The nature center area at Tygart Lake State Park is the place to be July 14, 2023. Reenactor and historian Doug Wood portrays Gabriel Arthur at 7:00 p.m. and following the program, Wood answers questions about the individual and the era that Gabriel Arthur lived. Bring a chair or a blanket and enjoy this evening program filled with West Virginia history and American history.

Gabriel Arthur is believed to be the first European-American to see the Kanawha Valley while he traveled with a band of Yuchis in 1674. He was sent by his master, Abraham Wood, with a partner and Appamattuck guides from Fort Henry (present Petersburg, Virginia) to explore western lands and trade with the Indians west of the Blue Ridge. His partner was killed, but Arthur traveled widely with the Yuchis, participating in their battles against Spaniards and enemy Indians in the Ohio Valley and elsewhere, during the Beaver Wars.  He entered the Kanawha River Valley, where he was welcomed by Yuchi allies, the Monetons, into their large village.  After two near brushes with death, Arthur returned to Fort Henry with hope of extending his master’s fur trade westward. 

This evening program is made possible by the West Virginia Humanities Council, History Alive! programming. The presentation is open to the public without charge. The educational aspects may be of homeschooled interest. The evening host is Jacob Jackson, Park Naturalist.

To learn more about nature and history programs occurring at Tygart Lake State Park, email tygartlakesp@wv.gov.

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