Nearly a century ago, the rugged hills of southern West Virginia were laid siege to one of the bloodier confrontations in domestic history, a pitched battle between union miners and coal operators, rivaling the carnage that darkened the land in the Civil War.

Now, into a new century and the Mine War standing as a dark chapter in West Virginia’s history, the same ground that once ran red with the blood of industrial combatants is now beckoning tourists from the huge metropolitan complexes to get away from the pell-mell of big-city life and enjoy a tranquil interlude in the natural beauty along Paint Creek Scenic Trail.

Before the West Virginia Turnpike was opened in 1954, this was the sole means of reaching Charleston for southern residents.

“It is a winding road, but for a family wanting to take a nice Sunday drive, or a visitor, people coming from the city, whether it be Washington, D.C., or New York City — and studies show people are coming from the cities stressed and just needing a day or two away — they can really enjoy just being with nature,” says Rachel Booth, administrative assistant for the Coal Heritage Highway Authority.

“It’s a perfect drive for those folks.”

Just recently, the Lower and Upper Paint Creek watershed associations completed a management plan that could pave the way for federal dollars if the road can attract national scenic byway status.

Booth says approval could take one year or two, perhaps even as many as five, but for now the trail at least enjoys the status of state designation as a scenic byway.

Stretching some 44 miles through three counties, the road offers a little-known fishing pier near the community of Standard (just across from the turnpike’s retired Memorial Tunnel) and some of the more scenic places in the East to pause from life’s turmoil.

The trail’s official starting point is Dry Hill Road in Beckley on Raleigh County Route 7 to the Fayette-Kanawha county line on Fayette County Route 15 to Pratt along Kanawha County Route 83.

“There is a lot of coal history there,” Booth said.

“There are a lot of coal camps that once existed there and still do exist. Many people don’t realize it, but the Battle of Blair Mountain actually began in that area, right in Pax.”

Violence flared in the 1912-1913 mine hostilities over a miners’ strike at Paint Creek and Cabin Creek that ultimately led to 50 deaths directly attributed to gunfire and a number of others blamed on malnutrition and starvation among workers. A banker put the monetary toll of the war at $100 million.

“One of the other things we’re going to do is start putting kiosks along the Paint Creek Scenic Highway, talking about the history of Paint Creek,” Booth said.

At least two such informational signs are to be up this summer.

At the outset, she explained, the two watersheds merely sought to get the creek cleaned up as a means of attracting more visitors.

Visitors frequent the region, anyway, for rafting, rock climbing and other forms of outdoor pleasure, or to merely take in the awesome New River Gorge, she pointed out.

“They just needed a little bit of help, and so the Coal Heritage Trail, which is nationally designated, knew how to get national designation and we lent them some support,” Booth said.

“One of the things we have done is an interpretive plan and have been installing kiosks along the Coal Heritage Trail.”

Inside the Paint Creek Scenic Trail are five counties — Fayette, Mercer, Wyoming, McDowell and Raleigh. Thirteen counties lie within the Coal Heritage Trail.

The Division of Tourism has been working closely with Coal Heritage and the watershed associations to promote the trail, including the production of a brochure and an impending Web site.

For now, the Coal Heritage Trail’s own Web site is offering space to Paint Creek as a means of further drawing attention to its attractions.

The idea is for the trail to eventually forge a strong tourism base along Paint Creek by adding a number of tourist sites and activities.

The future seems limitless for a trail just starting to shoot forth, like a garden plant in late spring.

“Right now, it’s really in the development stages,” Booth said. “We’re just getting the management plan so they can get money to do other development.”