Scenic Pickens, home of the West Virginia Maple Syrup Festival, is nestled deep in the mountainous hardwood forest of West Virginia's Randolph County on the right fork of the Buckhannon River.

The town came into being in the 1890s and the first sawmill was located in the town in 1891. By 1892, a railroad was running to Pickens (Incidentally, the day railroad service began on July 4, 1892, it snowed in Pickens!)

By the turn of the century, Pickens was well-established with Presbyterian, Baptist, and Catholic churches, a number of stores, a funeral home, several hotels, and of course, a saloon. By the late 1930s, Pickens was very much a lumber town, beginning to cut second growth from the same area where first cuts were made in the 1890s. Coal mining also began to play a part in the economy of the region about this time.

While industrial activity is significantly down from the first have of the twentieth century, lumber and coal still have a part in the daily life of Pickens. It is not the thriving town it once was, but it still maintains a fierce pride in its self-sufficiency.

The people of Pickens take great pride in our history. Since 1971 we have sold the “Haven in the Hardwood” history book, which is now it its third edition. It is a wonderful book full of information from the start of our little town. 

It includes the history of Dr. Cunningham, the Pickens Family, Railroad, Timber,  and family history of the first settlers. The names include: Andrews, Armstrong, Bachman, Ball, Balli, Bauer, Baunach, Been, Benson, Booth, Bottenfield, Brane, Buckhanon, Burky, Casto, Coleman, Conrad, Coplin, Cunningham, Dodrill, Dulaney, Egleson, Eubank, Ewing, Fahrion, Fisher, Folks, Forinash, Gaston, Harold, Hartman, Hartmann, Haslebacher, Heck, Hefner, Helmick, Hicks, Hines, Hull, Jones, Mace, Mayo, McClintic, Meyers, Miles, Morgan, Moyers, O’Donnell, Pickens, Ramsey, Roberts, Rothenbuhler, Sassi, Sayer, Simmons, Sims, Sines, Smith, Sneberger, Spies, Stadler, Sturrock, Suesli, Swint, Thomas, Tunning, Vogel, Warner, Wasmer, Wilkins, Williams, Winkler, Wuchner, Zehnder, Zimmerly, and Zoeffel