RALEIGH COUNTY, WV (SWVO) – Perched atop Batoff Mountain along West Virginia State Route 41 is an intriguing rock outcrop that bears a resemblance to a human face, capturing the attention and curiosity of passersby.
The formation was created during the construction of WV Route 41, a north-south highway carved through the mountainside.
The clearing and blasting necessary for the road revealed the natural features that now appear to form the face.
Over the years, local legends have circulated about the rock face, with some mistakenly identifying it as the famed “McKinley Rock” located along the Rend Trail by Thurmond in New River Gorge National Park.
That formation, which distinctly resembled President William McKinley, was created in the early 1900s during the construction of a Chesapeake & Ohio Railway branch line from Thurmond to Minden.
In a strange historical coincidence, the McKinley Rock reportedly emerged the same day President McKinley was shot in 1901, lending an eerie mystique to its story.
In contrast, the rock face on Batoff Mountain carries no such legend or historical irony—but its likeness to a human profile continues to intrigue travelers and locals alike.
The formation is best viewed when traveling south on Route 41, near the junction with State Route 61 in Raleigh County.
Whether a product of imagination or nature’s sculptural talent, the rock formation remains a quiet roadside mystery in the hills of southern West Virginia.
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