A Dunkard Valley History Cache
In the late 1920's it was decided that Route 7 would be improved and paved throught the western end of Monongalia County. The old route from Pentress to Wadestown crossed the Pennsylvania line nearly a dozen times. The new planned route would eliminate these crossings of the state line and keep the road within the boundaries of WV. It also eliminated many of the twist and turns of the road as it followed the creek and shortened it's overall distance. One such location to be rerouted was this spot just west of Blacksville. The original route was this road. It followed the creek and intersected the road to Brave before crossing the creek and heading toward Bula. The new route would cross a new bridge, which has since been replaced and stayed south of the state line all the way to rejoin the original road at Bula. This new route would open up new land for devolopment and the High School and the community of MacDale would be built along the side of the new paved road. The John Lantz farm was in the bottom just past this spot along Dunkard Creek. The land eventually became a golf course which lasted for many years until the golf course closed and the property resorted back to agricultural land. You can see the original bridge abutments in the creek below this spot.
