Pricketts Fort State Park — Attraction in Fairmont

On the way back from Morgantown yesterday Tony and I decided to stop at pricket's fort State Park in Fairmont we had never been here before this was going to be a nice little afternoon adventure. The weather was lovely it was a very mild low 80° sun was Shining, flowers blooming , bees a buzzing....feels like summer finally!

You found the park rather easily even though they don't have a lot of signage once you get off the interstate. The park is free to enjoy and walk around there's a couple of hiking trails and a very old cemetery. There is a really nice bathroom area near the museum and the museum is free to enjoy. There is also a gift shop.

Now if you want to tour the actual fort which is a reconstructive for it which also includes the family job pricket brick house or Mansion whatever you want to call it there's a fee of $8. And seniors are six I believe. They also offer bike rental which I found to be very nice even though we were not riding bikes this day.

The fort is a self-guided tour and they have people in costume to talk to show you around and answer any questions you may have. But they do not currently have a blacksmith. The job house is scheduled with a scheduled tour three times a day 11, 1 and 2:30. Since we missed the tour for the house we decided not to purchase the ticket for the fort, because the fee covers both. So our plans are to go back soon and plan our day so that way we can enjoy both the fort and the house.

The staff that is working there is very friendly and will answer any questions you may have. The museum has quite a few artifacts in it and a 20 minute film talking about the fort, how it was used, and how it was very important to the frontier home life in that area at the time.

I definitely highly recommend you going if you're in the area. I know Tony and I are definitely going back again. There's a lot of great things to see there, a lot of family historical information for the area, and some really neat things in the gift shop. Hope you go and hope you enjoy your day at the fort...

Well just so you know clock watching is in full affect here. Today was my first ever visit to this site and I was running behind schedule after having visited Fort Pitt and the Battle of the Monongahela museum earlier in the day. I reached Pricketts Fort and walked into the visitor center/gift store about 30 mins before the published site closing time of 4:30. The attendant behind the counter was chatting with another person as I entered but not too long after I'd walked in I heard the them mention to the other person "Its after four". I'd already been in the gift store probably about a minute and when I heard these words so I looked up at the clock over the attendant's head which read 4:03. Expecting a comment to follow about closing time being 4:30 and possibly a comment about how I could either quickly visit the museum or the fort. HOWEVER...I heard these words "We don't sell fort admissions after 4." "You may still tour the museum and see the film though." Despite my mentioning being behind my planned schedule after lingering too long at other historical sites over 100 miles way I received absolutely no leniency or an offer to quickly walk through the tiny fort. Very disappointing and what could have been a five ⭐ rating with a big thank you is merely a 3 star thanks to a clock watching bureaucrat. I will return someday to tour this fine looking recreated 1774 outpost it will be with a tad bit of regret, and...

I have fond childhood memories of this place, having visited it on a field trip in the 80s. Back in those days it wasn't an issue for a 10yo child to buy a working frontier tobacco pipe from the gift shop and pretend to smoke like some WV Davy Crocket on the bus ride home. Ah, the long gone American freedom of personal choice and accountability. I miss that.

I have travelled the world and seen a lot, so while hard to give WV parks a higher rating than 3 compared to Yellowstone, Mt Fuji, Lake Tahoe, or Macchu Pichu, I am giving Pricketts Fort a 4 star rating, out of nostalgia. The museum here and the dedication of the educators is gold star. If the state would just invest more for these hard-working folks here!

Sadly, there is no camping here in this park, even off trail. However the park offers more than a frontier fort and reenactments. There is a long trail to explore as well as a frontier cemetery. I also noticed a downright enchanting picnic spot by the river, strewn with limestone and moss and tree shade. Brilliant!

Overall this is a nice place to visit, especially if interested in frontier life, and Williamsburg VA is out of the question. They are reasonably dog...