By Rick Steelhammer
For HDMedia
Clay — A railbed over which the Buffalo Creek & Gauley Railroad once “shipped the coal that helped the United States reach its highest industrial heights” in the early 20th century is now supporting a new wave of development in West Virginia in the form of tourism, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Thursday at a dedication ceremony for the new headquarters building and visitor center for Elk River Trail State Park.
The new building, designed to resemble a historic train depot, is located near the site of the junction that once connected the former Buffalo Creek & Gauley Railroad, which carried coal from mines in the Widen area of northern Clay County, with the Coal & Coke Railway that operated a line along Elk River, connecting Charleston with Elkins and eastern manufacturing centers. Much of the Coal & Coke Railway was later bought by the Elk River Railroad, which operated between Hartland in Clay County and Burnsville in Braxton County from 1989 to 2022.
Morrisey said the building will eventually include a museum featuring railroad artifacts from the area. It currently contains information on the Elk River Trail and other West Virginia State Parks and houses a gift shop featuring West Virginia Grown food products, state parks apparel, snacks and cold drinks, restrooms and the park superintendent’s office. It is located at the Dundon Trailhead of the Elk River Trail, across the Elk River from the town of Clay.
Architects at WYK Associates in Clarksburg reviewed 30 historic train depots to come up with the design for the Elk River Trail State Park headquarters and visitor center, state Commerce Secretary Matt Herridge told those attending the ceremony. The new building, perched on a bank overlooking the point where Buffalo Creek merges with the Elk River and next to the Dundon Trailhead of the Elk River Trail, is an example of West Virginia State Parks “creating places where visitors will want to spend an afternoon,” consider making return visits or perhaps even making the state their new home, Herridge said.
The new building is located less than one mile from the Rail Explorers railbike touring operation that features 12-mile round-trip rides along Buffalo Creek in electric motor-assisted railbikes.
Heath Cliver, superintendent of Elk River Trail State Park, said the park currently has six employees.
Queen Shoals to Clendenin right-of-way acquired
Also during Thursday’s event, Morrisey announced the state’s purchase of a 4.3-mile section of railbed right-of-way stretching from Queen Shoals in Clay County to Clendenin, made possible through a $1.5 million grant from the federal Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation Fund. The state had previously leased that section of railbed from the Elk River Railroad and opened it to public use after paving a portion of it, adding two bridges at creek crossings and installing benches and a gazebo along the route.
What’s next
To date, 50 of the 73 miles of the rail trail currently planned are now open to hikers, bikers and horseback riders, with the longest contiguous segment extending 45 miles from Hartland, just south of Clay, northward to Gassaway. The missing link in the trail is a 22.7-mile section of railbank extending southward from Hartland to Queen Shoals. More information can be found at elkrivertrail.org/rail-trail.
Long-range plans for the trail include eventually extending it northward from Gassaway to Gilmer Junction near Burnsville, and southward to Coonskin Park and Charleston.
“The Elk River Trail is a perfect example of how West Virginia is turning our rich industrial heritage into a booming engine for outdoor recreation, tourism and public health,” Morrisey said.
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