Between Parkersburg and Clarksburg, US-50 winds along as a fast, four-lane freeway through a mountainous one-time oil- and gas-producing region dotted with tiny, all-but-forgotten towns. The small farms are cultivated by descendants of Scotch-Irish immigrants who settled here in the late 18th century. One place that’s well worth a stop is Fort New Salem (Wed.–Sun.; $4), 14 miles west of Clarksburg. Just south of US-50, on the campus of half-Japanese Salem-Teikyo University, the fort is a credible reconstruction of the frontier outpost erected near here in 1795.
