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Shavers Fork


Shavers Fork is a large tributary of the Cheat River. From its headwaters in Pocahontas County, it flows through Randolph and Tucker counties, joining the Black Fork near Parsons to form Cheat River. Shavers Fork is 88.5 miles long. It has 25 main tributaries in its 214-square-mile watershed, which is more than 97 percent forested. Most of the watershed lies within the Monongahela National Forest, and nearly two-thirds of it is public land. The Shavers Fork region was extensively logged early in the 20th century. The elevation ranges from 1,650 feet at the mouth of Shavers Fork to more than 4,500 feet at the headwaters.

Shavers Fork is one of West Virginia’s most popular trout streams. Popular fishing spots include the Stuart National Recreation Area and the High Falls of Cheat, a 15-foot waterfall at the mouth of Falls Run. The Shavers Fork Coalition, a non-profit organization formed in 1997, is dedicated to the preservation of the Shavers Fork watershed.

In 2012, the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources completed a $5 million project to restore four miles of upper Shavers Fork in Pocahontas County. The effort was aimed at improving the stream so that brook trout could thrive there. Extensive logging in the 19th century made that section of Shavers Fork too shallow and warm to sustain the fish.

On July 13, 1861, the Battle of Corricks Ford was fought at a crossing of Shavers Fork, near present Parsons. Confederate Gen. Robert S. Garnett was killed in the battle, which was a Northern victory.

Written by Tanya Godfrey