Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park

38°06′45″N 80°16′19″W / 38.11250°N 80.27194°W / 38.11250; -80.27194Area287 acres (116 ha)Elevation3,104 ft (946 m)EstablishedJuly 4, 1928^[2]Named forBattle of Droop MountainGoverning bodyWest Virginia Division of Natural ResourcesWebsitewvstateparks.com/park/droop-mountain-battlefield-state-park/ Nearest cityMarlinton, West VirginiaCoordinates38°6′36″N 80°16′20″W / 38.11000°N 80.27222°W / 38.11000; -80.27222NRHP reference No.70000664Added to NRHPJanuary 26, 1970^[3]

Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park is a state park located on Droop Mountain in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. The park was the site of the Battle of Droop Mountain, the last major battle of the American Civil War in the state taking place on November 6, 1863. John D. Sutton, a West Virginia private in the Union Army at the battle, became the leader in the movement to create the park when he served in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Dedicated on July 4, 1928, Droop Mountain Battlefield became the first state park in West Virginia.^[4]

The battlefield was transformed into a historical, outdoor recreation area by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Public reenactments of the battle have been conducted in October of some ^[which?] even-numbered years by the West Virginia Reenactors Association.^{[5][failed verification]}

The park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.^[3]

Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park is located about 25 miles (40 km) north of the Lewisburg exit of I-64 on U.S. Highway 219 and about 15 miles (24 km) south of Marlinton on US 219. The park is also near Beartown State Park and Watoga State Park.

Features

• Droop Mountain Museum with battle artifacts
• Lookout Tower
• hiking
• Picnic areas with shelters
• Tots playgrounds

Gallery

• 
  Cannon
• 
  Confederate Graves
• 
  Log Cabin

See also

• American Civil War
• Battle of Droop Mountain
• List of West Virginia state parks
• State park
• West Virginia in the American Civil War

References

Further reading

• Boge, Georgie and Margie Holder Boge. Paving Over the Past: A History and Guide to Civil War Battlefield Preservation. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1993. ISBN 9781559631921
• Cook, Roy B. “The Battle of Droop Mountain.” Archived 2020-09-14 at the Wayback Machine West Virginia Review. October 1928.
• Lowry, Terry. Last Sleep: The Battle of Droop Mountain. Charleston, WV: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1996. ISBN 9781575100241
• “Program - Dedication of the Droop Mountain Battlefield as a State Park.” The Pocahontas Times. June 28, 1928.
• Report of the Droop Mountain Battlefield Commission. Charleston, WV: Jarrett Printing Co., 1928.
• Shaffer, Dallas B. The Battle at Droop Mountain. Charleston, WV: Department of Natural Resources.
• Smith, Timothy B. Altogether Fitting and Proper: Civil War Battlefield Preservation in History, Memory, and Policy, 1861-2015. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2017. ISBN 9781621903116
• Snell, Mark A. West Virginia and the Civil War: Mountaineers Are Always Free. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2011. ISBN 9781596298880
• “State Park Dedicated - Big Crowd Celebrates the Fourth on Droop.” The Pocahontas Times. July 12, 1928.
• West Virginia State Park History Committee. Where People and Nature Meet: A History of the West Virginia State Parks. Charleston, WV: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1988. ISBN 9780933126916

External links

Federal

National Parks	New River Gorge
National Historical Parks	Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Harpers Ferry
National Forests	George Washington and Jefferson Monongahela
National Recreation Areas	Gauley River (NPS) Spruce Knob–Seneca Rocks (USFS)
National Wildlife Refuges	Canaan Valley Ohio River Islands
National Trails System	Appalachian National Scenic Trail
National Preserves	New River Gorge
Wilderness Areas	Big Draft Wilderness Cranberry Wilderness Dolly Sods Wilderness Laurel Fork North Wilderness Laurel Fork South Wilderness Mountain Lake Wilderness Otter Creek Wilderness Roaring Plains Wilderness Spice Run Wilderness
National Rivers	Bluestone NSR

State

State parks	Audra Babcock Beartown Beech Fork Berkeley Springs Blackwater Falls Blennerhassett Island Bluestone Cacapon Resort Camp Creek Canaan Valley Resort Carnifex Ferry Battlefield Cass Scenic Railroad Cathedral Cedar Creek Chief Logan Droop Mountain Battlefield Fairfax Stone Greenbrier River Trail Hawks Nest Holly River Little Beaver Lost River Moncove Lake North Bend Rail Trail North Bend Pinnacle Rock Pipestem Resort Prickett's Fort Stonewall Jackson Lake Tomlinson Run Tu-Endie-Wei Twin Falls Resort Tygart Lake Valley Falls Watoga Watters Smith Memorial
Former state parks	Booker T. Washington Grandview Grave Creek Mound James Rumsey Monument Mingo Oak Mont Chateau Morgan Morgan Monument
State forests	Cabwaylingo Calvin Price Camp Creek Coopers Rock Greenbrier Kanawha Kumbrabow Seneca
Wildlife management areas	Allegheny Amherst-Plymouth Anawalt Lake Bear Rocks Lake Becky Creek Beech Fork Lake Berwind Lake Beury Mountain Big Ditch Big Ugly Bluestone Burches Run Burnsville Lake Castleman Run Lake Cecil H. Underwood Center Branch Cheat Canyon Chief Cornstalk Conaway Run Lake Cross Creek Dents Run Dunkard Fork East Lynn Lake Edwards Run Elk Creek Elk River Fairfox Pond-Rehe Fort Mill Ridge Fox Forest Frozen Camp Green Bottom Handley Hilbert Hillcrest Horse Creek Hughes River Huttonsville State Farm The Jug Lantz Farm and Nature Preserve Laurel Lake Lewis Wetzel Little Indian Creek McClintic Meadow River Mill Creek Moncove Lake Morris Creek Nathaniel Mountain Panther Pedlar Pleasant Creek Plum Orchard Lake Pruntytown State Farm R.D. Bailey Lake Ritchie Mines Sand Hill Shannondale Springs Short Mountain Slatyfork Sleepy Creek Smoke Camp Snake Hill South Branch Stonecoal Lake Stonewall Jackson Lake Stumptown Summersville Lake Tate Lohr Teter Creek Lake Thorn Creek Tug Fork Turkey Run Upper Deckers Creek Upper Mud River Valley Bend Wetlands Wallback Widmeyer Woodrum Lake
Other WVDNR sites	West Virginia State Wildlife Center

Local

Municipal parks	Cameron City Pool Camp Mad Anthony Wayne Fries Park James Rumsey Monument Magic Island Marland Heights Park Memorial Park Oglebay Park Ritter Park Staunton Park Wheeling Park

Non-
governmental

Nature Conservancy preserves	Bear Rocks Brush Creek Cranesville Swamp Greenland Gap Hungry Beech Ice Mountain Mount Porte Crayon Murphy Panther Knob Pike Knob Slaty Mountain Upper Shavers Fork Yankauer