Bluestone National Scenic River ⓘ

Lilly was one of the first Appalachian settlements in present day West Virginia, settled by Robert and Frances Lilly in the 1700s along with Josiah Meador and their families. The Bluestone area was used by Native Americans before this time because of its abundant supply of natural resources. The area offers a wide variety of flora and fauna that is still widely enjoyed and explored today. Robert Lilly and Josiah Meadors chose the area to carve a new way of life for themselves and their families. They moved from Dublin Pulaski, Virginia, to what is present-day West Virginia. Both families settled on the Bluestone River, where they survived by subsistence farming and logging. It has been said the families arrived with a bible, an axe, and a gun and created a new life on wild and rugged land. Lilly soon became home to over thirty families.

Lilly continued to thrive until the mid 1900s when the construction of the Bluestone Dam began. Construction calculations predicted Lilly would be underwater, and residents were forced to move. Cemeteries were exhumed and moved to new locations. Buildings, churches, and homes were all destroyed or moved to new locations. A few of their foundations still remain, offering a tangible link to the families who once struggled to survive here. While walking through the old settlement of Lilly today you can still see foundations of old structures scattered throughout the area, or a coal bucket laying on the ground offering one of the only clues that a once thriving community was based here. From the original settlers a great family emerged. The Lilly family is one of the largest families in the world. Family members come each year to celebrate on the Lilly Family grounds in Flat Top to enjoy the memories and bond close to the original settlement of Lilly. The Lilly reunion began in the early 1900s and still continues today, being recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest family reunion in the world. Lilly is still a beautiful sight that can be explored and will be preserved for future generations.

The amazing ordeal of the captivity and escape of Mary Draper Ingles along the New, Kanawha, and Ohio rivers in 1755 is a widely known and often told story of colonial frontier history (read the story on New River Gorge National Park and Preserve website). This story of the horrors and hardships faced by civilians during the French and Indian war has a lesser known but just as compelling postscript occurring in 1782 on the upper Bluestone River during the American Revolutionary War.

Thomas Ingles was carried into captivity by warriors of the Shawnee nation at age four along with his two year brother George, and mother, Mary Draper Ingles. The Shawnee were returning to their home villages in southern Ohio near present day Chillicothe. Their route bypassed the New River Gorge by traveling upstream along the Bluestone River from its confluence with the New River near present day Hinton. Their route would have followed the path which is now the Bluestone Turnpike Trail of the Bluestone National Scenic River.

This part of Mary Draper Ingle's journey, at least to a parent, would have been the most stressful to complete. If her children had been too loud, slow, or uncooperative they would almost certainly be killed in front of her eyes in order to prevent the raiding war party from being overtaken by a rescue party from the settlements they had just attacked.

Upon reaching the Shawnee towns along the Ohio River, Thomas and George were taken from their mother and as was a custom with captives of many Indian nations, adopted into separate families and villages within the tribe. According to family history it was later learned that George died not long after the separation from his mother, but Thomas was fully absorbed into the tribe and spent the next thirteen years of his life as a Shawnee. Thomas's bond was so complete that he lost his knowledge of English and seemed to have forgotten all memories of his former life and parents.

When Mary Draper Ingles was reunited with her husband William they resumed their lives on the frontier raising a new family but never forgetting their lost son Thomas. Twelve years after his abduction, during a peaceful period on the frontier, William Ingles negotiated and paid to have Thomas returned to the settlements, but Thomas ran away from the man bringing him back to his parents and returned to his Shawnee family. William's next attempt was a personal journey to the Shawnee towns, and this time at age seventeen William agreed to return with his father.

Although reunited with his mother and father, Thomas struggled to readjust to their world, relearn their language, and become an adult. Thomas's life moved forward with the frontier, and by 1782, nearing the end of the Revolutionary War, he and wife Eleanor, along with their children; Mary age 5, William 3, and newborn daughter Rhoda, were living on a subsistence farmstead at the headwaters of the Bluestone River near present day Tazewell, Virginia.

The American Revolution was more than just a struggle between the infant United States and Great Britain. The Shawnee along with several other Indian Nations had allied themselves with the British in hopes of defeating the new nation and ending the settlement expansion of the frontier into their traditional hunting grounds and homelands. One of the frontlines of this war was the isolated farmsteads of the Bluestone River.

