By Stephen Baldwin
RealWV, www.therealwv.com
“Everything is coming together,” says Matt Cantrell. “Lots of details still to work through, but it’s going to be huge for Ronceverte.”
Cantrell is part of Gateway Industries, a private nonprofit Community Rehabilitation Program which provides employment and vocational services to individuals who present with a variety of physical, cognitive, and/or psychiatric disabilities.
Led by Matt’s mom, Phyllis, Gateway has long been a local innovator in the Greenbrier Valley economy. Their latest project is no exception. They are bringing mini golf back to the Ronceverte Island Park.
“So many people have memories of the old putt-putt here on the island years ago,” Matt says. “It’s not available around here now, so people are really going to enjoy this. The new generation and those who remember it from before.”
Located where the town pool formerly sat and where a community garden operated by Gateway has operated for the last decade, the mini golf course contains 18 holes that are designed to honor Ronceverte and West Virginia.
The project has been in the works for the last two years, with construction picking up over the last few months. Most of the concrete pads for the holes have been poured. Once they are all in place, turf will be laid on top of the concrete. Then the elaborate designs, water features, and landscapes will take shape in the next phase of construction.
If all goes according to plan, you can come via for a hole-in-one this August.
“We’re really excited about this,” Matt says. “It’s going to be so much fun for people.”
Take a Tour of the 18 Hole Designs
#1 – Welcome to Ronceverte. A straightaway hole with a good chance for a hole-in-one.
#2 – Honoring the Fort Hill section of town, your ball will go on quite an undulating ride!
#3 – The Greenbrier River takes center stage with a full-fledged water hole.
#4 – Centered around “The Old Blue Bridge,” which crossed the river back in the day, this hole will feature a replica blue bridge which golfers use to putt their ball safely to the other side of the water.
#5 – Downtown Ronceverte in the old days, complete with replicas of the old storefronts and Edgar Avenue.
#6 – A tribute to the lumber industry in town, complete with a water feature which is how logs came to the plant for many years.
#7 – A long hole encircling the Bill Boone Memorial Fountain, a tribute to one of the town’s late residents.
#8 – Replicating the “Hills of West Virginia,” this hole has three humps, with the hole perched on top of the third hump. It’s likely to be the hardest hole on the course.
#9 – School spirit! Relive your glory days as a student.
#10 – Since Ronceverte had the first fire engine in the state, this hole will honor the tradition of firefighting and include a replica firehouse.
#11 – A tribute to veterans, this hole will include a wall covered in small plaques of veterans who served the nation from the town.
#12 – Just like Brick Hill, this hole will have golfers putt down a steep decline paved in bricks. If you don’t like that option, you can take a detour along Greenbrier Avenue.
#13 – With gravestones as obstacles on the green, this hole mimics the Riverview Cemetery on Teaberry Road.
#14 – As a tribute to Brown’s Wagon Wheels, a former business in town, the hole features a moving wagon wheel that will pick your transport your ball from one level to another.
#15 – Ever heard of the Monkey Cemetery? Back in 1906, a traveling circus was coming to town for a show. But a train accident resulted in the death of more than 300 monkeys onboard as part of the circus. They were buried in Ronceverte off of Monroe Avenue.
#16 – Complete with a diving board, this hole is a tribute to the city pool which previously occupied the land where the mini golf will now sit.
#17 – Ronceverte is French for “Greenbrier.” That’s about the extent of the town’s French roots, but nonetheless this hole will honor our name by having golfers putt underneath the Eiffel Tower, across the Pont du Gard, and to the Arc de Triomphe.
#18 – Vepco operated a power plant in town, including two enormous, concrete smokestacks. The final hole will be a replica of that power plant. Golfers will putt up a hill and try to hit the ball in the door of the power plant. If they make it, the sirens will sound, the lights will flash, and the smokestacks might even blow!
More Than Golf
In addition to mini golf, there will be a covered picnic shelter, indoor video game room, a model train that runs through the mini golf course, and an outdoor batting cage.
“The batting cage is the same equipment the pros use,” Matt explains. “You buy 15 minutes of time to hit balls in the cage. Or teams can purchase larger blocks of time to use when they’re able.”
“We really want it to be for all of Ronceverte,” he says.
The attraction will be fully accessible, in a nod to Gateway’s work with the disabled community. Folks of all ages and abilities will be able to participate in mini golf and the site’s other attractions.
Ronceverte Mini Golf is located on Ronceverte Island Park, just off US 219 where it goes over the Greenbrier River. They plan to open in August 2025. Stay tuned to RealWV for updates.
(Photo by RealWV)
