Going Greene

Going GreeneA WALK ON WHEELING

by Matthew Cumberledge

A soft breeze is coming down the valley, the sounds of the modern world are distant and nearly imperceptible to your ears. The trickling water and chirping birds are your guide as you wander through an untouched wilderness. If these are the sights and sounds you are experiencing, chances are you have found yourself walking the old road that winds its way along Enlow Fork of Wheeling Creek. Enlow Fork weaves its way through a large portion of State Game Lands #302, at the very bottom of Raymer Road in Richhill Township, just south of the Greene – Washington County line.

In the spring, a stunning array of wildflowers carpet the valley, adding bright spots of color to an already amazing landscape. The area has a feeling of enchantment, captivating myself and many others over the years. Its beauty and interest, however, last far longer than the explosion of wildflowers in the springing of the year. The majestic trees show their greatest beauty in the fall, with a fiery pallet illuminated by the lateday sun. Winter brings with it the silent stillness and snow, showing tracks of deer, coyote, bobcat, raccoon and other critters that call this valley home.

It’s been this way for centuries, with human traffic coming and going. Over ten thousand years ago, people from the Clovis Culture (one of the earliest groups of Native Americans to call North America home) would have hunted and fished in this very stream and camped under the numerous rock ledges and shelters that are nestled safely into the steep slopes of the surrounding hills. The Adena People left their mark in the region, just before the collapse of the Roman Empire halfway around the world, with a few scattered mounds just over the ridge. Just a little less than a thousand years ago, around 1100 AD, the Native Americans were still calling this valley home. A large circular Monongahela culture village once dominated a slight rise of land on the flood plain central in a wide meander of the stream.

The valley was explored in the 1750s by Christopher Gist, a colonial British explorer, surveyor and frontiersman and one of the earliest European explorers of the Ohio Country. The Natives were still here when he explored; Gist recorded in his journals that Wheeling Creek got its name from a native word, Wheal-en that roughly translated to scalp creek. He mentioned that the trails in the vicinity were accessed with a rather grisly warning - many of the trees along the paths had scalps hanging from them to warn trespassers there that the inhabitants were prepared to defend their rights by all means necessary. Within a hundred years, European pioneers had settled permanently in that very valley.

One of Enlow Fork’s most amazing, and unknown gems, is a large sycamore, just across the iron bridge that crosses the creek on the old road. A tree that’s stood guard over an ancient water crossing for at least four or five centuries. This tree is something special, not just because of its great age, or prominent position along the crystal clear waters. Look closely and you will see that it has an extremely unusual shape. A great trunk, nearly seven feet in diameter anchors it to the ground, and a long limb cantilevers out several meters pointing rather proudly to the old iron bridge. This configuration is no mere coincidence or random act of nature; this tree marks a water crossing. An age-old trail beginning in Wheeling, West Virginia traveled by generations of Native Americans going east followed this waterway. After European settlement, this trail was cut further and expanded, eventually becoming a road. Several centuries ago, when this tree was but a young sapling, Native Americans, most likely of the Monongahela culture that lived in Western Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas, took what was then just a sprout fighting for light in a forest of giants, anchored part of it to the ground, and bent it so that as it grew it would keep that shape and serve as a road sign to guide fellow travelers on their way across the creek and onwards to distant destinations. Just up the hill from this sycamore, is a younger oak tree, a mere few centuries old that marks the trail and points you to the crossing, leading you further west.

Who could resist such a wonderful place, so rich with history and scenery? Several years ago we nearly lost this remarkable location. Progress, though necessary in her benefits to civilization and culture can often wear heavy on our greatest resources. In the late 1970’s, Enlow Valley was nearly at the bottom of a lake. A proposed series of dams were to be constructed to shelter watersheds downstream from flooding, and Enlow Fork was one of the streams that was determined to be modified. The entire valley and areas nearby would have been flooded, including the area around Crow’s Rock. Crow’s Rock is a historic landmark, not too far distant from Enlow Fork, and is the site of the massacre of the Crow sisters by Indians in May of 1791. Thankfully, a group of concerned citizens and township officials petitioned to have the valley saved and won the battle. How lucky we are for those dedicated citizens and officials for the salvation of the Enlow Fork area!

Every year, folks have an opportunity to be thankful for those people again. The end of April brings the annual Enlow Fork Wildflower Walk, sponsored by the Wheeling Creek Watershed. Masses of people turn out for the guided tours of the “Flowers of the Valley” and to experience nature at its best. Even outside of the walk, Enlow Fork is a common destination for hikers, explorers, and those who just wish to get away from hustle and bustle of the modern world and retire, even if just for a while, to a place of simple and supremely wonderful natural beauty.

Greene County is truly a special place. Enlow Fork is just one example of the natural resources and beauty she has to offer. We are very lucky here in Greene to still have areas of wilderness and recreation that we celebrate and hold dear.