What was it like to be black in West Virginia in the 19th and 20th centuries? The National Park Service asks and answers this question via an African American Heritage Tour through West Virginia’s New River Gorge region. Featuring 17 stops across four counties, the tour can be taken in person (by car) or virtually (by computer). Either way, it provides a fascinating, often sobering glimpse of West Virginia’s past that is well worth your time and attention.

Stops on the African American Heritage tour include a variety of sites with historic significance, like the first African American 4-H camp in the United States, Camp Washington Carver in Clifftop.
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At the abandoned ghost town of Nuttallburg, learn what life was like for African Americans in the West Virginia coal camps.
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Visit the site of the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster and the graves of the hundreds of African Americans who perished of silicosis (caused by inhalation of silica used in the mine) as a result.
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Along the way, you'll also hear insight into how religion, education, segregation, and healthcare factored into the experience of many African Americans in West Virginia.
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The tour even encompasses other elements of African American culture, including their unique contributions to Appalachian music.
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All told, the tour features 17 fascinating stops. It's a thorough, thoughtful journey through history that can be taken by car next time you're up for a daytrip.
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Alternatively, you can also take the tour virtually from the comfort of your own home by looking through photo galleries provided by the National Park Service while listening to the audio excerpts that detail each featured stop.

So charge up your device, download the audio snippets for each tour stop here (or get a free CD of them from the New River Gorge Visitors Center), and head out for a day of exploring (or a few hours of online perusing)! The tour is also available on the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve app.

Have you taken this tour before? What was your favorite stop? Another that we didn’t mention in this article is the Big Bend Tunnel, where American Legend John Henry Raced A Machine In A West Virginia Tunnel With His Last Breath, And Won.

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