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Employee housing built by the Hump Mountain Coal Company.

This inclined track was used to move coal from Hump Mountain to Meadow Creek, where the tipple was located.

The tipple was used to load coal into trains on an offshoot of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad.

Little is known about Hump Mountain despite the fact that it appears to have been a relatively sizable mining operation. Three coal seams are found on the identically named mountain, and the bulk of the Hump Mountain camp was set up near the highest and largest seam.  Hump Mountain’s lofty location is facilitated by an unusually flat mountain top. This is a departure from most New River coal towns, which were typically immediately adjacent to the New River or its tributaries. A circa 1925 photo shows many rows of houses erected by the Hump Mountain Coal Company, suggesting that at least one hundred people lived in the immediate vicinity of the mine. Other workers lived in the nearby sister towns of Claypool and Humoco (sometimes spelled Humco). Coal mined at Hump Mountain was transported down the mountainside by an inclined track to Meadow Creek, which once ran parallel with a Chesapeake and Ohio railroad offshoot. Hump Mountain was one of only two mining camps in Summers County. Other than the tipple foundation, the only evidence of Hump Mountain is photographs. The complete disappearance of the town suggests that the building materials were repurposed for new construction after the coal industry waned in the mid-twentieth century.

Hump Mountain, WV

Beginning in the early 1870s, coal prospectors recognized the natural resource significance of the New River Gorge. Chesapeake and Ohio rail lines were laid throughout the area bordering the New River and by 1873, dozens of towns had sprung up practically overnight. While the gorge enjoyed many years of economic prosperity, demand for coal began to decline in the early twentieth century. By the end of World War II, large-scale coal production around the New River had almost completely ceased. In places, a handful of residents remained, but most towns were rapidly abandoned. Many of these sites have been almost completely lost to time and the reclamation of nature, though a hulking rusted tipple, sealed mine portal, or looming foundation are poignant reminders of the gorge’s industrial history.

The town of Fayette Station effectively consisted of two settlements: Fayette, and just across the river, South Fayette. Fayette was established first, around 1873. Martin Blume opened a mine and negotiated right of way with the Chesapeake &amp; Ohio (C&amp;O) railroad. The right of way agreement granted Blume and any descendants free passenger service on the train for as long as it was in use. Fayette expanded quickly as workers flocked from near and far to mine in the area. Blume founded the E.G. Blume Coal Company and transferred ownership of the mine to this entity. Blume himself served as superintendent while L.D. Miller was the foreman. Fayette was a moderately sized mining town and employed twenty-three men. Eight men worked directly with picks, eight men operated mining machines, and the other seven men handled transporting coal using a small locomotive and two mules. Despite Fayette’s relatively humble beginnings, by 1875 the town was large enough to have its own post office. The most significant building in Fayette was the three-story Blume Company Store. The first floor sold goods to miners, the second floor had offices for the E.G. Blume Coal Company, and the top floor was used as living quarters for the Blume family. A saloon in the basement was the center of social life in town and even included gambling devices, pool tables, and a slot machine. A curious auxiliary business of the E.G. Blume Coal Company was the production and sale of coffins, which were marketed through the New River Gorge. Beyond the company businesses, there was only one other business in Fayette: a car garage. This garage portended the significance of Fayette as the nineteenth century drew to a close.Transportation in and around the New River Gorge was dominated almost exclusively by trains. The C&amp;O railroad had tracks on each side of the New River with one track entering and one track leaving the gorge. This began to change as the automobile roared into the United States transportation scene. A bridge was constructed between Fayette and what would become South Fayette in 1889. This structure was built using a style known as Pennsylvania through truss. Wrought iron was used for main supporting elements with a laminated wood deck supporting traffic. Only two stone piers support the 420 foot long structure. The exact details surrounding the building of the bridge are lost to history. A frequently cited builder of the bridge is the Virginia Bridge and Iron Company from Roanoke, Virginia, though a historic photo of the bridge plate suggests that the Wrought Iron Bridge Company of Canton, Ohio was the builder. One possibility is that the Virginia Bridge and Iron Company purchased and sized materials for the bridge but then subcontracted the actual construction to the Wrought Iron Bridge Company. In any case, the bridge was the first span to cross the New River in the gorge.The Fayette Bridge linked Fayette and South Fayette, which merged and changed their name to Fayette Station in 1894. State Route 82, one of the first paved roads in the area, was instrumental in driving traffic to and through Fayette Station. The road was built in the early 1900s and widened and repaved in 1918. The towns continued to grow until they boasted 410 residents in 1910. By this point, Fayette Station had expanded to incorporate many nearby mines, such as the Ajax, Michigan, Royal, and Newlyn mines. However, as the twentieth century wore on, Fayette Station began to decline. The gradual closure of mines in the area led to a series of mass exoduses. When the Fayette Station depot and freight house were destroyed in a 1960s fire, the town faded for good. One of the last extant reminders of Fayette Station, the foreman’s house, was destroyed in 1990 to make room for a rafting access point.Despite Fayette Station’s decline, the Fayette Station Bridge has remained an icon in the New River Gorge. At first, the bridge also began to deteriorate alongside Fayette Station. In 1977, the opening of the New River Gorge Bridge seemed to spell the end of vehicular traffic on the Fayette Station bridge. As the New River Gorge Bridge cut directly across the gorge itself, there was no longer a need to traverse the many slow and time-consuming setbacks to reach the bottom of the gorge before ascending on the other side. Fayette Station Bridge was closed to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Just a year later in 1978, the New River Gorge National River was established. This garnered renewed interest in the area as a recreational and historical location. Recognizing the importance of the first bridge over the New River, a project was initiated to rehabilitate the Fayette Station Bridge. Almost the entirety of the bridge was replaced with modern materials and sidewalks for pedestrians were added. Practically speaking, the current bridge is a replica loosely based on the original, rather than a rehabilitation. The new bridge was renamed the Tunney Hunsaker bridge, after a Fayette County resident who was the first person to fight in a professional boxing match against Muhammad Ali. After his boxing career, Hunsaker returned to Fayette County where he served as police chief of Fayetteville for over thirty years. Though the town of Fayette Station is long gone, the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge stands as a reminder of the first bridge to cross the New River and one of the most significant vehicular routes in the gorge.

