Back in Charleston, we walked along brick sidewalks beneath trees that provide a canopy over downtown’s charming Capitol Street, lined with restaurants and shops such as Taylor Books, a neat bookstore with a coffee shop/café and a fine arts gallery, located in a historic storefront. We ate lunch at Capitol Market in a former train station.
Then it was off to tour the Capitol on the banks of the Kanawha River. Its large gold-leaf dome makes it impossible to miss.
“It is gilded with 10 pounds of real gold,” said guide Grace Welch. Constructed between 1924 and 1932, the Capitol was one of the last projects of architect Cass Gilbert, who also designed the Minnesota and Arkansas state capitols and the U.S. Supreme Court building.
“It is technically unfinished, since he died before supervising the final details,” said Welch.
Across the street from the Capitol is the West Virginia State Museum. “This center is focused on West Virginia history, culture and heritage,” said Caryn Gresham, deputy commissioner and communications director for the Division of Culture and History.
The museum, which underwent a major overhaul in 2009, tells the state’s story from prehistory to the present through interactive and innovative exhibits, including 26 discovery rooms, “each of which tells a different story,” Gresham said.
“We wanted a museum that speaks about West Virginia,” said Gresham. “You read about ordinary people, different towns.”
Southern West Virginia
Our final day, we headed an hour southeast to the New River Gorge Bridge. After our bridge walk, we drove to Hawks Nest State Park and rode a six-passenger enclosed tram several hundred feet down to the river, where we took a jet boat ride up to the New River bridge for a view from 870 feet below and marveled at where we had just been.
After lunch in quaint Fayetteville, we drove 23 miles to Beckley for an inside look at another iconic West Virginia industry — coal mining.
The Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine and Museum features a representative coal mine camp with buildings brought in from camps around West Virginia and a tour of a former underground mine.
We rode coal cars into the four-foot-high mine with Steve, a retired miner, who told us how mining had changed over the years and demonstrated various equipment used in the dangerous and demanding occupation.
“The equipment you see was used, and the docents are retired miners,” said Leslie Baker, director of operations. Baker said the combination of the mine tour and the village gives visitors a better understanding of the historic importance of coal to the growth of America and how miners and their families lived and worked.
The village has a miner’s home, a church, a one-room school and the superintendent’s house, where exhibits in upper-floor rooms depict various aspects of a coal camp, such as a doctor’s office and a barber.
Our final stop, Tamarack, showcases the variety and quality of arts and crafts produced by talented West Virginians.
Visitors can browse and shop for original handmade jewelry, wood sculptures, glass, furniture, pottery, musical instruments, music, books and specialty food. The landscaped grounds include large sculptures that are for sale.
But the rounded building with its distinctive multi-peaked red roof is more than just a retail center. A food court, restaurant and bakery make a great group meal stop; there’s also a 178-seat theater with regular performances; a fine arts gallery with several annual exhibits; artisan demonstrations; and new space for hands-on workshops and classes.
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