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The enigmatic face was likely carved into soapstone in the 1950s by a coal miner.
Photo Above: The mysterious carving is on National Park Service land near the New River Gorge.
©David Sibray, WV Explorer.
Visitors to West Virginia’s New River Gorge are hunting for a mysterious carving highlighted recently in the West Virginia Explorer tourism guide. Hiding in the mossy rock along a narrow path below the Canyon Rim Visitor Center, the life-sized stone face can easily be missed.
But then again, some visitors just might sense its presence. Referred to as the “benevolent spirit of the forest” by Gene Kistler, who first encountered it 35 years ago when he began climbing nearby cliffs, the carving has a calm, if stony countenance. The sandstone face gazes up at hikers and rock climbers picking their way along the path to access an outcropping known as Ambassador Buttress.
Kistler and his wife, Maura, are now co-owners of Water Stone Outdoors in Fayetteville, the region’s go-to shop for rock climbers. They can give directions to the stone face, which they regard as a minor attraction and a noteworthy piece of folk art. They have compared its enigmatic quality to the Mona Lisa; it’s impossible to tell if the face is happy or sad.
Though the origins of the stone face are sometimes regarded as a mystery, the bas-relief countenance was likely carved in the 1950s by a coal miner who lived nearby, says David Sibray, editor/writer for the West Virginia Explorer. The foundation of the miner’s house is still visible among the ferns a little farther down the path. The miner also carved his surname, Johnson, into a stone that hikers use to cross a little run that cascades into the New River Gorge.
“He was a coal miner who liked to carve as a hobby,” Sibray says. “In the 1950s, coal mining went into decline in this area, and he probably had some spare time. I think he carved this face for the pure joy of expression.”
The stone face is located in National Park Service land off Fayette Station Road near the New River Gorge Canyon Rim Visitor Center. For specific information on how to view it, visit Water Stone Outdoors, 101 E. Wiseman St. in Fayetteville.
The story above is from our January/February 2020 issue.
