About the Area
Monongahela National Forest was established following passage of the 1911 Weeks Act, which authorized the federal purchase of land for long-term watershed protection, forest restoration, and natural resource management. We hope your visit to our website will encourage you to explore the Monongahela National Forest.
Monongahela National Forest was established following passage of the 1911 Weeks Act, which authorized the federal purchase of land for long-term watershed protection, forest restoration, and natural resource management.
In 1915, 7,200 acres in the mountains near Parsons, West Virginia, were acquired by the federal government and called the Monongahela Purchase. Monongahela National Forest was officially designated April 28, 1920, incorporating the original purchase tract. Over the years, additional lands were acquired within the 1.7 million-acre proclamation boundary of the Forest. Today, the Forest includes more than 919,000 acres in 10 counties in the West Virginia highlands.
The Monongahela National Forest is considered by The Nature Conservancy to be in an area of global ecological importance. Much of this diversity can be attributed to the wide variations in elevation and the resulting patterns of precipitation.
Most of the weather patterns approach the Forest from the west where they are forced up and over the Appalachian Mountains that form the spine of Monongahela National Forest. The western side of the Forest receives about 60 inches of precipitation per year while the "rain shadow" side on the east receives half of that.
The Forest’s mountain ranges mostly lie in a northeast to southwest pattern. The lowest part of the Forest is on the eastern side and is about 1,000 feet above sea level, while the central portion of the Forest includes Spruce Knob, the state's highest peak, at 4,863 feet. Rivers and streams throughout the Forest act as a travel corridor for both plants and animals. Elevation changes on the slope of a single mountain ridge cause micro-climates as indicated by vegetation ranges.
The biological complexity is evident — at least 75 tree species; more than 225 bird species; 8 federally-listed, threatened or endangered bird, bat, salamander, and plant species; 60 nongame/forage fish species; 12 game fish species; and numerous other wildlife species inhabit the Forest.
The natural resources of the Forest have a wide number of uses, ranging from extensive recreational opportunities to timber harvesting, from livestock grazing to mineral extraction, and from clean drinking water to a relaxing getaway destination.
The following links for West Virginia state agencies or county tourism organizations that can help you plan your trip.
State of West Virginia Offices
- West Virginia Tourism Office
Phone: 1-800-CALL-WVA or (304) 558-2200 - West Virginia Division of Forestry
- West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
- West Virginia State Parks, Forests and Rail Trails
Information by County
Barbour
Grant
Greenbrier
Nicholas
Pendleton
Pocahontas
Preston
Randolph
Tucker
Webster
The origins of the names of the Forest, Ranger Districts, and some of the features on the Monongahela are interesting to many folks, but are frequently somewhat hazy or subject to a variety of interpretations. Most of the following is based on a book entitled, “West Virginia Place Names” by Hammill Kenney.
The names of the Forest and the Cheat, Gauley, Greenbrier and Potomac Districts were derived from major rivers, reflecting the emphasis placed on river and water protection when establishing the National Forests.
Although none of the Forest is on the main stem of the Monongahela River, much of the original purchase unit and of the area actually designated as National Forest in 1920 was within the Monongahela Basin. Major flood damage on this river, particularly in Pittsburgh, contributed greatly to passage of the Weeks Act of 1911, which authorized purchase of lands for National Forest purposes. “Monongahela” reportedly came from one of several interpretations or spellings of one or more American Indian (presumably Delaware) words such as “Mehmannauwinggelan”, “Menaungehilla”, or “Meh-non-ge-heh-lal” which have been translated into phrases such as “many landslides”, “high banks or bluffs, breaking off and falling down in places”, or “places of caving or falling banks” which may have originally referred to the point of the junction between the Monongahela and Youghiogheny Rivers at McKeesport, PA (near Pittsburgh) or to the river in general. The most commonly quoted meaning appears to be “the river of falling banks.”
The Cheat River is variously reported to have been named for a French explorer (or an Indian) named Cheat or Chaet; from an abundance of cheat grass along its banks (possibly a misidentification of frost-killed wheat); or from deceptively deep pools that presumably cheated men of their lives by drowning them. None of these theories appears to be very satisfactory, but the one referring to deep pools and drowning is most often mentioned. (One article has stated that Cheat Mountain got its name because so many loggers had been cheated of their lives while working on it, an apparent variation of the river story.) The Delaware Indian name was reportedly “Ach-sin-ha-nac” meaning stony river.
“Gauley” apparently reflects the early French presence in the Ohio River area during the 1700s. Much of western Europe, including France, was once called Gaul and the name has been applied to France itself. The Delaware Indian name for the river is reported to have been “To-ke-bel-lo-ke” meaning “falling creek.”
The Greenbrier River was evidently named first by the French as “Ronce Verte” (literally “brier green”) which the English translated to Greenbrier. The name apparently referred to an abundance of greenbrier vines along the river, but the French word “ronce” is also translated as “bramble”, so it might be argued that the name referred to blackberry bushes or some other plant.
“Potomac” reportedly came from an Indian name variously interpreted as “place of burning pine”, “they are coming by water”, or “something brought.” (Translation of Indian names is apparently not an expert science.) The portion above the mouth of the Shenandoah was presumably known to the Indians as “Cohongoronto” meaning “wild goose”, while the South Branch (which includes much of the Potomac District) was called “Wappocomo” or “Wappatomaka.” One source suggests that the “wap” portion is an Algonquin word meaning “white”, but it doesn’t give a further translation.
The White Sulphur District, established in 1934, was mostly in the Greenbrier drainage, but the name “Greenbrier” was already taken. We don’t know just why the name “White Sulphur” was selected, since the headquarters were in Marlinton. There may have been plans to eventually move to White Sulphur Springs, but the District was apparently never officially called the “White Sulphur Springs District.”
The Marlinton District, which was established from parts of the Gauley and White Sulphur Districts in 1957, naturally took its name from the town. Marlinton, originally called Marlin’s Bottom, was named for Jacob Marlin, who lived in a cabin there in 1750-51. He and Stephen Sewell, the first settlers in the area, lived together in a cabin until they had a falling out, presumably over religion, and Sewell moved into a hollow sycamore. Residents apparently didn’t think “Marlin’s Bottom” was an appropriate name for a growing town and changed it to Marlinton in 1887.