Posted in West Virginia
February 29, 2020
This Self-Guided Walking Tour In West Virginia Passes 41 National Historic Places In Less Than A Mile
No matter who you are or where you are from, your next vacation should include a stop in Thomas, West Virginia. That’s a bold claim (that we’ve actually made before), but hear us out: it is convenient to some of the best hiking in the state (Blackwater Falls, Douglas Falls, Albert Falls, Dolly Sods), it has its own prestigious live music venue, and there are multiple excellent restaurants and shops full of beauty and local character.

You can download a free self-guided walking tour from the town's website that takes you past most of them in under a mile.

The town was hastily built due to the population boom without much thought to safety. In November 1901, nearly the whole town (81 buildings) burned to the ground in a mere couple of hours. Much more attention was given to good construction when the town was rebuilt.

In 2010, the population was 586.

This historic Buxton and Landstreet building now houses a fine arts gallery.

Information is provided about each site, including some of Thomas's unique features. "The large stone retaining wall visible above the parking lot was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and defines Thomas’s signature terraced layout. It replaced an earth slope supported by minimal wood shoring, and helped to stabilize Spruce Street. The WPA was established by the federal government in 1935 as part of the New Deal program to provide jobs during the Great Depression. The agency funded construction projects throughout the nation, including roads, bridges and state parks," one excerpt reads.

You can download the walking tour brochure at historicthomaswv.org. The self-guided tour is 0.7mi long and takes about 45 minutes. Have you visited Thomas? Which building is your favorite?
Address: Thomas, WV 26292, USA