Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
| Cass Scenic Railroad State Park | |
| West Virginia State Park | |
 Cass Scenic Railroad Heisler #6 along with Shay #11 lead a loaded log train down the former C&O Greenbrier Division mainline.
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| Country | United States |
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| State | West Virginia |
| County | Pocahontas |
| Elevation | 2,438 ft (743.1 m) |
| Coordinates | 38°23′48″N 79°54′53″W / 38.39667°N 79.91472°WCoordinates: 38°23′48″N 79°54′53″W / 38.39667°N 79.91472°W |
| Area | 940 acres (380.4 ha) |
| Established | March 7, 1961 |
| - Acquired | 1962 |
| - Opened | June 15, 1963 |
| Owner | West Virginia Division of Natural Resources |
| Nearest city | Cass, West Virginia |
  Location of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in West Virginia
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| Website: Cass Scenic Railroad State Park | |
Cass Scenic Railroad State Park is a State Park located in Cass, Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
It consists of the Cass Scenic Railroad, an 11-mile (18 km) long heritage railroad that is owned by the state of West Virginia. The park also includes the former company town of Cass and a portion of the summit of Bald Knob, highest point on Back Allegheny Mountain.
Founded in 1901 by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company (now MeadWestvaco), Cass was built as a company town to serve the needs of the men who worked in the nearby mountains cutting spruce and hemlock for the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company, a subsidiary of WVP&P. At one time, the sawmill at Cass was the largest double-band sawmill in the world. It processed an estimated 1.25 billion board feet (104,000,000 cu ft; 2,950,000 m3) of lumber during its lifetime.
In 1901 work started on the railroad, which climbs Back Allegheny Mountain. The railroad eventually reached a meadow area, now known as Whitaker Station, where a logging camp was established for the immigrants who were building the railroad. The railroad soon reached to the top of Gobblers Knob, and then to a location on top of the mountain known as 'Spruce'. The railroad built a small town at this location, complete with a company store, houses, a hotel, and a doctors office. Work soon commenced on logging out the Red Spruce trees, which grew in the higher elevations.
The WVP&P originally had only been interested in the Red Spruce timber for the purpose of making pulp, which would be turned into paper. It was not until several years later when the company realized that the mountain held a fortune in hardwoods, such as maple, cherry, birch and oak. The company decided that they would build a mill in the town of Cass, which could process these hardwoods.
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