Fayette Station was a reasonably sized mining town composed of Fayette and, just across the river, South Fayette. Like all mining towns in the New River Gorge, Fayette Station was connected to the outside world via the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (C&amp;O). As the town expanded in the late nineteenth century, the omnipresent C&amp;O railroad became one of two ways to access the town. The Fayette Station Bridge was completed in 1889 and allowed vehicular traffic to reach Fayette Station. The bridge was the first in the New River Gorge to cross the New River and was a harbinger of the automobile’s replacement of trains as the primary form of transportation. Fayette Station declined over the course of the twentieth century and the bridge followed suit. The completion of the New River Gorge Bridge in 1977 directly led to the closure of the Fayette Station Bridge. However, the opening of the New River Gorge National River area caused a renewed interest in the area and the bridge. The structure was almost completely rebuilt in 1997, and a pedestrian walkway on each side was added. The bridge was also renamed to the Tunney Hunsaker bridge after a Fayette County native who fought against Muhammad Ali in the latter man’s first professional boxing bout. The bridge is an important reminder of transportation and infrastructure in the New River Gorge.

Fayette Station and Tunney Hunsaker Bridge

The settlement of Kaymoor was founded by the Low Moor Iron Company in the late 1890s and became one of the most productive mining operations in the New River Gorge. Kaymoor was actually two mines and four towns, with town development at the canyon top and bottom. Named after a combination of James Kay, a company official, and Low Moor, the Virginia-based iron company, the town prospered in coke production.  In 1925, business misfortunes forced Low Moor to sell Kaymoor to the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. Thereafter, Kaymoor coal traveled the globe, much of it fueling U.S. Navy ships. Kaymoor’s rich coal and plentiful supply of coke ovens allowed the canyon town to thrive.Used extensively by iron furnaces, coke was highly marketable. It was made by loading coal through the top of an oven, where it was sealed and burned for several days. This allowed the volatiles, or impurities, to burn away, leaving high-carbon coke. This process made the coal lighter and cheaper to ship. Most coke produced near the mines was fired in beehive ovens. Made of stone or brick, the ovens were arranged in banks or rows along railroad tracks.  As such, Kaymoor bottoms were lined with coke ovens and trains ready to make a profit.Although there was a sense of camaraderie between the townsfolk, Kaymoor was a racially segregated town. Living conditions were the same for Blacks and whites, but hard labor was delegated to African Americans. Because coal was loaded into the ovens and coke was pulled or unloaded by hand, temperatures near the ovens were quite high. After removing coke from the ovens and placing it into wheelbarrows, workers dumped the coke into hoppers, where it was transported elsewhere. This demanding and undesirable work was purposely handed down to the Black laborers. Despite this unequal treatment, Black schools and churches thrived within the community. Company stores and recreational centers provided decent living conditions for Blacks and whites, alike.After moving to West Virginia from his home in New Canton, VA, in 1892, Carter G. Woodson, "The Father of Black History" and one of his brothers were miners here in Kaymoor. To save enough money, Woodson worked until he was able to complete his education at Douglass Junior and High School, and later became a principal in Huntington, WV.During its peak in the 1920’s, Kaymoor employed more than 800 coal miners and fired unprecedented amounts of coke in its 200 furnaces. Although Kaymoor Two closed in 1926, the more productive Kaymoor One thrived for 63 years after its foundation. From 1900 to 1962, miners produced 16,904,321 tons of coal from Kaymoor One. With its once-rich coal seams depleted, Kaymoor One Mine finally closed for good in 1962. Today Kaymoor is abandoned and overtaken by wilderness. The foundations of structures remain, but little can be seen underneath the vegetation. The National Park Service at the New River Gorge is working on refurbishing the site. Today, there are hiking paths throughout the area that visitors can access if they wish to see the location or read about some of the history. Please note that the mines themselves have been sealed off and are inaccessible.

