Mill Creek Falls and Gorge
Fewer than five miles from the state capitol, this 15-acre woodland preserves one of the lesser-known scenic resources in the lower Kanawha Valleythe falls of Mill Creek and its gorge. Near Coonskin Park, the Elk River Trail, and West Virginia International Yeager Airport, the property is ideally suited for tourism or residential development. The state proposed in 1965 that the falls and surrounding gorge be preserved as a park, though the property remains in the care of private owners and has been managed only as a Charleston-area retreat.
The acreage includes its namesake waterfalls as well as cliffs and caves, the stone ruins of a millers house, and a two-acre flat that has been developed as a camping area. Other highlights include a tree house and towering oaks, beeches, and hemlocks that shade an understory of fern, mosses, and rhododendron.
HISTORY
As early as the 1820s, a mill ...
As early as the 1820s, a mill was established at the falls to serve farmers on the lower Elk River. Its 20-foot drop provided a source of water power that served a series of mills into the early 20th century. During the Civil War, when Charleston was occupied by Confederate troops, a band of soldiers attempted to commandeer the miller's horses. According to legend, he was able to hide his string in caves in the surrounding gorge.
Even after the demise of milling in the 1920s, the falls remained a favorite hiking and picnicking spot. Yet, the development of new roads in the area circumvented the mill grounds, and the scenic gorge and its falls were forgotten by many. In 1939, Charleston businessman Edward F. Kotch began assembling properties in and around the falls in hopes of creating a retreat, though his plans never came to fruition. The property has since remained in the hands of stewards who have preserved its scenic nature.
ABOUT MILL CREEK AND ITS FALLS
Mill Creek descends over nine winding miles through the forests that extend southeast of the Elk River. Near its mouth, at the property, the creek enters a wooded canyon some 200 feet deep. Its geology is more typical of the higher mountains east toward the New River Gorge and features sandstone cliffs and tumbled boulders. Unlike many other streams in the region, its bed is smooth and rocky rather than muddy and accommodates wading.
Two layers of sandstone outcrop in the gorge. The upper strata form extensive cliffs along the canyon walls. The lower strata form the waterfall and the bed of the stream, which is alternately smooth and pebbly and accommodates wading. At the falls, the creek drops 20 feet over the lower layer of sandstone, plunging into a pool and smooth bed of rock. Three hundred feet downstream, it drops another five feet over a second waterfall on its course to the Elk River.
ABOUT THE TREEHOUSE
Built in 2005 by Treehouse Masters affiliate Jonathan Farrow of Living Tree, the treehouse is raised on three mature trees 25 feet above the driveway and 60 feet above the falls. Sided in cedar shakes and roofed in metal, the treehouse cabin is secured to a 16-x-20-foot platform and includes a single 10-x-12-foot room with a sleeping loft. Anderson windows provide exceptional views of the property in all directions.
The treehouse was designed to take advantage of the view of the falls while preserving the viewshed of the falls from other angles. The cabin is wired for 100 amp service. The treehouse is currently accessible by ladder.
ABOUT THE CAMPGROUND
A level field of approximately one acre has been maintained as a creekside camping and picnicking area. Above the floodplain, it has been proposed as a homesite area. Once the site of the miller's residence, stone ruins at a corner of the campground area include a cold cellar with a steeply pitched stone roof, notably uncharacteristic of the area. The campground area is accessed directly by the graveled driveway that leads approximately a quarter mile from the entrance.
ABOUT THE CLIFFS AND CAVES
The south-facing wall of the gorge is lined with cliffs and caves, including an overhanging rock shelter extending more than 200 feet along the gorge wall. This relatively large shelter, also known as a crepuscular or "twilight" cave, may have been used by prehistoric and early historic inhabitants of the region, though no archaeological investigation has been performed. A portion of the cliffs includes areas of honeycomb weathering. These rocky areas are accessible by footpaths that wander up the steep wall of the gorge from the creekside.
HISTORY & PREHISTORY
Though no study of the property has been performed, archaeologists have identified evidence of several cultures in the region, notably a mound-building culture that may have inhabited the region from about 800 B.C. to 500 A.D. These people raised large ceremonial mounds in valley areas, including large extant mounds at Dunbar and South Charleston and a small mound nearby at Pinch. Various native groups lived and hunted the area until the early 1800s. The Shawnee of the Ohio Country in the late 1700s contested Virginian settlers for control of the land. Indian Creek, which parallels Mill Creek one mile to the northeast, was named for a Native American trail that traversed the area.
As early as the 1820s, a grist mill was established at the falls to serve farmers on the lower Elk River and along the nearby Kanawha. Its drop provided a source of water power that served a series of mills that existed here into the early 20th century. During the Civil War, when the Kanawha Valley near Charleston was occupied by Confederate troops, a band of soldiers attempted to commandeer the horses that belonged to the miller. According to legend, he was able to hide his string in caves in the surrounding gorge.
After the demise of milling, the falls remained a favorite picnic spot. Yet, the development of new roads in the area circumvented the mill grounds, and the scenic gorge and its falls were forgotten by many. In 1939, Charleston businessman Edward F. Kotch began assembling properties in and around the falls in hopes of creating a retreat, though his plans never came to fruition. The property has since remained in the hands of stewards who have preserved its scenic nature.
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