Camp Washington-Carver

Camp Washington-Carver is a historic 4-H campus near Clifftop, now West Virginia’s mountain cultural arts center. It is a worthwhile short stop if you’re interested in Black West Virginia history, Appalachian arts, or the story of youth camps. It isn’t an always-open museum, though; if seeing inside the Great Chestnut Lodge matters to you, check access with the state operator before making the drive.

A 1928 survey found 4-H camps for white young people in 44 of West Virginia’s 55 counties, and none for Black youth. The camp opened here on July 26, 1942, as the first 4-H camp in the United States for African American youth. It offered learning and recreation in a segregated era when comparable facilities were often unavailable. Its name honors Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver.

Attendance peaked at roughly 1,600 campers a year in the 1950s. The program ranged from nature study, music, drama, and crafts to swimming, sports, health training, vespers, and campfires. The grounds also hosted Scouts, church camps, reunions, college training, and even Black pilot and ROTC training. The range of activity is part of what makes this more than a collection of old buildings.

Built from West Virginia chestnut between 1939 and 1942, the Great Chestnut Lodge held the assembly hall, dining hall, and kitchen; it is the largest log structure on the site. From the entrance, frame the lodge behind the hanging Camp Washington-Carver sign for a photograph that captures both the building and its setting.

As separate youth facilities became unnecessary after integration, the camp transferred to West Virginia in 1979 for use as a rural cultural arts center. It entered the National Register in 1980 and reopened in 1984. Today the campus still hosts cultural events, including the Appalachian String Band Music Festival, with contests, concerts, workshops, square dancing, camping, and vendors.