In an eerie repeat of the raid that devastated his childhood family, Thomas found himself working his farm fields one morning when Shawnee raiders attacked and burned his cabin, capturing his wife and children. Like his father before him the unarmed Thomas could only watch from a distance as his family was carried away to the Shawnee towns in Ohio. Just as his father did Thomas went to the nearest neighbors in order to get help to pursue the Shawnee and reclaim his family. This time the story ended differently when on the fifth day after the attack Thomas and a band of his fellow settlers surrounded the retreating Indians camped for the night. When Thomas and the rescuers rushed the camp at first light the Shawnee began to tomahawk the captives. Mary and William were killed, and just before Thomas ran and struck down a Shawnee warrior, the Indian tomahawked Eleanor as she tried to protect her infant child Rhoda.

When Mary Draper Ingles and husband William, then living on the New River near present day Radford, VA, received word of the attack on their son's family, William travelled with a doctor to the Bluestone settlements to help. Although badly injured, with the doctor's assistance Eleanor recovered. Thomas, Eleanor, and Rhoda stayed on the frontier eventually moving westward and settling in Tennessee.

American Indians called the Bluestone River "Momongosenka" (Big Stone River) supposedly inspired by their travels along ancient pathways through the boulder strewn lower gorge. Many native prehistoric sites, from nomadic Paleo-Indian hunting camps dating back to the times of Ice -Age mammoth and mastodon, through hundreds of generations of village and burial sites of the Archaic and Woodland cultures, to the Delaware, Cherokee and Shawnee tribes of the 1600 and 1700s, have been documented throughout the Bluestone River watershed.

In the mid 1700s European and African peoples began to explore and establish subsistence homesteads along the river. Settlers at the rivers headwaters, in present day Tazewell County, Virginia named the river Bluestone for the waters course over the blue limestone streambed. At the confluence of the Bluestone and Little Bluestone Rivers in the National Scenic River near Bluestone State Park, the lost community of Lilly once flourished before its condemnation and removal prior to the construction of Bluestone Dam. The Bluestone Turnpike, a riverbank road that evolved from the original Indian trail through the gorge, was used by those who farmed and timbered the area until the 1940s, and still serves today as the main trail access for park visitors.

The rugged and ancient Bluestone River Gorge is a richly diverse and scenic area of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Time spent in thoughtful solitude along this little mountain river offers the visitor a vestige of primitive America. There are over a thousand species of plants growing in several diverse Appalachian forest habitat types. Two hundred species of birds have been spotted in the park. The Bluestone also provides excellent areas for watching many mammal, amphibian, reptile and insect species. The riverbed habitat is alive with a carpet of macro-invertebrate aquatic species, and supports healthy populations of many warm water game and non-game fishes. The Bluestone River is classified as a High Quality Warm Water Stream by the state of West Virginia.

Extremes in topography and elevation account for the great diversity of plant life found in the park.

Check this section to learn more about the geology, geography, and ecosystems found at Bluestone National Scenic River.

Extremes in topography and elevations account for the great diversity of plant life to be found within Bluestone National Scenic River. The 1,000 deep gorge created by the Bluestone River presents a variety of habitats and microclimates for flora and fauna. The vegetation of the park is characterized by extensive upland deciduous forests and mixed conifer-deciduous forests, with smaller areas of floodplain and riparian forest.

Northern hardwood forests found at the higher elevations (above 2,000') consist of sugar maple, red maple, beech, yellow birch, basswood, and white pine. Lower elevation forests (below 2,000') consist of central hardwood forest trees such as red and white oak, tulip poplar, ash, hickory, sliver maple, elm, box elder, white pine, and Virginia pine, with flowering dogwood and witch hazel forming much of the undergrowth. Floodplain forests at the bottom of the gorge contain box elder, river birch, bitternut hickory, black walnut, and sycamore.

Several plants have been found within the Bluestone Gorge that curiously do not seem to exist in the other major river gorges in the area (the New, Meadow, and Gauley Rivers). These distinctive plants include northern white cedar, downy arrowwood, Allegheny cliff fern, and wild onion. An unusual mix of northern and southern species are present in the Bluestone Gorge. This may be primarily attributed to the northward direction of flow that allows the Bluestone River to create a corridor which allows for migration of southern species.

