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Cathedral State Park

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Coordinates: 39°19′36″N 79°32′17″W / 39.32667°N 79.53806°W / 39.32667; -79.53806
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Cathedral State Park
Cathedral Trail
Map showing the location of Cathedral State Park
Map showing the location of Cathedral State Park
Location of Cathedral State Park in West Virginia
LocationPreston, West Virginia, United States
Coordinates39°19′36″N 79°32′17″W / 39.32667°N 79.53806°W / 39.32667; -79.53806
Area132 acres (53 ha)[2]
Elevation2,579 ft (786 m)
Established1942[3]
Governing bodyWest Virginia Division of Natural Resources
Websitewvstateparks.com/park/cathedral-state-park/

Cathedral State Park is the largest virgin timber tract remaining in West Virginia. The park features trees of up to 90 feet in height and 16 feet in circumference.[4] Located on 132 acres (53 ha)[2] about one mile (1.6 km) east of the town of Aurora and five miles west of Redhouse, Maryland, Cathedral is a mixed forest of predominantly eastern hemlock.[5] Rhine Creek runs through the park.[4]

The National Park Service has designated the park as a National Natural Landmark in 1965.[6]

The park is under significant threat from the hemlock woolly adelgid, which has been detected within 20 miles (32 km) of the park.[7]

History

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Mr Branson Haas, a workman for the Brookside hotel, purchased the land in 1922 and sold it to the state of West Virginia in 1942.[4] It was included in the Brookside Historic District.[8] The park was entered in the National Registry for Natural History Landmarks on October 6, 1966.[4] The Society of American Foresters recognized the park in 1983 in its National Natural Areas program.[4]

In 2004, the state's largest hemlock tree was felled by lightning.[4]

In October 2012, the park suffered extensive damage resulting from snowfall produced by Hurricane Sandy.[6]

  • An Eastern Hemlock in Cathedral State Park
    An Eastern Hemlock in Cathedral State Park
  • Hemlock in Cathedral State Park
    Hemlock in Cathedral State Park

Trails

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Trail Name Trail Length[4]
ft m
Cathedral Trail 5,898 1,798
Giant Hemlock Trail 1,170 360
Partridge Berry Trail 2,931 893
Trillium Trail 668 204
Cardinal Trail 1,201 366
Wood Thrush Trail 3,274 998
Old Oakland Road 2,257 688

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cathedral State Park". Protected Planet. IUCN. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  2. ^ a b West Virginia State Parks Facilities Grid, accessed March 29, 2008 Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Where People and Nature Meet: A History of the West Virginia State Parks. Charleston, West Virginia: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company. April 1988. ISBN 0-933126-91-3.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Cathedral State Park" (PDF). www.wvstateparks.com. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 9, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  5. ^ Forests of the Appalachians Project web site, accessed July 22, 2006.
  6. ^ a b Cathedral State Park web site, access July 22, 2006
  7. ^ "Trees last stand: Park may be last place to see uncut hemlock forest in state", Charleston Gazette, December 19, 2004, accessed July 22, 2006. Archived May 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Courtney Fint Zimmerman (July 2012). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Brookside Historic District" (PDF). State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
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