Summersville Lighthouse

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Lightning seems to wrap around lighthouse at Summersville Lake. Photo courtesy Anne Johnson.
Lighthouse. Photo Anne Johnson.

The Summersville Lighthouse is a folly and roadside attraction that overlooks Summersville Lake near the U.S 19 expressway at Mount Nebo, West Virginia, in Nicholas County. The lighthouse is not a historically functioning lighthouse but provides a lookout from which the lake and adjacent Gauley River National Recreation Area may be observed. Parts of the Allegheny Mountains and Cumberland Mountains can be viewed to the east and west, respectively.

The Summersville Lake Lighthouse was raised in 2012 on the grounds of Summersville Lake Retreat. It stands 104 feet tall and is fashioned principally from a cylinder of 1/2 inch thick steel weighing 77,000 pounds. Its base diameter of 12 feet receding to eight feet near the top. Visitors can climb 122 steps to reach an observation deck.

The Summersville Lighthouse may be featured in the Falllout 76 video game. Visit the lighthouse Facebook Page at .