Take a Back Road: Morgantown – Washington – Wheeling

Part II

On the outskirts of Washington, PA we departed from U.S. Route 19 in favor of Sanitarium Road. Street names like this are often vestiges of the past with little evidence of their namesake still existing. But where Sanitarium Road ended, we solved the mystery. What is now an elder care facility is the most modern remain of the Hillsview Sanitarium. Our destination happened to be across the street.

When I think about the things that make cities and towns famous, or even the landmarks of Washington, PA, this type of location would have never dawned on me. Across from the old sanitarium is America’s first crematorium. Yes, this would be where bodies are cremated. Yes, I agree that it is completely creepy. But it is pretty cool. The history of this facility alone is really cool and just a little macabre, recommended reading!

Beyond the crematorium we drove through the historic downtown, past the hospital, and toward the Meadows. Like with most cities, the area of greatest growth is away from the traditional downtown. The Meadows Racetrack and Casino is surrounded by hotels and restaurants filled by people coming to, most likely, part ways with their cash. In one of these such hotels is a geocache, the geocache that put Washington on the map for us on this day.

Chris and I walked into the DoubleTree and asked for Room 266. The desk clerk gave us a funny look and showed us to Room 266. Thankfully what we discovered was entirely geocaching related and entirely not some kind of strange swinger-ring or axe murderer. If you’re in the area and enjoy geocaching, this is one I would highly recommend. But all good things must come to an end.

From Washington, it was time to go west. West, to Wheeling, whose suspension bridge across the Ohio River was long a symbol as the gateway to the West. Preservation groups have, thankfully, committed a lot of time and resources to ensuring the National Road, now largely U.S. Route 40, possesses a place in the American psyche for years to come.

Not far from Washington is the town of Claysville. Claysville is hardly more than a cluster of buildings, but parallel to the existing alignment of U.S. Route 40 is an old “S” Bridge that carried the original road. Here there is a grassy park-like area set up where visitors can stop for a picnic and get acquainted with the engineering of times past. Even the untrained can gain an appreciation for the progress of highway engineering over the past 150 years. And yes, there is a geocache here and another very nearby.

As we made movement to the state line we made a short stop at the West Alexander Fairgrounds. In West Alexander the fair connects the community, offering opportunities for entertainment, civic engagement, and civic pride. Individual communities do not commonly hold their own fairs anymore, but rather use the county fair to fill the gap, thus making West Alexander another very special place.

From here, the West Virginia state line is almost visible and this is where the landscape changes. Rural, agricultural Pennsylvania will give way to the narrow valleys and ghosts of industry in the greater Wheeling area. Follow along as we ride the hills as hollers of West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle.