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The Coal River ran past Cliffside, just across the white board fence and county road 131 (Little Coal River Road), from right to left as you looked out from camp. Earlier campers swam there, prior to pool construction at Cliffside. There were, as I remember it, concerns about mine drainage in the river, and by the 50s we mostly used the pools (and still used the "buddy" system). Remember the tetanus and typhoid shots we had to get? ...Thanks, Barbara, for reminding me about the river swimming and the shots! There will be a picture of the river "swimming enclosure" in the Cliffside section of the page. I remember as a camper in the 'early 50s hiking a short distance upstream along the road with a counselor and group of campers, and "discovering" the double bridges. In the pictures here, you will see the two steel bridges which are located at "Forks of Coal," where two rivers come together to form the Coal River." The road past Cliffside goes under the west end of the west bridge. This bridge spans the west fork of the river (the Little Coal River). It is met on the east bank by the second, or east bridge, which spans the east fork (the Big Coal River), ending at the railroad which parallels county road 159. The whole site is between Alum Creek on the north and the new Route 119 on the south. Charleston is to the right on this map, and Route 119 continues to Logan on the left. |
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Use the "back" button from this page to return to the Cliffside page. First set of pictures is from a visit in early Spring, 2001 |
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The meeting of the footbridges between the Little (left) and Big (right) Coal Rivers. (October, 2003) |
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Patti Hunt in Indiana came across a postcard with this picture of the Little Coal River Bridge (the "west" bridge) under construction about 1920. Click for enlargement. The white house to the west end of this bridge may still be there. (Take a look on the Cliffside aerial photos...) |
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On the 2002 visit, this west bridge had severe problems at its center. The deck boards were rotted out, and a very casual repair was made. It did not look safe at all. Later in October, 2003, yet another visit showed a very sturdy repair had been made. |
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