Located across the river from historic Nuttallburg, Kaymoor (sometimes spelled Kay Moor) was a booming coal town along the New River Gorge. With two mines and four towns (each site developing at the canyon top and bottom), Kaymoor made for an interesting investment for the coal industry. During its heyday, the mines were known for their marketable supply of clean, light weight, high-carbon coke, which was highly profitable for the townspeople of the time. Like most coal mining towns in Appalachia, there was segregation amongst races; however, Kaymoor proved to be a profitable location regardless of skin color. Moreover, "The Father of Black History," Carter G. Woodson, and one of his brothers were miners at Kaymoor. Today, visitors of the site can hike on designated paths throughout the historic community of Kaymoor, visiting mine entrances and other coal company structures that have withstood the weather and time.

Kaymoor, WV

In 1870, English businessman John Nuttall decided to invest in the coal-rich area of the New River Gorge. In 1873 he and his family founded the town of Nuttallburg on several hundred acres purchased for $1 apiece. Nuttall’s decision displayed a great amount of prescience, as the Chesapeake and Ohio (C &amp; O) Railway was not yet completed when Nuttallburg was founded. By the time the train began running through the area in 1873, Nuttallburg was already producing coal at maximum capacity. Nuttallburg’s head start on other coal settlements pushed it to the forefront of the burgeoning coal mining business and the town expanded rapidly in the late nineteenth century. When John Nuttall died in 1897, the Nuttall family owned thousands of acres of land, operated profitable coal mines, and provided a source of employment for hundreds of mine workers and their families. The main entrance to Nuttallburg’s mine sat high on the mountain above the town itself. Coal was loaded onto conveyor belts in the mine and transported to the entrance, where a large head house and conveyor waited. The conveyor was made of wood and used to move coal from the top of the mountain to the bottom, where eighty coke ovens awaited. Coal was shoveled into the coke ovens and converted into high carbon coke which produced relatively little smoke and was powerful enough to power the pig-iron blast furnaces used in industrial centers throughout the eastern United States. After the coal was converted into coke, it was weighed, inspected, and prepared for shipment. Nuttallburg coal developed a reputation for the quality of its coke, which it transported using the adjacent C &amp; O railroad. The Nuttall family decided to sell the mine in 1919. This was not a surprise to anyone in the area, as mines were typically profitable for only thirty years. The discontinuation of coke production in 1919 seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for Nuttallburg. Many residents prepared for the land to be bought solely for its real estate or timber value, and the general atmosphere was one of decline. However, a buyer was found in the early 1920s who wanted to continue to mine coal at the site. Henry Ford, owner of the Ford Motor Company, had been pursuing his business goal of vertical integration, a practice whereby a company controls all aspects of production, from raw materials to finished product. By purchasing coal mines such as Nuttallburg, Ford wished to control the coal supply for his steel mills. Ford visited Nuttallburg in person in 1921. In addition to touring the site, he also entertained suggestions from locals for improving productivity. Sweeping changes in the early 1920s set out to implement the suggestions from locals, as well as Ford’s own ideas. Improvements to Nuttallburg were primarily focused on making coal production as efficient as possible. A new tipple was built in 1923 by the Roberts &amp; Schaefer Company of Chicago and allowed up to three train cars to be filled simultaneously. A conveyor belt constructed by Fairmont Mining Machinery Company of Fairmont, WV, was completed in 1926. Together, the tipple and conveyor belt were the largest mining incline in the world. The headhouse, where carts of coal were inspected and weighed, was also rebuilt in 1926. Ford’s improvements more than doubled the production of the mine. For a brief period in the mid 1920s, Nuttallburg once again experienced explosive population growth. At its peak, the town was home to several hundred residents, all of whom were associated with the mine in one way or another.Despite the extensive improvements made, Ford’s ownership of the Nuttallburg mine was short-lived. The automobile tycoon sold the mine to Maryland New River Coal Company in 1928. This was largely due to Ford’s failure to actualize vertical integration. Vertical integration was unsuccessful because Ford could not control the railroads. He was unable to purchase the C &amp; O railway, which had economically eclipsed the Ford Motor Company, and even acquiring a controlling share in the company was unrealistic. Ford sold the Nuttallburg mine in 1928. The property then passed through the hands of different owners until mining ceased in 1958. In 1998 the Nuttall family transferred ownership of Nuttallburg to the National Park Service. In 2005, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, mostly due to Henry Ford’s role in the production of the town. In 2011 the National Park Service completed a multi-year project that involved clearing vegetation and stabilizing structures. Today it is considered one of the most intact examples of a coal mining complex in West Virginia and one of the most complete coal-related industrial sites in the United States.

