Fayette Station Road

A paved road winding down the side of a gorge covered in trees with orange, red, and yellow colored autumn leaves — Fayette Station Road provides stunning views of the New River Gorge.
NPS

Exploring Fayette Station Road is to travel back in time. It takes you to a time before the construction of the modern New River Gorge Bridge in 1977. Before the New River Gorge Bridge, there was only one way to cross the gorge - a narrow, winding 8-mile-long road. This 100-year-old road winds down to the bottom of the gorge, across a narrow bridge, and up the other side. Visible along the way are vistas of the river and bridges. Hardwood forest lines the road on the side of the gorge. Remnants of the New River Gorge communities peek out from the forest.

Fayette Station Road History:

Prior to the coming of the C&O Railroad, the area that is now Fayette Station road was home to a ferry called Townsend's Ferry. This was an important crossing from early colonial times all the way to the Civil War and beyond. There is a historical marker for the ferry by the parking lots. There was also a smaller wagon road that connected the town of Fayetteville to the ferry.

The C&O Railroad came through in 1873 and the towns of Fayette and South Fayette sprang up shortly after. The ferry continued to be used until the Fayette Station Bridge was completed in 1888. A man named Blume owned land along the river and negotiated with the C&O to build through his land. The original wagon road that connected Fayetteville to the communities at the bottom of the river followed portions of the modern Fayetteville hiking trail that leaves from the bottom of Fayette Station.

Fayette and South Fayette were two small communities that centered around coal mining. The Fayette Coal and Coke Company operated a coal mine and company store during the years the new road was being built. Other businesses included saloons, the three-story Blume Store, and a garage for residents to park their cars while traveling by train. Residents of other nearby communities without their own train stations would walk to Fayette Station to catch a train or visit the saloon. The coal lease here changed hands multiple times, and mining continued along Fayette Station Road even into the mid-1990s.

Traffic between Fayetteville and Fayette Station began to outgrow the small road, and the county engineer and surveyor H.A. Gentry designed a new one. He partnered with the Fayetteville Business Men’s Association, and after conducting a survey, “succeeded in getting an order or the immediate construction of this new road with the convict labor at the disposal of the authorities” (The Fayette Journal, 2 November 1911). Their combined efforts presented a strong case, and “the county courts succeeded in getting an order for the immediate construction of this new road with convict labor at the disposal of the authorities” (The Fayette Journal, 2 November 1911).

A local newspaper from 1911 states that “all during the current year, the misdemeanor convicts available for work have been utilized in the construction of this new roadway… and the people of Fayette County are assured early completion of one of the best stretches of road in the entire state.” The same article claimed the road would be completed in the Spring of 1912. It also boasted that with the new road “the difficulties of reaching town with freights and passengers will have been surmounted.” Early trips along Fayette Station Road would have been along a macadam roadway, or layers of crushed and compacted stone.

This road was one of the main routes across the northern New River Gorge until the construction of the New River Gorge Bridge was completed in 1977.

road through forest with a large bridge overhead

Driving Fayette Station Road

Fayette Station Road is an 8-mile, one-way road. It takes about 30 - 45 minutes to complete the tour. There are several pullouts along the way to admire the views of the New River Gorge and the New River Gorge Bridge. Wayside exhibits tell the story of the area. A parking lot at the bottom gives access to the New River and more views of the gorge and bridge. Remnants of the towns of Fayette and South Fayette are visible near the lower bridge. Three trails start from Fayette Station Road - the Kaymoor Trail, Fayetteville Trail, and Bridge Trail.

Driving Advisory: Due to a low clearance railroad bridge, vehicles over 12 feet in height cannot complete the tour. Trailers may have difficulty crossing the railroad tracks and navigating hairpin curves. Large vehicles, RVs, and trailers are not recommended. Ask a ranger at the visitor center desk if you are unsure if your vehicle can drive Fayette Station Road.

Directions

Leaving the parking lot of Canyon Rim Visitor Center, take a left to return back to US-19. Turn right to go north on US-19. Continue for 0.3 miles and take the next right onto Lansing-Edmond Road/Truck 82. In 0.4 miles, turn right at the brown park sign for Fayette Station Road. Bear left and uphill at the fork to continue onto Fayette Station Road. The road will become a one-way road.

Fayette Station Road continues down the side of the gorge to river level. It passes under the New River Gorge Bridge three times. At the bottom, cross over the reconstructed Fayette Station Bridge. This bridge reopened in 1998 as the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge. From river level, the road winds back up the side of the gorge. The road ends on US-19 near Fayetteville, only about 2 miles south of Canyon Rim Visitor Center.