Tag: Watoga State Park

West Virginia Site Designated Dark Sky Park

West Virginia’s Watoga State Park has been designated as a Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association.

It is the first site in West Virginia to get the designation, which comes with opportunities for astronomy tourism and nocturnal wildlife observation, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.

The Watoga State Park Foundation’s board of directors had been seeking the designation since 2018. They replaced 150 outdoor light fixtures, installed telescopes and added stargazing events as well as educational events on wildlife that benefits from a dark sky environment, officials said.

The parks “not only represent the state of West Virginia in our Dark Sky Parks program, but are also raising awareness for one of the largest and darkest skysheds within the eastern United States, “said Ruskin Hartley, Director of the International Dark Sky Association.

Calvin Price State Forest and Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park, which are managed by Watoga, are included in the designation.

“Many new opportunities now exist to study the heavens and nocturnal creatures,” park foundation board President John Goodwin said in a statement. “This is a new and exciting time for the park and its visitors. Not only can the park offer activities during the day but now they can offer activities at night.”

Sept. 8, 1995: Park Superintendent Kermit McKeever Dies

Kermit McKeever died in Charleston on September 8, 1995, at age 85. The man remembered as the “father of West Virginia’s modern state park system” was born in Greenbrier County in 1910.

After graduating from Glenville State College and West Virginia University, McKeever began his career as superintendent of Lost River State Park.

In 1948, after serving as superintendent of Watoga State Park, he became head of all state parks. From the mid-1950s through early 1960s, McKeever helped establish new state parks at Blackwater Falls, Holly River, Grandview, Hawks Nest, Pipestem, Canaan, Cacapon, and Twin Falls. He retired in 1978. During his career as parks chief, the number of West Virginia state parks grew from 14 to 35, with a new one opening about every 16 months.

Kermit McKeever staunchly opposed entrance fees at the parks and disagreed with the recurring criticism that parks do not pay for themselves, noting, quote, “Canaan . . . opened the door to millions of dollars in businesses, taxes, and employment. The parks have many times paid for themselves.”

McKeever Lodge at Pipestem is named in his honor.

July 1, 1937: Watoga and Babcock State Parks Opened

On July 1, 1937, Watoga and Babcock state parks were opened to the public and quickly became centerpieces of the fledgling state park system. Both Watoga and Babcock were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC, one of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs, was designed to put young people to work during the Great Depression.

Watoga, located in Pocahontas County, is West Virginia’s largest state park. Workers at three CCC camps built Watoga’s original cabins, superintendent’s residence, stable, restaurant-administration building, 11-acre lake, horse and foot trails, 14 miles of roads, and swimming pool, all between 1934 and 1937.

During those same years, CCC workers established Babcock State Park in Fayette County. Like Watoga, Babcock was built on a former logging site. Babcock’s cabins, picnic shelters, and other structures were built from locally quarried stone and American chestnut trees that’d been killed by the chestnut blight. CCC workers forged the door latches and other metal work on site. Babcock’s famous Glade Creek Mill was added in 1976.

Watoga and Babcock are two lasting legacies of the CCC, which gave jobs to more than 55,000 West Virginians.

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