top the lookout tower. This picture does not do the view justice! There are mountains as far as the eye can see, but instead of looking up to the mountains as usual, you definitely get the feel that you are on the tallest mountain.

This was the first store we encountered upon entering the small town of Circleville, sometimes called Rock Gable. Circleville was apparently name for a Mr.Zirkle who once owned a store in the town.

The Circleville post office, 26804. I always find the post offices of various towns interesting. For instance, I'm from Augusta, WV (26704). I havent quite figured out how zip codes were assigned. I could look it up and read about it, but it makes it a bit more of a game to try and figure it out as we visit each town. I noticed in the last county that we visited, that Hambleton and Hendricks WV only had one zip code missing between them, so my best guess at this point is that it was maybe assigned alphabetically by county?

The Circleville High School built in the 1930's and now on the National Register of Historic Places. We were told that the building is no longer used as a school.

This picture of a pay phone shows you two things about Circleville. One - this is a quiet, little town with minimal trouble, as this payphone booth is very old and doesnt appear to have ever been tampered with. Two - they lack cell phone service of any kind! This wasn't located at a store or any other typical place of business, this was literally along the road. You dont see that much these days. Bev says that these round, blue, payphones were once common, although I've never seen one of these in my life, and spent ten minutes searching the internet and was still not able to find any that look like this? Any comments? I wish now that we had stopped to see how much a call costs. I wonder if it's still a quarter like it was in the 80-90's.

We passed a green sign saying "Judy Gap" (I have a picture of it), but there seems to be no information about Judy Gap on the internet at all, as if it doesnt even exist. I swear we visited Judy Gap though, and this is a farm in Judy Gap!

A view of Germany Valley, a valley that was  named after the German families that first settled here, most notably the Hinkles. The valley sits at an elevation of approximately 2100 feet, with the overlook 500 to 1200 feet higher. The valley is comprised of limestone, which has a tendency to erode and form fissures and caves.

Germany Valley has many, many caves, including one called Hellhole, that stretches 28 miles long and is the 11th longest cave in the nation. All this limestone though, equals money, and Greer Limestone, which I think I've mentioned in past blogs, has quarries nearby that endanger not only the cave, but the endangered species of bat that live inside. (Greer Limestone is owned by John Raese, who was running against Joe Manchin in the Senate race of 2010.

Another roadside payphone that made me giggle. Again, absolutely no cell phone service here.

Pictured here is the small town of Franklin, the county seat of Pendleton. Franklin hosts the annual Treasure Mountain Festival and the Spring Fest.

One of my scenic shots on the trip, a photo taken of the water in Franklin. (August 2010 - a dry summer).

While driving around Franklin, we found an awesome community park with this giant playground and a public swimming pool.












The Pendleton County Middle/High School located in Franklin. Kudos to this school for being ranked a top ten high school in West Virginia. (My high school happened to be ranked a bottom ten).

A mural in Franklin that I thought was neat.

We had dinner at Fireside Cafe in Franklin, which was formerly Thompson's Cafe Bella. The atmosphere was charming, and the staff was awesome. Definitely a place we would recommend.

 Our food at Fireside. We both were fascinated that they served sweet potato fries. I was feeling daring and ordered fish. Both orders were ready super quick and absolutely delicious.

West Virginia once had 76 drive in movie theaters, and is now down to only ten remaining. Pictured here is Warner's Drive-In in Franklin, WV. Admission is $5 and children 12 and under get in free.

The theater has quite a unique design. It appears to have been built on the back of a building. It has been open since 1953 and is a seasonal theater (open Memorial Day to Labor Day).

Pendleton County's website claims that the county is "dotted with parks, ball fields, and picnic grounds" and I'd have to agree with that statement. Pictured here is a very nicely maintained public park on the outskirts of Franklin.

A scenic picture representing the farmland of Pendleton County, taken just outside of Franklin.

Pictured here is The Upper Tract United Methodist Church. Upper Tract was once home to a fort. Washington ordered the fort erected to guard the nearby settlements.   It was captured and burned in 1758. 

Pictured here is the Upper Tract Post Office (26866). 

An old Arcady feeds building located in Upper Tract. 

A church in Upper Tract, with "1904" written on the steeple. 

Kile's Service Station/Grocery, in Upper Tract, sells gasoline, deli sandwiches, ice cream, hunting and fishing licenses, and is also a game checking station. 

While driving through Kline, WV, Bev and I noticed several homes had flat roofs. Pictured here is one of those homes. 

I believe this is Reeds Creek, taken in Upper Tract. (Please correct me if I'm wrong). The picture was taken in August 2010, during a dry spell.




And that folks, was Pendleton County. Spruce Knob was one of the most spectacular scenic places Bev and I have toured, along with Seneca Rocks and Seneca Caverns This is definitely a county you want to explore!