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Tomlinson Run State Park


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Tomlinson Run State Park is located in Hancock County, on State Route 8 near New Manchester. The park and run are named for the pioneer Tomlinson family. The park’s 1,398 acres are forested and hilly, with a lake and a gorge down to the nearby Ohio River. The gorge has sandstone cliffs, steep hills, and a trail paralleling Tomlinson Run. The park’s waterways are stocked with trout in early spring, and in June the lake is stocked with catfish. Bass and bluegill fishing are also good.

While Tomlinson Run offers no individual rental cabins, the group camp is a popular feature of the park. Sleeping, or camper, cabins are located near the playground, counselors’ quarters, dining hall, kitchen, shower houses, and a recreation hall. The park has several “yurts” for rent. These are semi-permanent, reinforced tents that include a propane stove, lantern, cookware, and picnic table.

Tomlinson Run State Park started with a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the late 1930s. Visitors can still see some of the picnic shelters built of massive stone, a hallmark throughout West Virginia of the expert handiwork of the CCC crews. The Tomlinson Run dam was built, 1940–42, by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Written by Maureen F. Crockett