page_title: Ansted, West Virginia
section_title: Historical sites and attractions
hierarchical_section_title: Ansted, West Virginia / Historical sites and attractions
caption_attribution_description: View from the top of Gauley Mountain, looking over the town of Ansted towards the New River Gorge and the New River Gorge Bridge, nearly six miles away.Photo taken with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50.
context_page_description: Ansted is a town in Fayette County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The population was 1,404 at the 2010 census. It is situated on high bluffs along U.S. Route 60 on a portion of the Midland Trail a National Scenic Byway near Hawks Nest overlooking the New River far below.
context_section_description: Angie and George Imboden's 1830 home, Contentment, has become the Contentment Historical Complex, headquarters for the Fayette County Historical Society. It includes a historical museum and restored one-room schoolhouse, furnished as the mid-nineteenth century.
  The mansion of William and Emma Page and their family on the hilltop in Ansted also still stands as evidence of the once-thriving coal business. Later occupied by the family of Dr. Gene Vawter, and still in use as a private residence, the Page-Vawter House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  Other historical landmarks include the Halfway House, the former Tyree's Tavern which was headquarters of the Chicago Gray Dragoons during the American Civil War, and the African American Heritage Family-Tree Museum, which helps African-Americans trace their roots.
  The grave of Julia Neale Jackson, mother of Confederate General Thomas Stonewall Jackson, is located in Westlake Cemetery in Ansted. The marker was placed more than 35 years after her death by Captain Thomas R. Ranson, one of the soldiers of the Stonewall Brigade, to mark his troops' affection for their fallen leader.
  Ansted has the distinction of having Hawks Nest State Park located within its borders. The park at Hawks Nest features a small museum and gift shop, an aerial tram ride to the New River Gorge, and spectacular overlooks including the famous "Lover's Leap".
  U.S. Route 60 threads through the community as part of the Midland Trail, a National Scenic Byway.
  Ansted hosts the Country Roads Festival each September and the Festival of Lights over the Christmas holiday season, a time when the Fayetteville theater produces an annual holiday play. Ansted also hosts annual PRO-AM Street luge competition. Mystery Hole is a more lighthearted attraction.
  A war memorial was erected in 2007 through donations, that has the name, rank, and period served of military veterans.
caption: View from the top of Gauley Mountain, looking over the town of Ansted towards the New River Gorge and the New River Gorge Bridge, nearly six miles away.
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