The community was named after a bridge over the Gauley River near the original town site. Gauley Bridge was close to the site of the Hawk's Nest incident, in which hundreds of people died in the 1920s and 1930s.
The community was named after a bridge over the Gauley River near the original town site Gauley Bridge was close to the site of the Hawk's Nest incident, in which hundreds of people died in the 1920s and 1930s.