A Stroll Back in Time: Cathedral State Park

by Mike Powell and Ed Rehbein

Around 1600, in London, England, Shakespeare’s Hamlet was performed for the first time. In that same era, Capt. John Smith established a settlement called Jamestown in what is now Virginia, and the Pilgrims, after a three-month voyage on the Mayflower, landed at Plymouth Rock. And in the remote mountains of what would become Preston County, West Virginia, a plot of hemlock seedlings began to sprout.

Shakespeare, Capt. Smith, and the Pilgrims have long since passed from this earth. But 400 years later, those hemlock seedlings are still alive, having grown to be trees of great size. Today, walking through the ancient, storied halls of what is now Cathedral State Park is like taking a stroll back in time.

Cathedral State Park

The opportunity to walk among trees that were living before European settlement is a rare experience in the eastern United States. Old-growth, or virgin, forests are perhaps the rarest forest type in the region. Even in West Virginia, a state more forested than many eastern states, virgin forests are rare, since much of the land here was cleared by logging in the late 1800s and early 1900s. There are probably less than 1,000 acres in the state that can be considered old-growth forest. Of these, Cathedral State Park is the largest and most unique.

Cathedral State Park

Today, hikers in Cathedral State Park enjoy cool, shady trails bordered by the towering spires of hemlocks. As its name suggests, you can’t help but feel that you’ve entered an outdoor cathedral. Hushed tones and soft steps seem fitting. The trees inspire awe, and so they should. The park was long known for the Centennial Hemlock, which fell due to a lightning strike in November 2004. This tree had a circumference of 185 inches, was 94 feet tall, and had a crown spread of 49 feet, giving it a total score of 291 points in the West Virginia Big Tree Program. While there are other large hemlocks and deciduous trees in the park, none have achieved the recognition of the Centennial Hemlock. Though yet to be established, Cathedral State Park probably still holds the record for the largest hemlock in West Virginia.

Cathedral State Park