History

100 Years After Capt. Thurmond's Death - A Look Back

Posted by: Rick in West Virginia, Thurmond, History, Fayetteville, Fayette County, Concho Overlook, ACE Adventure Resort on Jun 1, 2010

Thurmond__Concho_Overlook_Collage

Capt. William D. (Dabney) Thurmond died at his home in Minden last Saturday (May 19, 1910) evening at 6:30 o’clock. The funeral services were conducted Monday afternoon by the Rev. Fitzgerald, the interment following immediately afterwards at the Thurmond family burial grounds in Minden.

Capt. Thurmond was one of the best known characters in the New River Field. He came to Fayette County in 1842 (age 22) from Amherst County, Va., where he was born. He soon saw the advantages of Fayette County and invested in real estate, from which he derived a large fortune.

Rafting The New River With No Water At ACE?

Posted by: Rick in Whitewater Rafting, West Virginia, History, ACE Adventure Resort on May 25, 2010

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If the river is running at "0" feet – there is no water, right? Is that even possible? Not true when you are talking about the New River. We even run it at negative water levels. How is this possible?

In the pioneering days of whitewater rafting, late '50s and early '60s, there were traveling teams of crazy people all over the country using Army surplus rafts to run rivers that had never been run (first descents). It must have been an exciting time in rafting history; they had no idea the whitewater they were getting into.

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Ghost Towns Of ACE Adventure Resort

Posted by: Rick in West Virginia, History, hiking trails, Erskine, Dun Eden, Concho, ACE Adventure Resort on May 11, 2010

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I don’t think many people fully realize the size of ACE Adventure Resort.

It sits on 1,500 acres and that’s huge! The property boundary is irregularly shaped, but it is 2.4 miles across east-to-west and 2.1 miles across north-to-south. We own almost a mile of the New River shoreline including a giant sandy beach and private river access.

West Virginia's First Balloon Flight Crossed ACE

Posted by: Rick in West Virginia, New River Gorge, History, ACE Adventure Resort on Mar 16, 2010

On April 18, 1835, Richard Clayton became the first man to fly a hot-air balloon over 500 kilometers. In so doing, he became the first man to fly in West Virginia. His path crossed over or near ACE Adventure Resort!

Clayton was a clockmaker, silversmith and budding aeronaut from Cincinnati, Ohio. This early pioneering balloonist left Cincinnati at 5 p.m. Flying the "Star of the West" -air balloon, he traveled 563 kilometers (more than 350 miles) in 9.5 hours, to land on Bald Knob, on Keeney Mountain, in Summers County, W.Va. The town of Clayton, located 2 miles from this site at the old Graham homestead, now bares his name.

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How Did The New River Get Its Name?

Posted by: Rick in West Virginia, Teays, New River, Keninskeha, History, ACE Adventure Resort on Mar 8, 2010

Seriously, how could they name the second oldest river in the world "New" River? I mean, this is some of "America's Best Whitewater." Couldn't they name it something more appropriate? How about "Big Water Canyon" or "Cataract Canyon?" Oh yeah, that one is already taken.

It's part of the ancient "Teays" river system, which would be a little better name. Or we could use the Shawnee name "Keninskeha" (you can read about that in my "Raft the Keninskeha" blog). So what if we can't pronounce it?

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Download A New River Bike Trail Map

Posted by: Rick in Trails, Thurmond, Rick, New River Gorge, Mountain Biking, maps, History on Feb 1, 2010

Another map, another blog.

My last blog, "How Do You Map A Zip-Line Canopy Tour?", talked about the difficulty of trying to map out our Zip-Line Canopy Tour, dealing with the rugged terrain and cliffs that surrounds it, and the new zip-lines we are adding this year. This map was totally different. It was easy to create.

ACE offers a guided mountain bike tour called the Scenic New River Mountain Bike Tour. It is a half-day ride that 95% downhill! You don't find trails any easier than that. So if you haven't ridden in a while, or you have young ones, then this is the trip for you.

Now, you're more than welcome to do this trip on your own — after all, you can download the map now!

A Little Love For The Ladies Of Lunch

Posted by: Lenore in History, food, Dining, ACE Adventure Resort on Jul 20, 2009

Have you ever stopped to think about who prepares and packs the wonderful lunches we have on the river?

Our lunch crew has been with us for years, and deserves kudos for the number of meals they have prepared over the years. They order, prepare, package, place in coolers and consistently make sure you have a great riverside lunch or overnight meal.

How do you figure out how many loaves of bread to order, potato salad to make, and even how much peanut butter and jelly to pack for those who prefer a simpler lunch?

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100 Years After Capt. Thurmond's Death - A Look Back