New Martinsville, WV

Nestled between the Appalachian Mountains and the Ohio River is the charming little town of New Martinsville, WV, the home of my sister Janie and her husband Steve, and the last major stop on our roadtrip. Like all river towns, the river has a huge impact on the town. It adds a beauty to the landscape, recreation and commerce for the economy, but it also adds the threats of floods. New Martinsville shows the effects of all of these considerations.

The Ohio river is the tenth largest river in the United States and is controlled by a series of 21 lock and dams which are necessary for the river to support its commercial traffic. The sixth one of these (proceeding north to south) is the Hannibal Locks and Dam which is located at New Martinsville, WV. The city has developed the property adjacent to the reservoir with a fishing pier, walking paths, and a park. Anglers report catching large-mouth bass, bluegill, and trout.

Janie planned a great site-seeing tour for us which started at the Hannibal Locks and Dam visitor’s center and we watched as a tug pushed 8 barges, loaded with coal, through the locks and on down the Ohio river. The tug carefully maneuvered the barges into the lock, the doors closed and the water level slowly dropped. The tug, which was fully visible when it started, sank to where only the top-most level could be seen above the lock. Then the barges exited the locks and proceeded down the Ohio. The same procedure is used by locks all over the world, but that should not detract from the fact that it is still an engineering marvel and an impressive sight to witness.

From here we visited a terrific little restaurant called Marv’s Place. The historical building was built in 1894 and has been a variety of businesses (assembly point for Model A Fords, department store, shirt factory, poolroom, etc) before Marv and Ethel bought it in 1947 for their ice cream parlor and grill. In the post-depression era they often accepted payment in the form of eggs, chickens, or hay. Upon their death, the building passed to their son, Charles Merrimer, a college dean who used it as his summer home. It is still owned by the family who opened this restaurant in the 1990’s as a tribute to their grandparents. The menu is typical for a café, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, with some of the specials named for the river connection, such as The Tugboat, the Sternwheeler and the Pilot. We tried the homemade potato chips topped like nachos, the club sandwich, quesadilla and the Sizzle Steak sandwich. The potato chips were extraordinary -- very thin and deeply crisp, then the added toppings. Everything was delicious!

After our lunch adventure, we drove up the side of a mountain to Kiedaisch Point Park in Monroe County, Ohio for a birds-eye view of New Martinsville and the beautiful Ohio river running 500 feet below the point’s crest. The views were just astounding.

Later that afternoon, we drove to near-by Moundsville, WV. This town was so-name because it contains one of many large mounds, built by an ancient people who left the area in the Early Woodward period. Examples of these mounds can be seen scattered across the western half of the state. Archaeologists believe that these were burial mounds which grew over time. They started when a prominent tribe member was buried in a small mound. Descendants were then buried in layers upon the original, resulting in the mounds we see which are about 62 feet tall and 240 feet in diameter. We visited the adjacent museum and viewed artifacts that had been found there, and learned more about these ancient people which lived in the area around 1000 bc - 200 bc.

The downtown area of New Martinsville features an historic Courthouse building. Flood markers can be seen along the edge of one window – the highest was from the 1913 flood. We visited Quinet’s Court Restaurant on Main Street in New Martinsville. This mainstay of the town features a 75-item buffet of amazing southern food and desserts. Inside the restaurant, the walls are decorated with pictures of the town from the late 1800’s, with many of them depicting the largest floods of the area. The last major flood was 2004 and pictures show row boats on Main Street at the height of traffic lights. We walked along Main Street, admiring the beautiful historic buildings and we came upon what was a monument. At one time, it had been a large cannon, as many towns display. But in 1942, it was donated to the war efforts and only a plaque remains. This is another example of Americana – good people doing what they can, thinking less of their town’s wants and more of their country’s needs. On down the street, a wall lists the names of all of the town’s veterans.

We left New Martinsville with a whole new appreciation of the town. This town has had its struggles, founded originally during the boon years of oil and gas. Chemical companies have ravaged the natural resources of the area, moved in and boosted employment, then cut back and left rampant unemployment. But the good people in this town have weathered it all, and continue to preserve this wonderful, American town for our enjoyment. Thank you, Janie and Steve, for sharing your wonderful community with us.