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Look Back: Parkersburg river fronts were like a jungle

Historical newspaper excerpts from the Wood County Historical Society

Photo Provided Jungle Camp was one of the many fishing camps that years ago lined the banks of the Little Kanawha. Some of their facilities are shown above on barges, forced there by high water in the Spring of 1912.

Jungle Camp

The lovely spot along the banks of the Little Kanawha river which was the abiding place of the members of the Jungle Camp for several months and which was the scene of many pleasant gatherings during the summer season, is a thing of the past as the camp has been dismantled and most of the equipment brought to the city for storage until next season. The members of the camp were loath to dessert the place, but the uncertainty of the season made it necessary to do so, although many pleasant memories are retained.

The Parkersburg Sentinel

Sept. 26, 1911

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Jungle Campers prepare

The members of the Jungle Camp fishing club are preparing for the summer campaign on their camp ground on the opposite side of the Kanawha about two miles above the city, where they have held forth for several years. The cooking tent and commissary buildings were washed away during the freshets last winter and they are now being replaced and will be made substantial for the coming season. This is one of the most popular of the fishing camps along the Kanawha river, and the club has a large membership of prominent local citizens who are glad of the opportunity of spending the summer season in tents and in the open.

The Parkersburg Sentinel

May 24, 1912

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Jungle Campers forced to move

The members of the Jungle Camp, who were forced out of their happy home up the Little Kanawha by the big rise in that river on Thursday morning, seem to be enjoying the novelty of having their camp pitched on a barge, and this evening will have a fish supper. The temporary camp has an innovation in a way of cooking with gas on a barge; a temporary line has been attached to their regular gas supply from the camp grounds.

The Parkersburg Sentinel

July 26, 1912

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Paddlefish caught at Leachtown

B.D, Corbitt, a local camper and fisherman, is authority for the statement that he got a real thrill from the half-hour battle he had in capturing a paddlefish or spoon-billed catfish.

It was caught at Mr. Corbitt’s camp at Leachtown on a hand-line last week. It weighs about fifteen pounds and including its spatula shaped snout, is more than three feet in length.

Other fish of this variety have been caught in local waters, though it is comparatively rare. After tussling with the gentleman for half an hour, Mr. Corbitt finally yanked him into his boat by grasping the long spatula shaped snout in his bare hands.

Jordan and Everymann’s volume on American Food and Game Fishes in the Nature Library has a very complete account of this fish, from which the following note is taken: “The paddlefish is one of the most singular and interesting fishes occurring in American waters. Its home is in the bayous and lowland streams of the Mississippi Valley. It is not uncommon in the Ohio and its larger tributaries.”

Excerpts from the Parkersburg News

June 7, 1925

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Bob Enoch is the president of the Wood County Historical Society. The group meets at 7p.m. on the last Monday of each month in the Summers Auditorium at the Wood County Public Library on Emerson Avenue. They do not meet in December. For more information, contact P.O. Box 565, Parkersburg, WV 26102.

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