Terra Alta, WV

Terra Alta is an eastern Preston County town built on the high ground of the Alleghenies. It began as Portland in 1860, was also known as Cranberry or Cranberry Summit because of the nearby cranberry glades, and took the name Terra Alta—Latin for high land—in 1890. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad made the summit a major local reference point; at roughly 2,580 feet, Terra Alta became known as the highest point on the B&O system. The railroad, timber trade, and mountain weather all show up in the town's early story.

Terra Alta still has the landmarks of a railroad-and-resort town: the Terra Alta Bank, now known as the History House, the James S. Lakin House, and the old station-and-hotel landscape around town. Hopemont State Hospital is nearby, and the community park and volunteer fire department keep the civic map grounded in present-day services. The Fourth of July celebration hosted by the fire department has been running for generations. Terra Alta is a high-elevation town whose name, roads, and old buildings all point back to the same thing—life on the mountain summit.