A Brief History of Recreation
in the New River Gorge
According to geologists, the New River is the second oldest river in the world, thought to be predated only by the Nile. Since the coming of early man around 12,000 to 15,000 years ago, the magnificent gorge has impressed, intrigued, and fascinated those who have seen it.
The gorge remained practically uninhabited until the Chesapeake & Ohio railroad was completed along its banks in 1873. During the Carboniferous Period, some 250 million years ago, nature had laid down copious amounts of coal under the rugged Allegheny Plateau. Over the ages the mighty New River had cut a vertical swath through millions of years of sedimentary layers. This great gash through geological history exposed the valuable coal deposits...and the mining era began. By the turn of the 20th century, some 20 towns had been built to exploit this resource. They flourished until the 1950's when changing times had diminished the popularity of coal as a fuel. By the early 60's, the last of the New River Gorge coal towns had been abandoned and nature began to reclaim the ravaged land.
The coal era had ended when a Pennsylvania native named Jon Dragan arrived in the late 60's with a wife, a pickup truck, and a dream. Using old military surplus rafts, Jon Dragan intended to start West Virginia's first whitewater rafting company. The locals thought this stranger was truly crazy. They had a healthy respect, bordering on fear, for the New River's huge rapids and thundering power. Everyone wondered why anyone in his right mind would want to ride down this awesome river in a tiny rubber boat. But times were changing. People were living in a world which had become too safe, too comfortable, to suit them. As Jon Dragan had predicted, they were ready to experience new things...things that had an element of danger and excitement.
To say that whitewater rafting has been successful in West Virginia is to say that there are some cars in California. Today, some 18 rafting companies are operating on the New River and the whitewater industry has replaced coal mining as the foundation of the local economy. In 1979, Congress created the New River Gorge National River Park and this magnificent resource became permanently protected.
But the exciting and physically strenuous sport of rafting is not for everybody. Many folks prefer a less physically demanding way to experience the beauty of the New River Gorge. Ever the visionary, Jon Dragan began to investigate the possibility of using a jetboat to take people for short trips on the calmer sections of the New River. Jon helped design and build a 20-foot aluminum jetboat with a seating capacity of 16. He put in luxurious bucket seats and a covered top to make the boat comfortable and dry and christened his new craft the Miss M Rocks. Powered by a 454cc Chevy engine and a state-of-the-art jet pump, the Miss M Rocks can run up the 35 mph in only a foot of water!
Jon went into partnership with his sister-in-law, Cindy Dragan, and based his jetboat at the magnificent Hawk's Nest State Park, 7 miles downstream of the famous New River Gorge bridge. At Hawk's Nest, passengers can ride the park's scenic aerial tram down to the river where they board the Miss M Rocks. Once aboard, passengers are whisked up the river for a spectacular view of the New River Gorge Bridge, some 876-feet above the river! Including the tram ride, the whole trip takes only a little over an hour...perfect for travelers on a tight schedule.
Further information on New River Jetboats can be found at 304-469-2525 or you can check out the Southern West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau website at www.visitwv.com.
For more information on all of West Virginia's state parks and recreation facilities, call 1-800-CALL-WVA.
