Bluefield (West Virginia) Attractions & Activities - The Best Holiday Destinations for 2020
Chicory growing wild in Bluefield
Bluefield is a city of 11,451 people (as of 2000) in Mercer County, West Virginia. Along with Bluefield, Virginia, it forms the micropolitan area of the Bluefields.
Nestled at the foot of the 3,400-foot East River Mountain, Bluefield is the most elevated town in West Virginia, at 2,655 feet above sea level. The town is sometimes called "Summit City", because of its high altitude, and "Nature's Air-Conditioned City" for its pleasant summer temperatures. Since 1941, the Chamber of Commerce's "Lemonade Lassies" have passed out free lemonade on days when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees. The airport thermometer is used to determine this, which is at the highest point in Bluefield. It can often exceed 90 in downtown Bluefield during the summer.
The area was first settled in the 1780s and incorporated in 1889. Named for the blue chicory fields in the area, Bluefield was a booming Norfolk and Western Railroad hub for the coal industry until the decline of coal in the 1960s. Today the city has an air of faded 1950s glory; some of the lovely homes have seen better days, the downtown is largely deserted, and passenger railways have given way to freight cars. Happily, the city is beginning to embark on an aggressive revitalization scheme, by restoring old buildings, attracting specialty shops and restaurants back to downtown, and focusing on tourism as a promising source of revenue. The town still retains its small-town Appalachian charm, with friendly people, beautiful scenery, and very low housing costs.
One of the best-known local residents is John Forbes Nash, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in economics and the subject of the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind. The town has yet to capitalize on this connection, however, so if you're a big fan of the man or the movie, you won't find a lot of related activities or sights in the area. Nash's boyhood home is currently undergoing renovation, and will likely be a listed historic site in the near future.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Bluefield (West Virginia)
