Route 50

Copyrighted - 2009 NC Byways

NORTHWESTERN TURNPIKE BYWAY

(54 MILES OF RT. 50 IN WV)

Clarksburg - Birthplace of Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson, the Harrison County seat was incorporated in 1785. The town flourished with the arrival of the Northwestern Turnpike in 1838, the B&O Railroad in 1852, and large industries drawn to 1900s oil and gas finds. Now with 17,000, the town has a National Historic Downtown. Stop at the Clarksburg Visitors Bureau for traveler information. Shop downtown in the unique Historic Central Storage Gift Shoppes (425 N. 4th Street) for WV made items; Embellishments (134 S. 3rd Street) for gifts and home accents, and Wicked Sisters (301 W. Main Street) for women's clothing. Dine downtown at Phillip's La Pasta Cucina, 4th Street, Julio's, or at the Fifth Floor for a wonderful view of town. Abundant shopping, lodging and dining are also in several plazas across I-79.

Outdoors, listen to live music at the Clarksburg Amphitheater. Experience an annual festival: June Greek Food; July Glen Elk Wine, Music and Arts; August National Pasta Cookoff and Blackberry Festival; and the September Italian Heritage and WV Black Heritage Festivals. Walk/bicycle the 72-mile North Bend Rail Trail beginning 3 miles west of Clarksburg at Wolf Summit.

Bridgeport - This historic town of 7,300, has much to offer travelers. Turn onto RT. 58 South for Provence Market's French dining; Embellishments Too for unique gifts; Artworks for WV artisan's work; and the Nest for yarn.

Back on the byway, stop at the Benedum Civic & Visitor's Center, replica of philanthropist Michael Benedum's boyhood home, for information and local history exhibits and the 1924 Bowstring Arch Bridge. Historic buildings house the unique Mustard Seed Primitives antiques, Country Peddler antiques, Shahady’s Antiques, and D.W. Reed’s Hobby Shop model trains and rockets. Take a break at Almost Heaven Desserts & Coffee Bar or for Oliverio Restaurant's Italian cuisine (Rt.131 junction). Enjoy an annual festival: May Scottish Festival & Celtic Gathering; July Benedum Festival or the 4-T Arena Rodeo on the 4th.

East of town, tour the Aerospace Center's small museum at the Benedum Airport Industrial Park. In Maple Valley, stop at the Meat Market butcher shop and restaurant, or the adjacent weekend flea markets.

Taylor County - The county features the region's most beautiful rolling farmland. From Wendel Road, follow signs to year-round Family Fishing and Camping, (304-265-1000), with catfish catching contests every Friday and Saturday evening. At the Rt. 250 junction, eat at the Oldies Diner before continuing east to the Taylor County Fairgrounds for the annual fair (July or August). Next door, bargain hunt at Taylor County Auction's (304-903-4310) weekend auctions and Saturday flea markets.

Pruntytown - County seat until 1875, the community was on an important slave-trading route before the Civil War. Slaves held in the county jail were among the first to be freed by Federal Troops. The West Virginia National Cemetery (opened 1987) honors West Virginian Armed Forces casualties.

Detour on Rt. 250 South through the 1890s Boys Industrial Shool, now a minimum-security prison. Continue to Webster for the home of Anna Jarvis, Mother's Day founder, and brief base of Union General George McClellan in 1861. Rt. 50 Continued

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Scottish Festival

Anna Jarvis Home

North Bend Rail

Trail