Tygart Lake Lodge Grafton West Virginia in the1970s

 TYGART LAKE LODGE GRAFTON WV IN THE 1970s

 

This lodge was a little step up from the usual 'motor lodge' that was prevalent in the 70s. 

It sat in the mountains above the picturesque Tygart Lake in Taylor County West Virginia. 

The lodge is part of Tygart State Park and is nearby to Tygart Dam which forms the lake, and Tygart River which is a popular fishing destination. 

Excerpt - Untold Stories and History of Tygart Lake:

"In the hills of West Virginia in 1934 to 1938 came the Great Depression, when lots of bootleggers and moonshiners roamed the hillsides, building stills to sell illegal liquor, only to be caught by revenuers. People hopped on the side of trains traveling from state to state looking for work, they were called The Train Riders along with gypsies and hobos. Many were without work until the building of Tygart Dam, started by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a product of the Public Works Administration, to put men back to work. Men came from all over the United States seeking employment. With hundreds of new people in town, bringing their families with them, many arrests were made, murders and stabbings took place, some sent to prison, land was taken by the government, floods destroyed businesses, homes and animals drowned in the aftermath. Men fell to their deaths in the stillness of the night. Families lived in fear not knowing who the next victim might be, when they heard the sirens on the ambulances speeding by..."