Shepherdstown’s Almost Heaven Swing will overlook the Potomac River from the edge of James Rumsey Monument Park. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Rotary Club of Shepherdstown has undertaken a new project, which will give Shepherdstown just one more attraction to draw in tourism.

This year, the Rotary Club of Shepherdstown will be working together with the Corporation of Shepherdstown to place a swing on the edge of James Rumsey Monument Park that faces the Potomac River. This swing will become the second one in the Eastern Panhandle, with the other West Virginia’s Almost Heaven Swing being in Morgan County, at Cacapon Resort State Park. It will become the 32nd swing in the state.

“Back in 2022, not long ago, the West Virginia Department of Tourism partnered with the Nicholson Vocational & Career School about building something iconic to brand West Virginia and spur on tourism. That’s where the West Virginia Almost Heaven Swings were born from,” said Rotary Club of Shepherdstown member Rick Caruso. “The school manufactured nine pilot project swings.”

Each of those swings was installed in the state’s nine travel regions.

“The closest one is in Berkeley Springs, so it’s ripe for development in our area,” Caruso said.

Rotary Club of Shepherdstown members Walt Eifert, left, and Hank Walter hold up some posters, to help the Town Council visualize the club’s plans to build a West Virginia’s Almost Heaven Swing in Shepherdstown. Tabitha Johnston

The project idea was proposed to the club by Miss West Virginia 2023 Karrington Childress, and the club quickly got on board with the idea.

“The swing has proven to be a big proponent for tourism in West Virginia,” Caruso said. “With the advent of this swing, it will bring people to this area and promote the area — and that’s one of our goals here, to bring our friends out here to West Virginia and Shepherdstown. We’ve got a real gem here.”

Most of the Almost Heaven Swings have been placed in state parks, near a beautiful vantage point, which optimizes the appeal to tourists of taking pictures on them and posting them online with the hashtag, #AlmostHeaven. This was the main reason that Shepherdstown’s other parks were not considered for the project, as none of them come close to having as stunning of a view as James Rumsey Monument Park boasts.

“As we found out, interestingly, there’s a large group of people from all over the state that want to visit every West Virginia high swing. They have their list,” said Rotary Club of Shepherdstown member Walt Eifert. “So it would be pretty cool for us to be part of that.”

This past fall, the Shepherdstown Parks & Recreation Committee approved the project idea and passed it on to the Corporation of Shepherdstown’s Town Council, which also unanimously approved the project. With the likely approval of the project by the Jefferson County Convention & Visitors Bureau and the West Virginia Department of Tourism, the project will hopefully be completed sometime within the new year.

“The Department of Tourism may not approve for us to do this,” Caruso said, before noting that this was not likely to be the case. “They’re looking for spectacular vistas, which we have!”

Funding for the project will be divided between the Rotary Club of Shepherdstown and the Department of Tourism, according to Caruso.

“The cost of this project, to get the swing components, is $4,500. The West Virginia Department of Tourism has a deal, where they will split the cost with you, so our cost would be $2,250, which would be born by the Rotary Club of Shepherdstown,” Caruso said. “We have plenty of the skilled expertise within our club, to do the required digging to get this installed properly and get a proper base installed at the bottom of the swing, so people do not get hurt.”

If the project is approved, the swing will be located along the stone wall by the Potomac River, at the end furthest away from the Rumsey Monument.