Nuttallburg was a booming coal town along the New River utilized by Henry Ford for his steel mills. Before Ford purchased the coal business, Nuttallburg was founded by John Nuttall, who enjoyed modest profits until he sold his company to Ford. During Ford’s operation of the site, technological advances were made in this area to enhance the transfer of the coal from its place in the mountain to the coke oven. Along with Nutalburg’s unique coal history comes the diverse ethnicities of miners who worked in the area. Among them was Carter G. Woodson, known as the ‘Father of Black History,” who moved to Nuttallburg with his brothers to earn money for schooling. He worked several years at Nuttallburg and the nearby Kaymoor mine. Mining operations ceased in 1958, and the area's economy is now centered on a variety of activities, including outdoor and heritage tourism. Many of the structures built by the Ford company remain. The site is now operated by the National Park Service and with various trails and interpretive signs that share the history of coal mining along the New River.

Nuttallburg, WV

Caperton was the joint venture of three major New River Gorge industrialists: Joseph L. Beury, John Cooper, and George H. Caperton. All three of these men were early movers in the area, with each having arrived prior even to the completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&amp;O) Railroad. Caperton began as a small temporary camp for the nearby Fire Creek seam coal mine, which was opened in 1880. The camp was initially known as Ellen or Elm but it soon acquired a permanent name — Caperton. The settlement was named after George H. Caperton in recognition of his founding and managing the site. The New River Coke Company was the biggest investor in the area after its initial development and the company opened a second and third mine in Caperton and across the river, respectively. In part thanks to this, Caperton grew quickly in the last two decades of the nineteenth century and by 1899, there were 526 residents.Most of Caperton’s residents worked in one of the three mines near the settlement. While the mining itself was standard for its time, Caperton’s tipple was a unique piece of engineering. The farthest mine was over one thousand feet up the mountain from the tipple. The solution was an almost 1500 foot long inclined plane with monitor cars. Each monitor car consisted of a large iron cylinder ten feet long and four feet in  diameter. The cars were mounted on wheels and were hauled up and guided down the mountain by several large engines located near the base of the track. Over four thousand feet of cable was needed to operate the system. Another cable system transported buckets of coal aerially from the mine across the river from Caperton. This rig resembled the haulage system used at Royal and required an impressive eighteen thousand feet of cable.Those residents not employed to work at the mines or tipple worked at the coke ovens. There were 212 coke ovens at Caperton. The beehive style ovens were terraced into the hills and ran day and night. The excessive quantity of ovens suggests that Caperton processed coal from other nearby towns in addition to handling the coal mined in closer proximity. Both miners and oven operators in Caperton were active in advocating for labor rights. The New River’s largest assembly of the Knights of Labor was established in the town just a few years after its inception. Known as National Trade Assembly 135, the organized workers were instrumental in stirring other coal towns throughout the gorge to action, though ultimately no major reform occurred during the coal boom.In the 1910s, Caperton began to expand across the river into a settlement that became known as South Caperton. A five hundred foot suspended pedestrian bridge linked the two towns in 1915. The merged Caperton was an example of a relatively large coal town in the New River Gorge. The town likely consisted of over one hundred buildings. Most of these structures were employee houses built by the New River Coke Company on the south side of the river. The houses cost one dollar per room per month, one dollar for electricity, and two dollars for coal, which was used for both heating and cooking. Other homes were privately constructed for managers and important mine personnel. George H. Caperton himself built his family mansion in town. A variety of other buildings served the general community. Workers could purchase essential items and groceries at the company store, which was next to a boarding house for visiting workers and mine staff. A post office was Caperton’s only link to the outside world other than physically leaving via the C&amp;O railroad. Finally, a school and church rounded out public facilities, though they were racially segregated to be white only.By 1919, Caperton was already suffering from the decline of the coal industry. The population was 250 in this year, which was half of the population just twenty years prior. The local mines continued to produce coal on a limited basis after 1920 but opportunities dwindled considerably. The mines at Caperton closed completely in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The town itself hung on for a few more years, until the school was closed in 1952. Most residents moved away, though a few stubborn holdouts waited until the post office also closed in 1954. Caperton was completely abandoned soon after. The town was a significant economic location in the New River Gorge and possessed innovative engineering. However, these aspects alone were not enough to save the town, which is slowly being reclaimed by the forest. Only a few crumbling structures and the remains of foundations mark Caperton’s physical impact on the area.

