West Virginia

The Cacapon State Park Bathhouse, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), is sensitively hidden on its site slightly above Cacapon Lake. Easily accessible by day patrons as well as those staying overnight, the road to the building is just off the main entrance to the park and has ample parking.

Across from the Old Inn along Saddle Lane sit three miniature log buildings next to the Superintendent’s Residence. These display models, built circa 2012, are replicas of the structures built by the CCC in 1935. A tower and a cabin accompany another cabin model, which itself is a replica of the original small model of 1935. It was built for advertising and, as its raised lattice-skirted base and hitch suggest, was hauled behind a vehicle during parades, including the local Tomato Festival.

Although no longer staffed, this gatehouse still formally marks the entrance to Cacapon State Park directly off U.S. 522. Built of stacked, somewhat irregular limestone blocks, the small structure has accents of dark brown wood at the windows, fletched siding in the front gable, and curved thick braces and timbers form the front porch ceiling supports. This porch lends a slight domestic touch to the stolid structure. A warm red asphalt shingle roof covers the stone building.

The Old Inn at Cacapon State Park was the first overnight lodge in the West Virginia state park system. Located just off the main axis road of the park, not far from the main entrance, the inn is close to tennis courts, a playground, and Cacapon Lake. The original building consisted of a two-story gable-roofed section that ran east–west and housed the dining room, kitchen, and stairs. A smaller parallel one-story, gabled-roofed component was attached to the kitchen and housed a pantry and storage room.

Only the intrepid hiker will encounter this 1840s log house built in the Midland Tradition and set high in the hills of the Lost River State Park. The structure predates the founding of West Virginia. Although not a New Deal structure, the settler house, today generally known as the Bill Tussing Cabin, was referred to as a Pioneer Cabin in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) drawings for 3,712-acre state park.

This two-story, gambrel-roofed riding stable was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as part of the new Lost River State Park in 1935. Along with the new riding stable, park plans included hiking trails, cabins for overnight stays, and several other recreation buildings that would be constructed over a two-year period.

This picturesque shelter in Lost River State Park is the iconic Cranny Crow Overlook of stacked stone and mortar on three sides with a saltbox roof of corrugated metal over wood. Constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the east and west sides feature slightly arched openings with arched stone caps set under the gable while the rear has a horizontal rectangular “picture window” of stone. The sides form a support for the roof that overhangs the rear of the structure.

This saltbox-roofed shelter, a typical style within the state, is in a little clearing on White Oak Trail in Lost River State Park. It provides a simple board seat and a magnificent vantage point overlooking several mountain ridges to the south. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed this three-sided, square-log structure using mortise and tenon joints held together with wood pegs. A corner brace helps support the asphalt-clad roof overhang in the front. The gable ends are enclosed by horizontal wood planks.