BRUSH CREEK FALLS

Nestled in the centuries old lush green forest on Brush Creek near its junction with the Bluestone River, the roar of the water over the rocks announces Brush Creek Falls long before you see her. The thirty foot falls punctuate the power of nature in spring, though sometimes reduced to a trickle during hot, dry summers.

The Falls were part of a thriving business area during the last half of the 1800's and the early part of the 1900's. Visitors during that time would have found the hillside around the Falls covered with wooden shacks to house the timber workers of the early 1900's. Before that time there were grist and woolen mills.

Brush Creek Falls is best remembered by locals for the thriving woolen mills that operated on her banks. Wool from Mercer and surrounding counties was purchased and then processed at the Brush Creek Falls woolen mills. Once the wool was processed it was made into blankets and woolen material for dresses. The mill also made linen cloth for shirts and towels.

Shortly after 1909, the mills closed down, and the buildings were dismantled and sold to build a store near Speedway. Voices around the mighty Falls became silent, but not for long. Soon after the buildings were torn down, timber became big business in this part of Mercer County. Such big business in fact that a special railroad was built to carry lumber from Brush Creek to the Bluestone Land and Lumber Company at Gardner. There the lumber was sawed and finished into fine lumber for many of the homes in the Athens, Matoaka, and Princeton area. Within a few years, however, nature reclaimed her falls. In the early 1980's the West Virginia Chapter of Nature Conservancy acquired a total of 130 acres around Brush Creek Falls to establish a nature preserve. Today, Brush Creek Falls is the jewel in the Brush Creek Falls Nature Preserve.

Throughout the years, Brush Creek Falls has remained as it began – a gathering place. Hundreds of years ago, Indian hunting parties crept along her banks to hunt or fish. In the dense forest, hidden by the mist of the falls, wildlife drank from her cools waters. Today, Brush Creek Falls is an awe-inspiring setting for sightseeing and picnics to admire impressive beauty and remember her part in the history of Mercer County.

Written by The Old Town Princeton Foundation, Inc.
Falls Photo by Keith Circle