Caperton was a major coal and coke producing site in the New River Gorge. The town was established in 1880 by coal magnates Joseph L. Beury, John Cooper, and George H. Caperton. The site was named after the lattermost founder. Coke was a primary product of Caperton and was produced in 212 ovens near the town. Coal was mined on both sides of the river and high into the hills. This necessitated two feats of engineering: a 1460 foot long inclined track to move coal down the mountain on the north side of the river and an aerial cable system to move coal across the river from the south side. Caperton peaked at over five hundred residents and one hundred structures. However, the town had already lost half its population by 1919, and many more residents moved away as demand for coal subsided over the next twenty years. Caperton was completely abandoned and left to decay in 1954. Little still remains of the once influential town.

Caperton, WV

When it was established in 1873, Fire Creek was only the third coal camp in the New River Gorge, having been predated by Quinnimont and Nuttallburg. Area pioneer Joseph L. Beury, who also had a hand in the other aforementioned mines, was instrumental in founding Fire Creek under the umbrella of the Fire Creek Coal and Coke Company. The site was named for its proximity to the Fire Creek Coal seam just up the hill. The location was chosen primarily because it bordered the main line of the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&amp;O) railroad, and also because the entrance to the mine could be placed close to the camp. The settlement grew quickly and a post office opened by 1877, indicating that the camp had grown into a relatively sizable town.As one of the first operational mines in the New River Gorge, Fire Creek’s technology and machinery were simultaneously revolutionary and simple. An almost mile-long mine car chain brought coal from deep within the mine to the surface headhouse. At the headhouse, a conveyor belt moved coal from the mine itself down the 1280 foot incline to town. Once in town, the coal was loaded into a large tipple so it could be deposited into rail cars that parked underneath the structure. Some evidence suggests that the conveyor also ran from near the tipple to coke ovens a few hundred yards away. These ovens were some of the earliest, if not the first, coke ovens in the area. The camp opened with seventy beehive style ovens and had expanded to ninety-six by the end of the nineteenth century. Perhaps after being fired, coke could be placed back on the conveyor belt, which was reversed to bring the products to the tippleThe few hundred workers employed at Fire Creek were active in labor rights circles. A local assembly of the Knights of Labor, one of the first in the gorge, was founded in Fire Creek in 1879. Members of this assembly were the only workers from the general geographic area to join in the gorge’s first labor strike in 1880. Fire Creek residents commandeered a C&amp;O train and drove it downriver to Hawks Nest in an attempt to galvanize miners there into action. However, the attempt was unsuccessful and the Fire Creek workers returned home deflated. However, this did not stop residents of Fire Creek from participating in a United Mine Workers of American sponsored strike in 1894, though this event also lacked lasting impact. Unlike many coal camps in the area which experienced an intense population boom followed by a slow decline, Fire Creek grew steadily until 1919, when it had a population of 260. The town remained roughly this size until the 1940s. Residents were served by a number of facilities in town. In addition to the post office, there was also a train station, company office, and a store for miners to spend the scrip they earned. Around twenty employee houses were built by the Fire Creek Coal and Coke Company with some additional personal residential structures paid for directly by wealthier residents. White residents had segregated and separate church and school facilities  while Black residents had to make do with a single combination building. Interestingly, many of the buildings at Fire Creek were constructed using brick. Most towns in the New River Gorge favored wood and other more ephemeral materials, due to the perceived transience of the towns. The use of brick at Fire Creek indicates that the town was thought of as a more permanent location. Despite the lasting ambitions of the town, Fire Creek suffered following World War II, just as all coal towns in the area did. The demand for coal was subsiding and natural resources in the area were drying up. After the Fire Creek Coal and Coke Company sold their facilities in 1945, Fire Creek changed hands a number of times but the population continued to fall rapidly. The closure of the post office in 1947 was an ominous sign for the town and the demolition of the basically defunct train depot in 1957 sealed the area’s fate. The few remaining residents abandoned the town and by the 1970s the site was completely overgrown. Remains of the tipple, conveyor, and coke ovens can still be seen, but the buildings themselves have been reduced to foundations.

