Hawk's Nest is a mountain peak on Gauley Mountain located within the town limits of Ansted, West Virginia. It is the location of Hawk's Nest State Park. The cliffs at this point rise 585 feet above the New River. Located on the James River and Kanawha Turnpike (the road that served as an extension of the canal across what is now West Virginia), many early travelers on this road stopped to see the wonderful view of the river below. In modern times, the Midland Trail carries U.S. Highway 60 through the same general route. Ample parking at the overlook in Hawk's Nest State Park provides tourists with free access to the remarkable views.

The name Hawk's Nest derived from the many fish hawks which inhabited the massive cliffs at this point. When the railroad began blasting in the area between 1869 and 1873, the hawks left the site and never returned. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was completed through the area on January 29, 1873, and a ceremony was held at Hawk's Nest Station.

A hydro-electric project nearby became known as the Hawk's Nest Incident. During construction of a three mile-long tunnel by Union Carbide beginning in 1927, the tunnel was filled with silica dust. Workers were not given masks for protection, even though management wore such masks during the short times they visited for inspection. As a result, thousands of workers, mostly poor and african american, died from silicosis, sometimes as quickly as within a single year.

External links

• Hawk's Nest State Park
• New River CVB Guide to Ansted, West Virginia