Stories from the gorge

Every place in the gorge has a story behind it, and some of the best are still unfolding. Right now the tiny railroad town of Thurmond is squaring off with the National Park Service, which plans to demolish about a dozen historic buildings in and near the town as soon as November 2026, WOAY reported on September 16. Thurmond's council voted on August 11 to go to court, and by September 22 the town had free legal help lined up, though no suit had been reported filed.

The other story asks a question everyone in town has an opinion on: did the rafting companies that started at Thurmond in 1968 save Fayetteville, or were they one part of a bigger change? Read them before you go and the places you visit will mean a lot more. Every story keeps documents, legend and opinion clearly apart, and the editorial policy explains how they're checked.

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The Thurmond demolition fight

A town of a handful of people takes on the Park Service over its historic buildings, with demolition possible as soon as November 2026. No suit had been reported filed as of September 22.

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Did rafting save Fayetteville?

Four paddlers launched the first commercial trips at Thurmond in 1968, and the town grew as coal faded. How much credit does rafting deserve?

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Coming soon: John Henry and the Big Bend Tunnel.

More history to explore

Want the backstory? The road from national river to national park starts in the same Thurmond church where the 1977 compromise was struck. The coal towns of the gorge shows how Thurmond boomed and emptied, and the bridge and Bridge Day history covers the other big change of the 1970s. To see Thurmond for yourself, start with the Thurmond guide, and for everything older, browse the history section.