Invasive Species Learn more about the invasive species that threaten ecosystems within the park. more...

The headwaters of the Bluestone River begin at an elevation of 3500 feet on East River Mountain near Bluefield, Virginia and flow for 77 miles to Bluestone Lake near Hinton, West Virginia at 1409 feet. The Bluestone is a tributary of the New River, draining parts of southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia.

Bluestone National Scenic River is a 10.5 mile section of the Bluestone River in southern West Virginia created in 1988 under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Our nation's Wild and Scenic Rivers System was established for the purpose of protecting for the present, and preserving for the future, undeveloped, free-flowing rivers that possess "outstandingly remarkable" scenic, natural, cultural, geological and recreational values.

The 10.5 mile section of the Bluestone River contained within the park runs through a deep, scenic gorge cut through the surrounding mountains. The rugged gorge offers many inspiring views. A diverse mix of Southern Appalachian forest types, from oaks and hickories on the ridgetops to birch and sycamores along the riverbanks, can be found along the Bluestone.

KEY The following is the key used to indicate abundance and occurrence: C - COMMON indicates that the species can usually be seen during the season indicated. U - UNCOMMON indicates present but not certain to be seen. R - RARE indicates a very low probability on encountering the species, although not out of normal range. A - ACCIDENTAL indicates that the species is out of its normal range. P - PERMANENT RESIDENT indicates that the species remains in the park year-round. S - SUMMER indicates that the species can be found in the park during the summer months. W - WINTER indicates that the species can be found in the park during the winter months. T - TRANSIENT indicates migratory birds, usually seen spring and fall. LOONS - HERONS Common Loon - U W Pied-billed Grebe - C W Double-crested Cormorant- R W Great Blue Heron - P C Green Heron - S C WATERFOWL Mute Swan- T R Canada Goose- P C Wood Duck - P C Green Winged Teal - W C American Black Duck - W C Mallard - P C Northern Pintail - W R Blue-winged Teal - W C Gadwall - T U American Wigeon - T U Canvasback - T U Redhead - T U Ringed-neck Duck - T C Lesser Scaup - T C Common Goldeneye - T C Bufflehead - T C Ruddy Duck - T C Common Merganser - TU Red-breasted Merganser - T U Hooded Merganser - TU AMERICAN VULTURES Black Vulture - S U Turkey Vulture - P C EAGLES AND HAWKS Osprey - T U Bald Eagle - T R Northern Harrier - T W Sharp Shinned Hawk - P C Coopers Hawk - P U Red-shouldered Hawk - P C Broad-winged Hawk - S C Red-tailed Hawk - P C Rough-legged Hawk - P U Golden Eagle - T R American Kestrel - P C Peregrine Falcon - T R GAME BIRDS Ruffed Grouse - P C Wild Turkey - P C Northern Bobwhite - P U SHOREBIRDS Killdeer - P C Solitary Sandpiper -T C Spotted Sandpiper - S C Ringed-billed Gull - T C DOVES Rock Dove - P C Mourning Dove - P C CUCKOOS Black Billed Cuckoo - S U Yellow Billed Cuckoo - S C OWLS Eastern Screech Owl - P U Great Horned Owl- PU Barred Owl - P C NIGHTHAWKS, SWIFTS Common Nighthawk - S U Whip-poor-will - S U Chimney Swift - S C HUMMINGBIRDS, KINGFISHERS Ruby-throated Hummingbird - S C Belted Kingfisher - P C WOODPECKERS Red-bellied Woodpecker - P C Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - W U Downy Woodpecker - P C Hairy Woodpecker - P C Northern Flicker- P C Pileated Woodpecker - P C Red-headed Woodpecker - P R FLYCATCHERS Eastern Wood-pewee - S C Acadian Flycatcher - S C Willow Flycatcher - S U Least Flycatcher - S U Eastern Phoebe - S C Great-Crested Flycatcher - S C Eastern Kingbird- S C LARKS, SWALLOWS Horned Lark - P R Purple Martin - S U Tree Swallow - S C Rough-winged Swallow - S C Bank Swallow - S C Cliff Swallow - S C Barn