Northers Delights of West Virginia
The northernmost point of the state and the hub of the panhandle, Wheeling began as a pre-Revolutionary outpost whose Independence Hall was a customs house in the 18th and 19th centuries, the capitol of the Restored Government of West Virginia, and later the state capitol. The city's most distinct landmark is the 1849 Wheeling Suspension Bridge, the oldest major long span suspension bridge in the world.
Further south, Moundsville's first residents, the Adena culture, built the Grave Creek Mound, the largest conical burial mound in the Americas, nearly 2,000 years ago. Adjacent to the mound is Grave Creek Mound State Park, where the Delf Norona Museum displays artifacts from the Adena period. Sisterville, a 1890s oil boom town, preserves more than 10 blocks of homes and commercial buildings, including a working turn-of-the-century oil well. The historic Wells Inn offers 35 rooms with antique and period-style furnishings. Along the Ohio River, the West Virginia Border Islands are the state's first National Wildlife Refuge and home to a variety of plants and animals.
In Mountaineer Country, the earliest inhabitants were European immigrants who arrived in the 18th and 19th centuries to mine coal, lay railroads, cut timber and build factories. Today, nature lovers and students call it home.
Prickett's Fort, Fort New Salem and Watters Smith Memorial State Park allow visitors to experience what 18th century life was like. Other points of interest include Morgantown, home to the 1795 Old Stone House, a former tavern, tannery, church and residence; Clarksburg, birthplace of Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson; and the Grafton National Cemetery, burial place of the first Union soldier killed by Confederate forces and 1,251 soldiers from both sides.
Challenging rapids await adventurers at the Cheat and Tygart rivers. Mountain bikers can travel on the North Bend Rail Trail; Pleasant Creek Wildlife Management Area has a fish and game habitat, camping, swimming, scuba diving and rifle range; and Teter Creek Lake Wildlife Management Area is an excellent spot for anglers.
In the state's eastern panhandle, regional hub Martinsburg was founded in 1778 and later flourished as a railroad town. The General Adam Stephen House, Triple Brick Museum, and the Belle Boyd House have the town's history on display for all to see. A few miles northeast is Shepherdstown, founded in the 1730s as Melchenberg, one of the oldest towns in the state. Harpers Ferry, the site of John Brown's raid in 1859, is maintained as a national historical park, and is the point at which the Appalachian Trail passes through the state.
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