Monday, April 7, 2008

A Roadside Waterfall

This photo was taken about 27 miles from Parkersburg, West Virginia on this past Saturday's afternoon drive. This first picture was taken as I stood beside the highway looking down. I zoomed in on the photo you see below.

When I got home I did a little research to see what was the significance given to the property. The route it is on has just received the designation as a National Scenic Byway by the Federal Government because of its significance as a transportation route from the early 1800s. This site known as the California site is the location at which the early trenches were dug and from which oil was barreled and commercially distributed to Parkersburg and Marietta, Ohio from the early 1800s. Also, a famous well, which produced marketable oil in the early 1850s was located at this site.

The site was sold to the famous Samuel Kier, developer of the Kerosene lamp, in early August, 1859. A well was being commercially drilled for oil in the spring and summer of 1859. California became a significant oilfield in the 1860s and 1870s. During the Civil War, both Union and Confederate forces traveled on the turnpike and frequented the California House and tavern. The original foundation stones, water well and barn are still located on the museum property that you could see through the trees but hasn’t been completely restored as of yet.

I mentally noted this waterfall is off the Hughes River. In my geneology research of my family a few years ago the Hughes River and "New California" was mentioned frequently. I'm anxious to go back to that research and see where my family was at the time of this historic site. I never know what I’ll find on my rides, but this was a nice little roadside stop.

15 comments:

judi/Gmj said...

How neat to find the history of a location. I neglect to do that sometimes. I get lost in the moment, Carl says I get trapped in the headlights. :)

Anonymous said...

Nice to read some history related to your area. We find ourselves over there once every couple of years so I enjoyed reading about it.

George Townboy said...

It has been a while since I heard that song by Slim Whitman ... a perfect choice for this post!! Love the history and the photo is fantastic. I'm like you in the sense that I'm curious about my ancestors, but I haven't been able to find out much. My oldest daughter started some research a couple of years ago but got stumped pretty quickly!

Love this post!!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Carletta: I really enjoyed your post and music. I hope to hear more about the area.

virtual nexus said...

Fascinating bit of history and good photos. I wrote a war veteran's memoir and did some family history research a few years back - interesting area to get into.

Came via George.

Rose said...

Very nice post, Carletta.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous photos and place.
Loved to read about it.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Carletta: Are you the best guesser ever or am I making the pictures too easy? I'll post the whole picture tonight.

Anonymous said...

I liked water fall taken and song.

Anonymous said...

I want a waterfall in my yard so bad I can almost taste it! Of course it wouldn't be that natural beauty! Probably have to wait, though, as we just purchased our rental home of three years recently. And much work needs to be done.
Brenda

JunieRose2005 said...

Oh my goodness, Carletta,


The song you have playing brought tears to my eyes!

My mom LOVED Slim Whitman so much! Mom passed away five years ago this past January and I still miss her so much and think about her so often! I got her some old Slim Whitman CDs and we listened together, not long before she passed away. Her favorite song was' Indian Love Call' but I remember her talking about 'The Old Water Wheel' too. Mom was just past 94 when she left us!

Interesting post and pretty pictures...and thanks for this music.


Hugs))


Junie

Tom said...

Firstly this really is a spot to stop and stare.. I can almost hear the water falling...
Secondly.. I do hope you research pays of.

dot said...

Interesting post and hope you are able to find out more. I love your music!

Rue said...

Good morning Carletta :)

That is so interesting! I look forward to hearing about your family connection to it.

rue

Mark said...

This caught my eye because I was on a business trip that took me to Parkersburg, WV a couple months ago. Nice area, but I didn't have time to enjoy Nature while I was there.

What a neat place to see from the side of the road. Reminds me of many similar places in my favorite section of Arkansas (my home state).

Thanks for stopping by my Project Yellow blog posts.