Created in 1873, Fire Creek was one of the first coal camps established in the New River Gorge. It was also one of the first sites to process coal into coke using coke ovens. Fire Creek grew steadily through the first two decades of the twentieth century. Its residents were active labor organizers and played a major, though unsuccessful role in an 1880 strike. In contrast to many other towns in the gorge, Fire Creek’s community and residential buildings were frequently built from brick, rather than wood or other less permanent materials. However, this foresight in construction planning did nothing to save Fire Creek from the widespread industrial abandonment of coal as a fuel source following World War II. Fire Creek declined until the  post office closed in 1947 followed by the demolition of the rail depot ten years later. The site has since been completely abandoned and only ruins and foundations remain.

Fire Creek, WV

Beury is, as the name might suggest, linked closely to the activities of New River Gorge coal entrepreneur, Joseph L. Beury. Beury invested in real estate throughout the gorge in the early 1870s. This proved to be an excellent business decision as the area’s coal boom began in 1873. One of Beury’s first settlements, Quinnimont, was also the site of the first shipment of coal out of the gorge. The settlement of Beury was initially established as the Echo Mining Camp. This camp hosted miners working Beury’s Echo Mine a half mile downriver. Echo Mine became fully operational in 1881 and began shipping coal that same year. Cooper &amp; Company initially served as business partners in the venture before the mine was sold to the newly created Echo Coal and Coke Company in 1898. After a brief stint of operation by the Echo Smokeless Coal Company, the mine changed hands a final time to the Beury Brothers Coal and Coke Company.Beury grew rapidly in the last two decades of the nineteenth century. In addition to physically mining coal in the Echo Mine, workers were also needed to operate an inclined railroad to the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&amp;O) main line, harvest timber, tend to fifty coke ovens, and staff local businesses. Unlike most settlements in the region, Beury also benefitted from an economy not related to natural resources. The Fayette Liquor Company bottled beer for local and national distribution. A post office being installed in Beury in 1888 helped cement the growing town’s place in the New River Gorge. In 1895, Beury was home to one hundred families and by 1900, over five hundred people resided in town. The residents of Beury were active participants in community and labor organization. The New River Gorge’s first Masonic Lodge was founded in Beury, which attracted visitors from up and down the river. A Knights of Labor National Trade Assembly was also established here in 1890. N. Miller was appointed organizer for the entire New River District. The assembly was later reorganized into the more recognizable United Mine Workers of America Local No. 988. A 1909 mine explosion in the Echo Mine killed six miners and further catalyzed union activities in Beury.Despite the official name of the town being recorded as Echo Mining Camp, Joseph Beury’s decision to build a mansion in Beury solidified usage of the common name. The total cost of the home is purported to be upwards of one hundred thousand dollars – quite a handsome sum for the time and area. The mansion featured twenty-three rooms for Beury, his wife, and their four children. Stone gardens, a swimming pool, greenhouses, and a stable graced the grounds of the residence. The house even benefitted from a bit of architectural ingenuity; the nearby creek could be diverted to flow underneath the home in the summer and provide a cooling effect. In the winter, the water was diverted back to its original path. The isolated and remote nature of Beury did not stop its namesake from living a lavish lifestyle. The Beury patriarch frequently hired orchestras to play on the lawn of the estate on Sundays or summer evenings. Joseph Beury died in his home in 1903 and was buried nearby.Beury’s almost meteoric population boom proved to be a short-lived phenomenon. The 1919 census recorded 495 people living in town. This was a slight drop from 1900 population levels. Over a period of just five years most of Beury’s residents abandoned the town, causing the post office to close in 1925. The Masonic Lodge burnt down the same year and was rebuilt in the more active Thurmond. The Beury family continued to occupy their mansion until 1936, though they were one of the last holdouts to leave. The town remained abandoned for several decades until a single woman moved in around 1960. Melcenia Fields was an ill-tempered hermit who called Beury home. Despite her misanthropic tendencies, Fields became a beloved icon of the area. When she became too old to continue making the seven-mile trek to Thurmond for supplies, C&amp;O operators would leave bundles of groceries at the edge of the railroad and ensure that extra coal “fell” off the train. Since Fields’ passing in 1982, no one has maintained residence in Beury. The buildings have all collapsed or had their materials repurposed. A 2001 flood covered the remains of the Beury mansion with rubble. Beury is a quintessential example of the ephemerality of coal towns in the New River Gorge.

