Towns of Tygart Lake

Indian Community

2009-11-30T11:53:00.000-08:00

Waitman Worthington McDaniel lived in and around Cecil. Some of his history was recorded and can be found at the Taylor County Library. In a certain section entitled “Mound Builders” a prehistoric “house or fort” structure is described. According to the information given “one side of the enclosure is a natural cliff thirty high and semicircle in shape.” It also describes evidence of a battle that may have taken place in this area. Quoting the text, “the back of a human skulls, human bones, and human teeth are among the ghastly relics which have been picked up.” It is unclear whether when the battle took place before David Tygart and Robert Files settled in the Tygart Valley in 1753. Whether or not a battle actually occurred will probably never be known. However, it is clear that an indian settlement was located in the Pleasant Creek area. The pictures below are of what I believe to be the natural cliff described in the story.

The Tale of the Floating Church

2009-03-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

As the waters of the Tygart River rose it began to reek havoc on the structures that stood in it way, one of these unfortunate buildings was a small white church. Swept from its foundation, it slowly drifted with the current. Surely it was a strange sight to see a church that was once filled with worshipers now filled with water and driftwood. This, however, was not the end of the church or of this tale. As if from divine intervention or heavenly providence the church was spared, plucked from the clutches of sure destruction and pulled from the waters. The church was hoisted and hauled to its present location near Knottsville, West Virginia. Worshipers once again filled its halls and the tiny church can now be seen as a symbol of rebirth and new hope.

I do not have definitive proof this event actually occurred, although some clues maybe gathered from the Federal Geographic Names Information System. According to the site found here the name of the church as been changed many times over its history. Some of the other names include Riverside Church and Cecil Church. These names seem rather odd considering the present location of the church miles from both a river and the location of Cecil. This evidence coupled with different sources speaking to it validity I tend believe the story to be true. The church in question can be seen in the following photographs. If anyone has any further information on the church please add a post or send an email.

Photos by K.A. Pitzer

Pre-Dam Maps

2009-03-16T23:13:00.000-07:00

These map were created before the construction of the dam. It may be a testament to the size and importance of these small towns that they where placed on this maps. On the first map you can clearly see Yates, Stonehouse, Cecil, and Cove Run depicted on the map. The only town that may have existed but not placed on the map was the town of Sandy. It, however, can be seen on the second map along with Cecil and Yates.

Map #1 created in 1921

Map #2 created in 1922

Cecil Bridge

2009-02-01T00:41:00.000-08:00

Areas once connected by bridges along the Tygart river where forever severed when the dam was built. The bottom half of Taylor County was in effect split in two by the rising river waters. Easy passage from one side of the river to the other was no longer possible. All of the connections forged between individuals or communities would be broken or drastically changed forever. This separation can be seen in a story that appeared in a local newspaper on June 24, 1937 describing the dismantling of the Cecil Bridge. According to the story, “dismantling of the Cecil bridge, made necessary by the construction of the Tygart Lake reservoir dam, has been ordered by the State Road Commission, and the span will be stored in its new location just about the Carr China company property in Park view.” The story goes on to state that the bridge would be re-erected near the “pottery.” It does not appear that the bridge was ever reassembled. There was, however, a small swinging bridge that connected Park View to the end of Maple Avenue. The remains can be seen in this photo. Connections between parts of the county where lost never to be rebuilt just like the bridge at Cecil.

Train Schedule

2009-01-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

This B & O train schedule describes the various stops traveling from Grafton to Belington. As you can see the train stopped in Cecil as well as Cove run both of which are now covered by water. The schedule neglects to mention the other three communities that where located down the valley. They may not have been large enough to deem necessary a train station. Cove run which is located in Barbour County my have been a stop merely for train servicing reasons. I have yet to run across any evidence that Cove Run was an actual community, however, the search continues.

