The Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia has four preserves run by the Potomac Valley Audubon Society. Cool Spring Preserve is the third, located a few miles outside Charles Town, WV, near the Virginia border. To see the others, click here.
No, it isn’t hardcore hiking, but that really doesn’t matter to me. I much prefer quality over quantity these days. The main loop is 1.2 miles, and it is a lovely stroll.
It’s a beautiful spot, protected from the growth that’s currently slamming into the Eastern Panhandle. Blink, and a new row of townhomes and houses built to sate the appetite of Virginia & Maryland folk moving to West Virginia for a lower cost of living.
But this is important: history is being protected and returned to how it once was.
Cool Spring Nature Facts!
- Contains 12 environmentally sensitive acres
- Karst terrain
- Part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
- Part of a Shenandoah Wet Prairie Marsh; only 100 acres of this type of marsh are known to exist globally.
- 18 rare and very rare West Virginia plants found in the marsh
There’s a lot to the history, and as always, it traces back to George Washington and the colonial period. The land would have been part of the claim Lord Fairfax owned – and Washington started working for Fairfax when he was 16 years old. (Charles Town was named after George’s brother.) Kirk and I often joke that Washington probably slept a night on our land here in Jefferson County at some point.
In 1752, 22-year-old George Washington made his first land purchase of 1,459 acres along Bullskin Run, including the area that is the present-day Cool Spring Preserve. Washington leased his land in 200-acre parcels. Each lease tenant was to build a 20’ dwelling with a good 40’ barn, plant and care for specific crops, install certain “creatures,” erect and maintain fences, plant an orchard and vineyard, and preserve the woodlots without overcutting.
In 1830, 146 acres, including most of Cool Spring Preserve, was sold to Thomas Griggs, Jr. The rest of Cool Spring Preserve was located on a neighboring property to the east, which was owned by the Haines’, a Quaker family. On February 5, 1869, siblings Edward, Alvinia, and Mary sold one acre of land to a freed slave, Susan B. Thornton, for $1. Mrs. Thornton’s cottage still stands on Cool Spring Preserve.
Between this time and 1998, the property was used as a dairy farm and named Cool Spring Farm. Later, it was sold to Jefferson Orchards, who used the land to grow peaches and nectarines. During this time, existing buildings fell into disrepair, and the fruit crops eventually failed.
In 1998, Cool Spring Farm was purchased and underwent a three-year renovation to bring life back to the buildings and property. In 2008, the adjoining 12 acres, including Mrs. Thornton’s cottage, were purchased, and CraftWorks at Cool Spring, a non-profit designed to connect art with nature, was established.
Cool Spring Preserve is named after Cool Spring Farm. It was donated to the Potomac Valley Audubon Society by CraftWorks in 2016.
The trail circless around and goes past both forest and meadows.
It was a lovely trail with not too many roots or rock seams.
The trail itself varied from an old road to an actual trail to a section of boardwalk.
This one I could not ID.
Yellow Ironweed/Wingset. It grows 4 to 8 feet high, is generally deer-resistant and a pollinator haven, and is native.
I mean…we are Wild & Wonderful here.
The preserve is used for teaching, and an outdoor classroom sits along Bullskin Run.
It’s a run (creek) and a marsh/meadow.
A randomly marked cairn pile. The run is behind it.
The run here is very peaceful.
My spirit tree, the No Hugs Tree. (It is a Honey Locust)
Another teaching area, but older.
At the end of the loop is a mural of the Blue Ridge Mountains and local wildlife, of which 4 of the four-legged ones love my land (including Lil Stinky). The Shenandoah Valley is a beautiful place to be.
Just below the trailhead/parking, by the cottage, is a nature playscape area for children that offers shade.
The preserve and parking are free. Pets are welcome, but must be leashed and kept out of the run/marshes.
~Sarah