Swallow - S C CROWS, JAYS Blue Jay - P C American Crow - P C Common Raven - P U CHICKADEES, TITMICE Black-capped Chickadee - P C Carolina Chickadee - P C Tufted Titmouse - P C NUTHATCHES, CREEPERS Red-breasted Nuthatch -W U White-breasted Nuthatch - P C Brown Creeper - P C WRENS Carolina Wren - P C House Wren - P C Winter Wren - W U KINGLETS, GNATCATCHERS Gold-crowned Kinglet - W C Ruby-crowned Kinglet - W C Blue-gray Gnatcatcher- S C THRUSHES Eastern Bluebird - P C Veery - T R Gray-Cheeked Thrush - T R Swainson's Thrush - S R Hermit Thrush - W U Wood Thrush - S C American Robin - S C MIMICS Gray Catbird - S C Northern Mockingbird - P C Brown Thrasher - S C WAXWINGS, STARLINGS, SHRIKES Cedar Waxwing - P U European Starling - P C Loggerhead Shrike - S R VIREOS White-eyed Vireo - S C Blue-headed Vireo - S U Yellow Throated Vireo - S U Warbling Vireo - S U Red-eyed Vireo - S C WARBLERS Blue-winged Warbler - S U Gold-winged Warbler - S C Tennessee Warbler - T R Nashville Warbler - T R Northern Parula - S U Yellow Warbler - S C Magnolia Warbler - W C Cape May Warbler - T R Black throated Blue Warbler - S U Black-throated Green Warbler -S U Blackburnian Warbler -T U Yellow-throated Warbler - S U Pine Warbler - S U Prairie Warbler - S C Palm Warbler - T U Bay-breasted Warbler - T U Blackpoll Warbler - T U Cerulean Warbler - S C Black & White Warbler - S C American Redstart- S C Prothonotary Warbler - S U Worm-eating Warbler - S C Swainson's Warbler - S R Ovenbird -S C Northern Waterthrush - T R Louisiana Waterthrush - S C Kentucky Warbler - S C Common Yellowthroat - S C Hooded Warbler - S C Wilson's Warbler - T R Canada Warbler - S U Yellow Breasted Chat - S C TANAGERS Summer Tanager - S U Scarlet Tanager - S C CARDINALS, GROSSBEAKS Northern Cardinal - P C Rose-breasted Grosbeak - S U Blue Grosbeak - S U Indigo Bunting - S C SPARROWS Eastern Towhee - P C American Tree Sparrow - W U Chipping Sparrow - S C Field Sparrow - P C Vesper Sparrow - S U Savannah Sparrow - S U Grasshopper Sparrow - S U Fox Sparrow - T U Song Sparrow - P C Swamp Sparrow - W U White-throated Sparrow - W C White-crowned Sparrow -W U Dark-eyed Junco - W C BLACKBIRDS Red-winged Blackbird - P C Eastern Meadowlark - P C Common Grackle - P C Brown-headed Cowbird - S C Baltimore Oriole - S C FINCHES Purple Finch - W U House Finch- P C Pine Siskin - W U American Goldfinch - P C Evening Grosbeak - W C WEAVERS House Sparrow - P C

The Bluestone Turnpike Trail is a 9.5-mile moderate hiking trail that follows the path of an old riverbank road. Farmed and timbered until the 1940's, this forested area now has a great diversity of plants and river wildlife. Remnants of the area's human history remain, waiting to be discovered by observant hikers. The Bluestone Turnpike Trail connects on the north end with Bluestone State Park's campground road, just past the Old Mill Campground. On the south end at Pipestem Resort State Park , this trail connects with the Farley Loop Trail and River Trail. These trails can be accessed from the Mountain Creek Lodge, at the base of the tram at Pipestem Resort State Park.

Hiking along the Bluestone River NPS photo/Dave Bieri Hunting is permitted during certain seasons. Hikers are advised to wear blaze orange during these periods. This trail connects Bluestone State Park and Pipestem Resort State Park. These state parks also offer good hiking trails.

Check out the Ranger Programs page to find out more about ranger guided hikes in the park. Also look at the Hiking Safety Page before taking a hike at Bluestone National Scenic River.

Hunting is permitted during certain seasons. Hikers are advised to wear blaze orange during these periods. This trail connects Bluestone State Park and Pipestem Resort State Park. These state parks also offer good hiking trails. Check out the Ranger Programs page to find out more about ranger guided hikes in the park.