Scene of Destruction

2009-01-21T21:16:00.000-08:00

During a trip to the West Virginia University Downtown library I ran across this picture. It graphically demonstrates the effects the building of the dam had on this portion of the Tygart River Valley. It appears that this photograph was taken shortly after the gates of the dam where closed for the first time. As you can clearly see, peoples homes are floating in the rising waters. Looking out at the still waters of the lake, it is easy to forget what was lost when the lake was born. This picture remines us of what once was.

Cecil Moved Away

2009-01-17T23:02:00.000-08:00

Cecil was once a “happy and prosperous community that might some day become as large a city as Grafton.” In fact as many as 400 people once lived in the town of Cecil. A Canadian owned coal mine was the main employer in the community. This, however, would change in 1923 when the company abruptly closed the mine, dismantling many of the buildings it had erected. According to the Postmaster, Mr. Balebridge* the population of Cecil dropped from 400 down to 50 in a months time. The town was no longer one of “hustle and hurry” and the “mercantile business was not what it once was.” The post office and store remained after the mine had moved on.

This newspaper article puts a new twist on the story of this small town. The real danger to Cecil may not have been rising water but in fact the loss of jobs. It is unclear thus far in my research what happened to Cecil for the next eleven years before the flooding of the valley. This story does shed some light on the approximate size and the types of buildings located within the town.

*This may or may not be correct the document is difficult to read

Cecil Revealed

2009-01-13T23:19:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken in Cecil, WV around the turn of the century. Unfortunately the angle of the photo does not reveal much of the actual town, however, it does show a few buildings in the background as well as a some of Cecil's residents. Also notice the small "Cecil" sign in the middle of the picture. This photograph was found in the archives of the U.S. Corps of Engineers office located above the Tygart Dam.

Honor Sage of Cecil

2009-01-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

During a recent trip the library I ran across an old news story which was first published in The Grafton Sentinel. I thought that it was interesting because it concerned a man named Mr. McDaniel who had lived in Cecil. He spent most of his life tending to his farm; however, he was also involved in the Knottsville districts Board of Education and known as a poet. For nearly 57 years he lived in an around Cecil until he was forced to leave when the government took the land to construct the Tygart Dam. Mr. McDaniel, according to the news story, "relinquished (his land) with the deepest sorrow." This story may not give us much in the way of hard facts about Cecil or the other towns but it does put a human face on the effects the building of the dam had on people’s lives. I have posted the story so if anyone would like to read the entire article they can do so.

This news story was found in "The History of Taylor County" by Charles Brinkman Chapter 711a Pg. 253

Four on the River

2009-01-03T00:18:00.000-08:00

Before the construction of the Tygart Dam there where four small communities located within the valley that is now engulfed by the lake. The first, Yates, was located near the modern day swimming area of Tygart Lake. Stonehouse was the second located a little further up the lake about two coves down from Yates. The third was called Cecil and may have been the largest of four communities according to my preliminary research and it was located in modern day Hailslip Cove. Cecil as a whole my not have been swallowed up by the lake, however, it seemed to have disappeared from the maps after the forming of the lake. The fourth small town was referred to as Sandy and was located close to the lakes head waters. It appears to have been located around the line where the lake flows from Barbour into Taylor County. It is unclear thus far in my research if these locations where small towns or only small groupings of houses but what is clear is that they where once real places where people lived there lives.

As you can see I have added a map to give a better idea of the locations of these towns. I researched and found the coordinates of all four communities using the U.S. Department of Interior's Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).

Tygart Lake Dam

2008-12-29T22:46:00.000-08:00

The Tygart Lake Dam was completed in 1938. The dam was designed to provide flood protection for the Tygart River Valley as well as for the Monongahela and upper Ohio rivers. Although the benefits of the Dam may be unmeasurable in terms preventing the loss of lives and property, there was no doubt some negatives associated with its contruction. One of which was the flooding of many small towns along the banks of the Tygart river. The rising water forever changed the land as well as the lives of those who had to be relocated. I am interested in finding out more about these small towns that where wiped from the map over 68 years ago. If anyone has comments or information please email or post.