If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 641

 

 

 

 

 

Blackwater Falls, Tucker County, West Virginia

 

Another unused photo postcard, this one features the main attraction at Blackwater Falls State Park located in the Allegheny Mountains of Tucker County, West Virginia.  No photographer is credited for the picture but there is a blurb at the upper left on the reverse.  The card was distributed by Silver Lake Nursery, Horse Shoe Run, West Virginia.  Both Silver Lake and Horse Shoe Run are unincorporated communities located not far from the Blackwater Falls State Park.  It is likely that the Silver Lake Nursery had picture postcards available for tourists.  This card was found in shoebox jumble of old postcards in a local antique mall here. 

 

Blackwater Falls drop approximately 62 ft or 19 meters and are among the most photographed places in West Virginia.  The falls have appeared on calendars, stationery, and in advertisements.  The name Blackwater comes from the tannin-darkened water in the river. 

 

There is a wooden walkway and overlook that is reached from the parking lot by a broad trail that descends about 320 ft or 98 m.  A second, steeper trail, extends below the Falls.  There is also a nature trail in the park that is wheelchair accessible and leads to another overlook. 

 

The water flowing over the rocky outcropping divides causing its distinctive formation.  In the winter the Falls can ice over completely.  There have been at least four known deaths at the falls.  In 1933 someone was accidentally washed over the Falls during a flood.  A cliff diver died n 1937.  And in 1973 a woman was swept over the falls when she slipped on a rock and her husband also perished trying to catch her.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_Falls_State_Park

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Lake,_West_Virginia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_Shoe_Run,_West_Virginia