Last updated Tipple Boy, Turkey Knob Mine, MacDonald, West Virginia. photograph by Lewis Hine, 1908 during the height of coal mining in the New River Coalfield
The New River Coalfield is located in northeastern Raleigh County and southern Fayette County, West Virginia. Commercial mining of coal began in the 1870s and thrived into the 20th century. The coal in this field is a low volatile coal, known as "smokeless" coals.[1] The seams of coal that have been mined include Sewell, Fire Creek, and Beckley. This is very high quality bituminous coal rated at approximately 15,000BTU (16,000kJ). The New River coalfield is named after the north flowing New River. Over 60 coal towns were once located there, supported by independent commercial districts at Beckley, Oak Hill, Mount Hope, and Fayetteville. By the 21st century many coal camps had partially or completely returned to nature. These company towns were located along Dunloup (Loup) Creek, Laurel Creek, White Oak Creek, lower Piney Creek, and, of course, the New River. The mainline of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway ran right through the center of this coalfield, with spurs branching off in many directions, and rail yards were maintained at Quinnimont, Raleigh, and Thurmond, WV. The Virginian Railway's main line also passed through the western side of the field as well. Companies such as the New River Company, New River & Pocahontas Consolidated Coal Co., and Mary Frances Coal Co. were the largest operators in the New River Coalfield, but there were many smaller ones as well. These companies recruited native born whites, immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, and African-Americans from the South to work in their coal mines and railroads. The mines began to close down after World War II and today there are very few active coal mines in the field. The New River Gorge is now the domain of the National Park Service as the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, and they have done what their budget allows to preserve the coal heritage of the area.
↑ Tams, Jr., William Purviance (2001). The Smokeless Coal Fields of West Virginia: A Brief History. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press. pp.15–18. ISBN9780937058558.
Raleigh County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 78,859. Its county seat is Beckley. The county was founded in 1850 and is named for Sir Walter Raleigh. Raleigh County is included in the Beckley, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Pocahontas is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, United States. It was named for Chief Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas, who lived in the 17th-century Jamestown Settlement. She married John Rolfe, and they were among the ancestors of many of the First Families of Virginia.
Beckley is a city in and the county seat of Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. It was founded on April 4, 1838.
Coalwood is an unincorporated community coal town in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. The coal mine in Coalwood reached its peak in the 1950s and finally shut down production on October 1, 1986. As of the 1990 census—the last time the town was counted separately—the population was 900. The town is the setting of the best-selling memoir Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam and the October Sky movie that is based on the book.
The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is a unit of the United States National Park Service (NPS) designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains. Established in 1978 as a national river and redesignated in 2020, the park and preserve stretches for 53 miles (85 km) from just downstream of Hinton to Hawks Nest State Park near Ansted. The park is rich in cultural and natural history, and offers an abundance of scenic and recreational opportunities. New River Gorge is home to some of the country's best whitewater rafting, mainly from the Cunard put-in to the Fayette Station take-out, and is also one of the most popular climbing areas on the East Coast.
Whitby is an unincorporated community and coal town in the Winding Gulf Coalfield of southern West Virginia within Raleigh County, United States.
Southern West Virginia is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Southern West Virginia is known for its coal mining heritage and Southern affinity. The region is also closely identified with southwestern Virginia and southeastern Kentucky, with close proximity to western North Carolina and East Tennessee. Today, Southern West Virginia continues to grapple with poverty and continuing population loss. Almost the entire region is located in West Virginia's 3rd congressional district, which was represented by Evan Jenkins until he resigned on September 30, 2018 to take a seat as a justice on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
The Winding Gulf Coalfield is located in western Raleigh County and eastern Wyoming County, in southern West Virginia. It is named after the Winding Gulf stream, a tributary of the Guyandotte River. In the early 20th century, it was promoted as the "Billion Dollar Coalfield".
Pocahontas Coalfield, which is also known as the Flat Top-Pocahontas Coalfield, is located in Mercer County/McDowell County, West Virginia and Tazewell County, Virginia. The earliest mining of coal in the coalfield was in Pocahontas, Virginia in 1883 at Pocahontas Mine No. 1, now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Landgraff is an unincorporated community in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 52 and Elkhorn Creek, approximately 6.4 miles (10.3 km) east of the county seat of Welch.
The Logan Coalfield is a coalfield located in Logan County and Wyoming County of southern West Virginia, in the Appalachia region of the eastern United States.
Stotesbury is an unincorporated community and former coal town in Raleigh County in the U.S. state of West Virginia that flourished during the 1930s. The community was named for Edward T. Stotesbury, then the president of Beaver Coal Company.
Hot Coal or Hotcoal was an unincorporated community and coal town located along the Winding Gulf Creek in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. Originally, it was named Patterson and later acquired the name Hot Coal. It was the next community past Big Stick on County Route 3/2. Although, the community now no longer exists, the Winding Gulf Bank, now the National Bank at Beckley, resided at Hot Coal and was moved to Beckley on January 1, 1914. Hot Coal at one time had a Post Office
Pocahontas Exhibition Coal Mine, also known as Pocahontas Mine No. 1, or Baby Mine, is an inactive coal mine in the Pocahontas Coalfield, near Pocahontas in western Virginia. The mine was the first in the sub-bituminous coal of the Pocahontas Coalfield, opening in 1882. In 1938 it became the first exhibition coal mine in the United States. Uniquely, it was possible to drive one's automobile through the mine, entering through the fan opening and exiting through the original entry. The practice continued until 1970, when it was discontinued due to damage to the roof of the mine from car exhaust.
Kay Moor, also known as Kaymoor, is the site of an abandoned coal mine, coal-processing plant, and coal town near Fayetteville, West Virginia. The town site is located in the New River Gorge at Kaymoor Bottom (38°03′00″N81°03′17″W). It is linked to the mine portal 560 feet (170 m) above on Sewell Bench (38°02′52″N81°03′58″W) in the wall of the Gorge by conveyors.
The Nuttallburg Coal Mining Complex and Town Historic District is located near Winona, West Virginia in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The townsite is almost directly across from the Kay Moor mine and townsite, now abandoned. Like Kay Moor, the town is built around the railroad line at the bottom of the gorge, with an array of coke ovens and mining structures, as well as a bridge across the New River to South Nuttall.
Samuel Dixon was an industrialist and politician in West Virginia. Dixon was among the powerful and wealthy men who helped develop southern West Virginia's bituminous coal bearing-region during the late 19th and early 20th century.
Tams is an unincorporated community in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. Tams is located on West Virginia Route 16 and Winding Gulf, 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Sophia.
The National Coal Heritage Area (NCHA) is a federally designated region of thirteen counties in West Virginia that were the source of "smokeless" bituminous coal through much of the 20th century. The National Heritage Area recognizes the area's cultural and historic qualities and serves to promote tourism, historic preservation and economic development in the region. The idea of the NCHA was first proposed in the early 1990s by Congressman Nick Rahall, and was established on November 12, 1996 by the 1996 Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act. The designated area includes Boone, Cabell, Fayette, Logan, Lincoln, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Raleigh, Summers, and Wayne counties.
The Richmond Coalfield was the first coalfield to be mined commercially in the United States of America. The coalfield is located several miles west of the city of Richmond, Virginia. Its bituminous coal seams are a part of the Richmond Basin, dating to the Late Triassic.
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