Beury was established in the late 1870s by Joseph L. Beury as a mining camp for nearby Echo Mine. The town grew rapidly and boasted over five hundred residents by 1900. In addition to natural resource economies typical of the area, Beury also benefitted from a beer-bottling plant. The town’s namesake chose Beury as the site of his family mansion, a grand twenty-three room affair with well-kept grounds. However, Beury faded as quickly as it had sprung up and the town was all but abandoned by 1925. A few obstinate holdouts maintained residence for another decade before even they moved away. With the exception of Melcenia Fields, an eccentric and misanthropic hermit who became a local icon, no one has called Beury home in almost a century. The buildings have all crumbled or been demolished and the Beury mansion was buried under rubble after a 2001 flood.

Beury, WV

Thurmond, also known as "The Heart of the New River Gorge" is a small town located along the New River in Fayette County, West Virginia. Captain W.D. Thurmond established the first buildings at this location in 1873 when he correctly anticipated the importance of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C &amp; O). The town was incorporated in 1901 by Thurmond, thirty years after the captain had founded it. Due to the town’s massive output of coal, Thurmond became the center of commerce along the C &amp; O Railway. To supplement the town’s surging coal economy, houses, hotels, banks, businesses, and eateries began to line the hillside along the New River. At Thurmond’s peak, it boasted several restaurants, clothing stores, a jewelry store, and a movie theatre. The National Bank of Thurmond and the New River Banking and Trust Company provided financial services to the area. Lastly, the Thurmond Hotel (later the Lafayette Hotel) and the Dun Glen Hotel provided entertainment and lodging for locals and travelers alike. The reputation of the Dun Glen Hotel to provide enjoyment to the point of excess earned Thurmond the moniker, “Dodge City of the East.” W.D. Thurmond envisioned his town as a morally strict and religiously puritanical organization, but it quickly grew beyond his sole dominion.According to Sherman Cahall, “The growth was so great that during the first two decades of the 1900s, Thurmond handled more freight than Richmond, Virginia and Cincinnati, Ohio combined. 95,000 passengers utilized the depot yearly and over 150 people worked for the railroad in town as laborers, brakemen, or dispatchers.” [1] Upwards of eighteen train crews operated within Thurmond, along with supervising personnel, to make sure the trains operated efficiently and that coal was transported safely. The National Register of Historic Places states that “by 1910, Thurmond produced $4.8 million of freight revenue for the C &amp; O, which was almost 20% of C&amp;O’s revenue.” [2]. Thurmond was one of the richest coal producing areas of the state with many coal operators as patrons, including Henry Ford and his Fordson Coal Company.The First World War hindered Thurmond’s growth and set it on a downward trajectory. Not only did many men depart the area to serve, but reliance on coal actually waned during the war. The town’s heyday ended in earnest with the onset of the Great Depression. The local economy waned after several businesses closed, including the National Bank of Thurmond. Two large fires in the early 1930s also wiped out multiple buildings. By the 1940s, the C &amp; O Railway changed from steam to diesel locomotives. The National Park Service states that, “Thurmond had been a steam town, its rail yard and crews geared toward the short service intervals of steam locomotives. The switch to diesels left many of the railyard structures and jobs obsolete” [3]. This switch resulted in the final chapter of Thurmond’s remaining prosperity, as the railroad offices in the town closed in 1984. However, the entire town was included in a historical district that year and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Thurmond Depot still functions as a working stop on Amtrak's Cardinal Line. This route runs from Chicago to New York, right through the heart of the New River Gorge. It requires a reservation for the train to stop in Thurmond, otherwise it travels thirteen miles upstream to the station at Prince, West Virginia.Thurmond is but an echo of its former glory but still offers a rare experience. Tourism within the New River Gorge Park continues to attract people to the historic town. Thurmond has hosted the Guinness Book of World Records’ longest poker game and was voted as one of Travel &amp; Leisure's coolest ghost towns in America. In 1995, the Thurmond Depot was partially restored by the National Park Service and now serves as a visitor center and museum for people interested in learning about more the yesteryear of the New River Gorge region. The remaining five residents are also committed to revitalizing the town. In 2015, Thurmond made national news when the five residents unanimously passed a measure banning employment, housing, or public accommodation discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation. Despite the tiny population, Thurmond hosts the Thurmond Triathlon, is a popular whitewater rafting put-in, and has ample outdoor tourism offerings. Thurmond truly lives up to the town motto: "Where the River meets History.”

