Cedar Grove Wayside Complete!

Midland Trail and the Town of Cedar Grove have been working to build a new interpretive wayside at Virginia's Chapel in Cedar Grove. As the oldest permanent settlement in the Kanawha Valley and the original 1790 terminus of the Midland Trail, Cedar Grove has a long history and has watched the Midland Trail grow from a stagecoach track to a thriving two-lane highway to a National Scenic Byway. Virginia's Chapel was built by William Tompkins, an early settler and salt manufacturer, for his daughter Virginia at her request.

Now the small chapel is open for visitors who wish to explore the grounds and step into history. This is made easier by the completion of the new wayside, which features expanded parking, pervious concrete sidewalks, a rain garden, benches and picnic tables, trash receptacles, and a gazebo.

An interpretive exhibit is in the works which will tell the story of Cedar Grove, Virginia's Chapel, and the Midland Trail from the days of George Washington forward. The painting, Laid to Rest, which depicts a slave cemetery burial at Virginia's Chapel and is featured on the front of the 2013 Midland Trail Guide, will be a part of this exhibit as well as other illustrations commissioned by the Midland Trail Association. A ribbon-cutting is tentatively planned for the spring.

Mike Perry Wins Tourism Award

Midland Trail's own Mike Perry, founder and owner of Heritage Farm Museum and Village, was awarded the Oshel B. Craigo Lifetime Achievement Award at the Governor's Conference on Tourism in Shepherdstown, WV on October 9. Perry, whose business was recently featured on American Pickers, has built Heritage Farm up from a small cabin with no running water and a single strand of lights to a museum and major tourist attraction that draws visitors from all over the tri-state area and beyond.

Geoffrey Skaggs, MTSHA President, Announces Retirement

Geoffrey Skaggs is a visionary with a keen eye to tourism who has made his little corner of WV a better place to live and visit. A Peace Corps volunteer in the 1960’s, Geoffrey has taken that spirit of community service with him throughout life, taking on leadership roles with Fayette County Head Start, the Historic Fayette Theater, the Country Roads Festival, and most importantly to us is the 15 years of dedicated service he has given to Midland Trail Scenic Highway Association (MTSHA), first as a board member, then President. 

After retiring from Verizon, Geoffrey brought his unique perspective to the Town of Ansted Mayor’s chair, serving from 1997 -2003. His devoted work set Ansted on the path to transitioning from a coal-based economy to a tourism-based economy and his guidance has been an inspiration to other towns along Midland Trail National Scenic Highway. 

Geoffrey teamed up with Midland Trail and garnered funds, land, and volunteers to build the Ansted Hawks Nest Rail Trail from the top of the mountain in Ansted to the bottom of the Gorge with a very distinctive feature – bikes could be attached to the Hawks Nest gondolas. He worked to promote the Paige-Vawter House (c. 1981) as a tourist attraction and to revitalize Ansted’s Main Street. He secured funding and volunteers to build a gathering place - a park and gazebo in the middle of Town. A dilapidated store front became a florist shop with meeting space. Next door, Blue Smoke Salsa expanded so tour buses would stop to watch the world-renowned salsa being made. 

As president of MTSHA, Geoffrey showed us how to build partnerships with towns and strengthen our ties with the community. Under Geoffrey’s leadership, the Association established a welcome center and offices in a historic log cabin that befits the organization, established a staff, and we now publish an annual travel guide with 41 partner towns and attractions, promote tourism for the historical sites and businesses along Route 60, and we have built new attractions, like the South Charleston Mound Interpretive Center and Exhibit (2010) and Virginia’s Chapel Interpretive Wayside in Cedar Grove (Sept. 2012). Geoffrey’s work has united the towns and communities of the Midland Trail into a 180-mile linear community. 

On Oct. 4, 2012 Geoffrey tendered his resignation as President of the Board of Directors having served from (2001-2012) and has relocated to Clarksburg so he and his wife Suzanne can be near their grandkids. Midland Trail presented him with a Certificate of Commendation from Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, well-deserved recognition for his many years of service to his community. He will be missed on every curve of Route 60.

2013 Guides are HERE!

2013 Midland Trail Official
Destination Guide

Midland Trail Scenic Highway Association (MTSHA) has just released the 2013 Official Midland Trail Destination Guide, which tells the history of the towns along the Midland Trail/U.S. Route 60 and offers tips about activities, events, and places of interest for all ages. 

This year’s cover art, Laid to Rest by Beth Crowder, commemorates Cedar Grove’s Virginia’s Chapel (c.1853) Slave Cemetery and will be featured as part of an interpretive wayside exhibit depicting Cedar Grove/Midland Trail history slated for completion later this year. 

“The Midland Trail really has something for everyone,” says Alice Hypes, Executive Director of MTSHA. “Route 60 is the most direct route to the outdoor adventure, sports, and relaxation offered in West Virginia’s rivers, lakes, gorges, forests, and streams. It’s also the perfect way to explore Revolutionary, Civil War, and industrial history.” Midland Trail is home to various summer and fall festivals, as well as living history and Civil War Sesquicentennial events, many of which are listed in the Destination Guide. 

The Midland Trail Destination Guide has recently been listed in Better Homes and Gardens, Traditional Home, Oprah, American Roads, and WV Living. 

 Guides can be requested by calling 304-343-6001 or visiting www.midlandtrail.com.