Cathedral State Park

Cathedral State Park
Cathedral Trail
Cathedral State Park is located in West Virginia
Cathedral State Park
Location within West Virginia
LocationPreston, West Virginia, United States
Coordinates39°19′36″N 79°32′17″W / 39.32667°N 79.53806°W / 39.32667; -79.53806
Area132 acres (53 ha)[2]
Elevation2,579 ft (786 m)
Established1942[3]
Governing bodyWest Virginia Division of Natural Resources
Websitewvstateparks.com/park/cathedral-state-park/

Cathedral State Park is the largest virgin timber tract remaining in West Virginia. The park features trees of up to 90 feet in height and 16 feet in circumference.[4] Located on 132 acres (53 ha)[2] about one mile (1.6 km) east of the town of Aurora and five miles west of Redhouse, Maryland, Cathedral is a mixed forest of predominantly eastern hemlock.[5] Rhine Creek runs through the park.[4]

The National Park Service has designated the park as a National Natural Landmark in 1965.[6]

The park is under significant threat from the hemlock woolly adelgid, which has been detected within 20 miles (32 km) of the park.[7]

History

Mr Branson Haas, a workman for the Brookside hotel, purchased the land in 1922 and sold it to the state of West Virginia in 1942.[4] It was included in the Brookside Historic District.[8] The park was entered in the National Registry for Natural History Landmarks on October 6, 1966.[4] The Society of American Foresters recognized the park in 1983 in its National Natural Areas program.[4]

In 2004, the state's largest hemlock tree was felled by lightning.[4]

In October 2012, the park suffered extensive damage resulting from snowfall produced by Hurricane Sandy.[6]

Trails

Trail NameTrail Length[4]
ftm
Cathedral Trail5,8981,798
Giant Hemlock Trail1,170360
Partridge Berry Trail2,931893
Trillium Trail668204
Cardinal Trail1,201366
Wood Thrush Trail3,274998
Old Oakland Road2,257688

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Cathedral State Park". Protected Planet. IUCN. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  2. 1 2 West Virginia State Parks Facilities Grid, accessed March 29, 2008 Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Where People and Nature Meet: A History of the West Virginia State Parks. Charleston, West Virginia: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company. April 1988. ISBN 0-933126-91-3.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Cathedral State Park" (PDF). www.wvstateparks.com. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 9, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  5. ↑ Forests of the Appalachians Project web site, accessed July 22, 2006.
  6. 1 2 Cathedral State Park web site, access July 22, 2006
  7. ↑ "Trees last stand: Park may be last place to see uncut hemlock forest in state", Charleston Gazette, December 19, 2004, accessed July 22, 2006. Archived May 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Courtney Fint Zimmerman (July 2012). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Brookside Historic District" (PDF). State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
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