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Tucker County

Tucker County lies in north-central West Virginia and includes some of the state’s most rugged and mountainous terrain. The county was named for Henry St. George Tucker Sr. (1780–1848), a Virginia soldier, statesman, and jurist. The early settlers included Thomas and James Parsons, John Minear, and John Crouch. In 1778, Minear brought to what became the community of St. George, by horseback and in pieces, the machinery for the first sawmill west of the Alleghenies.

Mapped Points

• Parsons

  Parsons became the county seat of Tucker County on August 7, 1893, although the county records had actually (and unlawfully) been moved from St. George to Parsons on the night of August 1, 1893

• Thomas

  The Thomas Commercial Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The town has two other sites on the National Register, the Cottrill Opera House and the Davis Coal & Coke Company Administrative Building.

• Davis

  Davis was once the hub of the lumber industry in Tucker County.

• St. George

  In 1778, settler John Minear brought machinery for the first sawmill west of the Alleghenies to the community that became known as St. George.

• Blackwater Falls State Park

  Blackwater Falls State Park, consisting of 1,688 acres, was established in 1937. The dark, tumbling waters of Blackwater Falls plunge almost 60 feet, creating one of the most photographed sights in the state.

• Canaan Valley State Park

  Canaan Valley State Park is a major ski resort and one of West Virginia’s biggest state parks.

• Dolly Sods

  Dolly Sods is situated on a part of the Allegheny Plateau and features flat, windswept plains and striking topography.
  

  

• Timberline

  Timberline Four Seasons Resort, located at Canaan Valley, opened in January 1987.

• Fairfax Stone State Park

  Fairfax Stone State Park joined the state park system in 1957. The current stone is the fifth to stand at the site, which marked the boundary between Maryland and Virginia, now West Virginia, at the westernmost end of Maryland.

• Cheat River

  The Cheat River flows free, untamed, and without dams from its headwaters to Cheat Lake.

• Shavers Fork

  Shavers Fork is a large tributary of the Cheat River. From its headwaters in Pocahontas County, it flows through Randolph and Tucker counties, joining the Black Fork near Parsons to form Cheat River.

• Blackwater River

  The Blackwater River rises in the southwestern end of Canaan Valley in Tucker County at an elevation of 3,250 feet.
  

  

• Camp Horseshoe

  Camp Horseshoe was constructed in 1938–39 by the Civilian Conservation Corps for the U.S. Forest Service, and many of the original buildings are in use today.
  

  

• Otter Creek Wilderness Area

  Otter Creek Wilderness Area provides recreation for hikers, campers, hunters, and cross-country skiers.
  

  

• Fernow Experimental Forest

  The area that is now Fernow Experimental Forest, located on Elk Lick Run in the Monongahela National Forest, was recognized in 1934 as a typical example of West Virginia timberlands, based on plant and animal diversity, topography, timbering history, and climate.

• Canaan National Wildlife Refuge

  The Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge is one of the largest and most diverse freshwater wetland areas in central and southern Appalachia.
  

  

• Battle of Corricks Ford

  The Battle of Corricks Ford saw the first general officer killed in the Civil War, Confederate Gen. Robert S. Garnett.