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canyonwalker) wrote2023-09-19 08:33 pm
canyonwalker) wrote2023-09-19 08:33 pm
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Hawks Nest State Park
West Virginia Travelog #9
Ansted, WV - Sun, 17 Sep 2023. 1:30pm
On the way to Cathedral Falls earlier today we saw signs for a Hawks Nest State Park. After a beautiful visit to Cathedral Falls we knew we'd have to take a detour on the way back out. How could we not stop at Hawks Nest State Park?
Alas there were no actual hawks at Hawks Nest. We asked the bored state park service employee working the combination information center/gift shop; he said nobody's seen hawks in the park recently, just lots of vultures. "But there's great views of the river," he assured us. "Oh," I asked, "Are there ospreys nesting by the river?" I then had to explain what an osprey is. Twice. We decided we were on our own on this one.
The main feature at the park is a lookout over the New River reached by a short walk. Here the river gorge is 585 feet deep. To the left in the photo is a railroad bridge. To the right is the Hawks Nest dam, which generates hydroelectric power.
Speaking of hydro power, a historical marker at the park notes the historically dark side of hydro power. In 1930-31 the local power company bored a 3 mile tunnel near here to divert water to increase power generation. The rock the miners dug through was heavy with silica dust. A huge number of the miners suffered acute silicosis and died. ...And not 20-30 years later like coal miners with "black lung" disease, but in as little as 1 year of work. Local officials admitted there were 109 such deaths out of 3,000 workers. A Congressional investigation in 1936 established the death toll at 476 (for the period of 1930-1935— again, a short period of time for lung disease). Workers and their families estimate up to 1,000 people out of the 3,000 died from silicosis. Whichever number you choose, it's considered the US's worst industrial accident.
Ansted, WV - Sun, 17 Sep 2023. 1:30pm
On the way to Cathedral Falls earlier today we saw signs for a Hawks Nest State Park. After a beautiful visit to Cathedral Falls we knew we'd have to take a detour on the way back out. How could we not stop at Hawks Nest State Park?
Alas there were no actual hawks at Hawks Nest. We asked the bored state park service employee working the combination information center/gift shop; he said nobody's seen hawks in the park recently, just lots of vultures. "But there's great views of the river," he assured us. "Oh," I asked, "Are there ospreys nesting by the river?" I then had to explain what an osprey is. Twice. We decided we were on our own on this one.
The main feature at the park is a lookout over the New River reached by a short walk. Here the river gorge is 585 feet deep. To the left in the photo is a railroad bridge. To the right is the Hawks Nest dam, which generates hydroelectric power.
Speaking of hydro power, a historical marker at the park notes the historically dark side of hydro power. In 1930-31 the local power company bored a 3 mile tunnel near here to divert water to increase power generation. The rock the miners dug through was heavy with silica dust. A huge number of the miners suffered acute silicosis and died. ...And not 20-30 years later like coal miners with "black lung" disease, but in as little as 1 year of work. Local officials admitted there were 109 such deaths out of 3,000 workers. A Congressional investigation in 1936 established the death toll at 476 (for the period of 1930-1935— again, a short period of time for lung disease). Workers and their families estimate up to 1,000 people out of the 3,000 died from silicosis. Whichever number you choose, it's considered the US's worst industrial accident.