Mathias is an unincorporated community along the Lost River

Lost River (Cacapon River)

The Lost River is a river in the Appalachian Mountains of Hardy County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle region. The Lost River is geologically the same river as the Cacapon River: it flows into an underground channel northeast of Baker along West Virginia Route 259 at "the Sinks" and reappears...

 in Hardy County

Hardy County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,669 people, 5,204 households, and 3,564 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile . There were 7,115 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

. Mathias lies off West Virginia Route 259. Before the consolidated school of East Hardy High School

East Hardy High School

East Hardy High School is a high school located in Baker, West Virginia. It was established in the late 1970s after the consolidation of two K-12 schools in Eastern Hardy County: Mathias School and Wardensville School. The school's mascot is the Cougar....

 at Baker

Baker, West Virginia

Baker is an unincorporated community on the Lost River in Hardy County, West Virginia, United States. Baker is located at the intersection of West Virginia Route 259 and West Virginia Route 55. The ZCTA population for Baker's ZIP Code was 1,262 at the 2000 census....

, Mathias had its own educational facility, Mathias School, which served grades Kindergarten

Kindergarten

A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 through twelfth

Twelfth grade

Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...

.

Mathias has one bank (Summit Community Bank), two restaurants, a post office, a new garage, one community center, a pet store, one gas station, as well as Lost River State Park

Lost River State Park

Lost River State Park is a state park located in Hardy County, West Virginia near the community of Mathias. The park encompasses managed by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Despite the name of the park, it actually does not abut the Lost River; it actually lies about west of the...

. It was founded by John Mathias.

At one point it was also home to a mechanic's shop, which exploded due to a gas pipe failure. The explosion was a result of the failure a one-inch rural field tap, which forced gas to migrate to the neighboring building, the Mathias Garage. The resulting explosion injured 5 individuals as noted in CASE NO. 07- 15 8 1 -GT-PC, as reviewed by the WV Public Services Commission.

Those in search of Prickly Pear Cactus will find them along the shale cliff located across SR 259 from the debris pile.