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Blue Bend Pavilion Restoration, West Virginia
September 22 - September 27
FreeSecluded in the rugged hills of West Virginia sits the Blue Bend Pavilion, a CCC era site with a touch of southern hospitality.
PROJECT PARTNER: Monongahela National Forest
SESSION DATES: September 22-27, September 29 – October 4, October 6-11, and October 13-18
PROJECT SUPERVISOR: Reid Saunders!
CREW LEADER: Beckett Hunecke!
Project Site Description & History
The Blue Bend Pavilion is a CCC era picnicking shelter quietly at home among the canopies of the Monogahela National Forest. Built between 1936-1938, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed over 20 camping sites complete with tent pads, picnic tables, and parking areas. Included is an elaborate system of retaining walls and stabilized creek banks, two-stoned paved beaches, and a water retention reservoir for recreational swimming.
In 1994 the Blue Bend Recreation Area, historically known as the “Blue Bend Forest Camp,” was added to the National Register of Historic Places, honoring the legacy of forest recreation planner Herbert T. Stoddard, whose campsite seclusion design is monumental to the popularity of the site. Adding to the attraction of Blue Bend is the calming aqua fords of the Anthony creek, known for its “Blue Hole” swimming area.
In 2023 HistoriCorps successfully engaged over twenty volunteers with additional help from the Appalachian Conservation Corps to complete over 1,000 hours of work on the structures at the Blue Bend Recreation Area. This included the opening phases of roof repairs, the completion of flagstone repairs and repointing, rehabilitation of several window sashes, and the critical floor replacement inside the Administrative building.
This season, we’re heading back to complete the roof on the pavilion and perform minor carpentry and log repairs. Volunteers can expect one heck of an opportunity and we invite you lace up your boots and join us for our second go at the Blue Ben Pavilion in West Virginia!
Scope of Work
HistoriCorps is committed to educating and training volunteers in preservation skills, with an overarching mission of inspiring a preservation ethic in all those involved. Learning and working alongside expert HistoriCorps field staff, volunteers and applying the traditional skills necessary to restore the Blue Bend Pavilion:
- Restore the roof of the pavilion
- Minor carpentry repairs and log repairs