Camp Pierpont was created as a base of operations for the 5th WV Infantry and was named for Francis Pierpont, governor of Loyal Virginia in the Civil War. Also called Camp Lightburn, it was the only Civil War fort in Wayne County and consisted of breastworks and a converted hotel that housed the commander, Col. J. L. Zeigler, as well as a hospital and prison. The hotel was razed in 1937.