Though you should make time to explore the north lakeside community of Summersville, and the shanty dwellings scattered across the deceptively dry Summersville Lake, you’ll probably spend most of your time surveying the damage the city of Charleston suffered after the dam broke, sending the contents of the Kanawha River rushing through town (and that’s not counting the bomb damage). The unscathed gleaming gold dome of the Capitol may fill you with hope, but the debris, collapsed tenement buildings, fallen skyscrapers, and ruined city blocks may put a damper on your thoughts of rebuilding: Better to sift through the debris for good quality junk (especially at the Landfill workshop), then trade it at the Fire Department, before finally investigating the cluster of imposing mansions on the lake’s southeast shores. What secrets are contained within these once-opulent dwellings? Don’t get lost in that hedge maze!
