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Visit a section of river between Fairfax Stone and Westernport...
Fairfax Stone
Kempton, Md.
Potomac State Forest
Jennings Randolph Lake
Savage River
Westernport, Md. |
Near the base of Backbone Mountain in West Virginia, the Potomac River trickles out of a spring 3,140 feet above sea level. Marked by the Fairfax Stone, the spring is not much more than a slow moving puddle. From here the river begins its swift decent through the highlands of West Virginia and Maryland, joined by other streams flowing quickly off the steep slopes. By the time it is joined by the Savage River forty-six miles from the source, it has already dropped 2,000 feet in elevation.
For more than150 years, coal has been mined from rich seams in the horizontally bedded sedimentary rocks. Acidic drainage flowing from coal mines in the area has left the river mostly devoid of aquatic life for much of recent history, but efforts to buffer the water draining from active and abandoned mines has reduced the acidity considerably and fish have begun to return. A very successful hatchery operates at the base of the Jennings Randolph Reservoir's dam and the North Branch now supports a naturally reproducing trout population. The area's growing reputation as a trout fishery has helped to ease the economic hardship of closed industries.
The small towns in the area were born from the coal and timber booms that began at the end of the ninteenth century and continued through the early twentieth century. Demand for the region's coal began a precipitous decline in the late 1920s and by the 1950s many of the mines had closed, leaving towns like Kempton and Kitzmiller nearly deserted. The "Tri-towns" of Luke and Westernport, Md, and Piedmont, W.Va., are the only towns along this stretch of the Potomac that can count their combined population in thousands. This community is supported predominantly by employment at the Mead/Westvaco Corporation paper mill in Luke.
The area is filled with a sense of untamed wilderness. It is a paradise for hikers and birders with nearby Potomac Highlands Park and other natural areas to explore. |
