Unless you drove to the Coopers Rock Overlook 70 or so years ago, you’ve never driven under a rustic log and stone entryway across the main road that leads to the famous rock. But as of late December 2021, due to the brand new construction of a historic replica, that will change for all visitors to Coopers Rock’s south side from now on.
The Coopers Rock Foundation became inspired by a black-and-white photograph on an old postcard, depicting a rustic log and stone entryway across the road to The Overlook that once welcomed all Coopers Rock visitors. It was positioned roughly ⅛-¼ mile south from two-lane highway Route 73. That entryway was built during the era of the Civilian Conservation Corp of the late 1930s — early 1940s. We still don’t know how long it lasted or what happened to it, but we think it didn’t survive past the 1950s.
Every great book should have a cover that matches the quality of its contents, and as any regular visitor to this State Forest knows, Coopers Rock is certainly deserving of a dramatic entryway. For nearly a decade, CRF has been working towards rebuilding a replica of the entryway that was here in the Great Depression and WW II era. More people than ever love this place. Coopers is a great example of ‘Wild, Wonderful West Virginia’ right off an Interstate highway. A symbol like this says ‘something special lies this way. Come on in’.”
It wasn’t a hard choice for the Foundation’s Board of Directors to support this idea. But it was a hard undertaking to find the funding and to have answers for all the concerns raised by state government regarding engineering and safety. The new entryway sign would tower above the old one. Both height and width had to be significantly larger to meet the demands of modern roadways. In the end it required cooperative agreements between the WV Division of Highways, the WV Division of Natural Resources, and the WV Division of Forestry to get it all done. The sign was paid for 2/3 by fundraising events from CRF and many private donations, while the remaining 1/3 came from state funding through the WV DNR.
The entryway sign would never have been possible without the creative design and engineering work of Ronnie Wiley. Mr. Wiley is a log home builder who earned his degree in Landscape Architecture from West Virginia University, and has a long history of work in historic parks structures and trail building. Recently he’s worked on a variety of other projects at Coopers Rock State Forest, including repair work to Pavilion #3 and to the Overlook Bridge. Mr. Wiley has done a beautiful redesign of the entryway sign, and completed the construction with a small crew in around a month’s time at the end of 2021. The massive oak and poplar logs that were used in the construction were all obtained from Coopers Rock State Forest, as was the stone that was hand laid in the pillars on either side of the sign.
A postcard of the old sign
Construction of the old sign
Construction of the new sign
The new sign, completed January 2022
