Cass is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) and unincorporated communityon the

Greenbrier River The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long,McNeel, William P. "Greenbrier River." ''The West Virginia Encyclopedia''. Ken Sullivan, editor. Charleston, WV: West Virginia Humanities Council. 2006. . in southeastern West Virgin ...

in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 38 at the 2020 census. The community, founded in 1901, was named for Joseph Kerr Cass, vice president and cofounder of the

West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company MeadWestvaco Corporation was an American packaging company based in Richmond, Virginia. It had approximately 23,000 employees. In February 2006, it moved its corporate headquarters to Richmond. In March 2008, the company announced a change to st ...

History

Cass was created in 1901 as a

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

for those who worked for West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company, logging the nearby

Cheat Mountain Cheat Mountain is an exceptionally high and rugged ridge situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is about long (north to south) and more than five miles (8 km) wide at its widest. Its highest point is at its so ...

. The cut logs were brought by rail to the town, where they were processed for use by paper and hardwood-flooring companies throughout the United States. Cass's skilled laborers, who worked in the mill or the locomotive repair shop, lived with their families in 52 white-fenced houses, built in orderly rows on a hill south of the general store. In 1960 the mill closed. In 1963, the state bought the logging railroad and converted it into a tourist attraction, carrying passengers into the vast

Monongahela National Forest The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally managed land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Regi ...

. In the late 1970s, the state bought most of the town and its buildings for the new

Cass Scenic Railroad State Park Cass Scenic Railroad State Park is a state park and heritage railroad located in Cass, Pocahontas County, West Virginia. It consists of the Cass Scenic Railroad, an long heritage railway owned by the West Virginia State Rail Authority and ope ...

. In 1982 the mill burned down. The Cass Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Current status

The community has a general store, a restaurant, a history museum, and 20 houses refurbished for tourist lodgings.

runs from the town to the half way point called Whittaker Station. Here a restored loggers' camp has been created on the mountain. Then the railroad continues up the Mountain to Bald Knob (the third highest peak in West Virginia). On Fridays the trains make runs to the ghost town of

Spruce, West Virginia Spruce is a ghost town in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. Spruce is southwest of Durbin. History Spruce was settled in 1902 along Shavers Fork of Cheat River. The principal industry in the area was logging, and later coal min ...

(currently not in service). A small number of privately-owned homes remain in the area of the community, while the majority of land and homes in Cass is owned by the State of West Virginia. Cass is the northern terminus of the

Greenbrier River Trail The Greenbrier River Trail (GRT), is a lineal state park comprising a rail trail between North Caldwell and Cass in eastern West Virginia. The GRT route and its contours were originally engineered by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, serving a ...

Trivia

The town was featured on Travel Channel's ''Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern''. The town was also featured in the 2013 movie Angel’s Perch. In 2018, the town was featured in an episode of the PBS series, ''

Travels with Darley ''Travels with Darley'' is a PBS and Amazon Prime travel television series. The show is hosted by American Darley Newman and documents Newman's experiences with locals around the world. It premiered on PBS in 2016, taking audiences to Europe, the C ...

''.

Cass Cave Cass Cave is a cave located in Cass, West Virginia, on Cheat Mountain. Cass Cave has the highest subterranean waterfall in West Virginia and Virginia, Lacy Suicide Falls, with a height of 139 ft. This high waterfall was misnamed; a suicide ...

, located in Cass, contains the highest

subterranean waterfall A subterranean waterfall or underground waterfall is a waterfall located underground, usually in a cave or mine.

in West Virginia and Virginia, Lacy Suicide Falls.

Demographics

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Pocahontas County, West Virginia Census-designated places in West Virginia Logging communities in the United States Logging railroads in the United States Company towns in West Virginia Populated places established in 1901 1901 establishments in West Virginia