Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park is a state park located on Droop Mountain in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. The park was the site of the Battle of Droop Mountain, the last major battle of the American Civil War in the state taking place on November 6, 1863. John D. Sutton, a West Virginia private in the Union Army at the battle, became the leader in the movement to create the park when he served in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Dedicated on July 4, 1928, Droop Mountain Battlefield became the first state park in West Virginia.[4][5]
| Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park | |
|---|---|
 Observation tower overlooking the Greenbrier River valley. | |
  Location of Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park in West Virginia | |
| Location | Pocahontas, West Virginia, United States |
| Nearest town | Hillsboro, West Virginia |
| Coordinates | 38°06′45″N 80°16′19″W / 38.11250°N 80.27194°W |
| Area | 287 acres (116 ha) |
| Elevation | 3,104 ft (946 m) |
| Established | July 4, 1928[2] |
| Named for | Battle of Droop Mountain |
| Governing body | West Virginia Division of Natural Resources |
| Website | wvstateparks |
Droop Mountain Battlefield | |
| Nearest city | Marlinton, West Virginia |
| Coordinates | 38°6′36″N 80°16′20″W / 38.11000°N 80.27222°W |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000664 |
| Added to NRHP | January 26, 1970[3] |
The battlefield was transformed into a historical, outdoor recreation area by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Public reenactments of the battle have been conducted in October of some [which?] even-numbered years by the West Virginia Reenactors Association.[6][failed verification]
The park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.[3]
Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park is located about 25 miles (40 km) north of the Lewisburg exit of I-64 on U.S. Highway 219 and about 15 miles (24 km) south of Marlinton on US 219. The park is also near Beartown State Park and Watoga State Park.
Features
edit- Droop Mountain Museum with battle artifacts
- Lookout Tower
- hiking
- Picnic areas with shelters
- Tots playgrounds
Gallery
edit-
Cannon -
Confederate Graves -
Log Cabin
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park". Protected Planet. IUCN. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- ^ "Dedication of Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park". West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ Debra Patterson, ed. (April 1988). Where People and Nature Meet: A History of the West Virginia State Parks. Charleston, West Virginia: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company. p. 89. ISBN 0-933126-91-3.
- ^ Lewis, Clifford M. (October 7, 1970). "Droop Mountain Battlefield" (PDF). West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. National Park Service. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
- ^ "West Virginia Reenactors Association". West Virginia Reenactors Association website. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
Further reading
edit- Boge, Georgie and Margie Holder Boge. Paving Over the Past: A History and Guide to Civil War Battlefield Preservation. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1993. ISBN 9781559631921
- Cook, Roy B. “The Battle of Droop Mountain.” Archived 2020-09-14 at the Wayback Machine West Virginia Review. October 1928.
- Lowry, Terry. Last Sleep: The Battle of Droop Mountain. Charleston, WV: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1996. ISBN 9781575100241
- “Program - Dedication of the Droop Mountain Battlefield as a State Park.” The Pocahontas Times. June 28, 1928.
- Report of the Droop Mountain Battlefield Commission. Charleston, WV: Jarrett Printing Co., 1928.
- Shaffer, Dallas B. The Battle at Droop Mountain. Charleston, WV: Department of Natural Resources.
- Smith, Timothy B. Altogether Fitting and Proper: Civil War Battlefield Preservation in History, Memory, and Policy, 1861-2015. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2017. ISBN 9781621903116
- Snell, Mark A. West Virginia and the Civil War: Mountaineers Are Always Free. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2011. ISBN 9781596298880
- “State Park Dedicated - Big Crowd Celebrates the Fourth on Droop.” The Pocahontas Times. July 12, 1928.
- West Virginia State Park History Committee. Where People and Nature Meet: A History of the West Virginia State Parks. Charleston, WV: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1988. ISBN 9780933126916
External links
edit
- Official website
- Droop Mountain Museum Archived 2009-06-06 at the Wayback Machine