The main line of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was completed in 1873. This same year, Captain W.D. Thurmond procured 73 acres along the main line, which was a strategic purchase given the importance of the railroad, resulting in the ideal place to develop a town. Thurmond, WV quickly became one of the leading depots in the state, and from 1900 until the 1920s, the town prospered immensely; the depot saw fifteen passenger trains a day and 95,000 passengers a year. As the coal and timber industry accelerated, Thurmond became one of the boom cities within West Virginia, served as the “heart” of the New River valley, and became the chief railroad center of the C&O Railway main line by 1910. Thurmond was home to two hotels, two banks, restaurants, clothing stores, a jewelry store, movie theater, dry-goods stores and business offices. During the town’s era of prosperity, coal barons contributed to the success of Thurmond’s banks which, at one time, were the richest in the state of West Virginia. Unfortunately, the town began to decline after diesel locomotives were invented and the importance of coal mining dwindled. This decline caused many of the local businesses to close, resulting in the emigration of residents. Moreover, the Great Depression produced yet another economic strain on the community, causing several other businesses and the National Bank of Thurmond to close. Two major fires in the town took out several prominent businesses causing even more difficulty and hardship for the community. These days, Thurmond is all but abandoned. However, a dedicated group of the few remaining citizens are attempting to revitalize the community.

Thurmond, West Virginia

Established by Noah Jenkins and J.H. Bramwell around 1882, Stone Cliff was among the earliest coal towns in the gorge. Bramwell later went on to establish the community of Bramwell in Mercer County in 1888. As was typical of the mining operations within the gorge, the mines were located well above the town. The people of Stone Cliff worked in the two drift mines, one into the Fire Creek seam and the other three hundred feet above the first in the Sewell seam, opened by Jenkins and Bramwell. Coal was moved from the mine to the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad or the abundant coke ovens near the town by means of a tramway and monitor cars.The town site is located at the eastern end of the Stone Cliff bridge, originally constructed in 1928 to replace a ferry that had operated at the same location. The bridge was rehabilitated in 2003. Immediately to the left, after crossing the bridge was the location of Stone Cliff. The town was constructed like many other towns found along the New River, with homes on either side of the main line. Robert J. Jackson and James Laprade, former residents of Stone Cliff, remember houses on either side of the track, one side for African-Americans and the other for whites. Even though both men are African-Americans and grew up in a segregated society, neither recall overt racism in their daily lives. Despite this, racial discrimination pervaded life for Black miners and their families throughout the New River Gorge coal fields. One of the most persistent challenges for Black families in the area was the lack of local educational opportunities. Stone Cliff offered a one room school with instruction through eighth grade for children of the white miners. Despite African Americans composing no less than 40% of the community in the 1890s and 55.9% of the population by 1900, Black children were forced to walk a mile upriver to Claremont in an effort to obtain an education. In addition to the school, the town was home to an African American church located between Stone Cliff and Thurmond. This church hosted the annual travelling minstrel show of Silas Green. This was a popular show among all the denizens of the gorgeThe homes occupied by all miners lacked running water, indoor plumbing, and electricity. Water for drinking came from a spring, water for other purposes came from the river. Cooking was done on a coal burning stove. In the winter, heat was also provided by coal. These homes were the typical Jenny Lind style home common to coal towns with a twist.The structures at Stone Cliff were four rooms, two downstairs and two upstairs. Many of them had a lean-to type structure on the rear used for cooking and clothes washing in the summer months. The home was heated by a central chimney that featured an opening in each of the four rooms. Housing in Stone Cliff was without electricity into the late 1940s or early 1950s. The lack of electricity in the homes is not an indication that the town was without it. On the contrary, Stone Cliff was home to a power station that burnt coal from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. for use in the extraction of coal.Mr. Jackson stated the town was not home to coal miners exclusively. Railroad men, like his father and grandfather, and their families also lived within the area of Stone Cliff. The houses of railroad workers were typically two rooms whereas the homes of miners were four. Many of the railroad men, “…worked some extra time there (mines),” so they could live in the larger miner’s house. Stone Cliff was also the location of a turntable for the C&amp;O Railroad, due to its proximity to Thurmond. The remains of this are still intact There are a number of stone foundations of the buildings left for the explorer to uncover. Stone Cliff was also home to sixty coke ovens at one time. These ovens were used to the volatile material from the coal. The result is a product that burns extremely hot and is desirable in the steel industry. Amazingly, Mr. Jackson related stories of people coming from out of town to work in the mines and rather than return to their homes when the mines were not open they would stay in the coke ovens. The ovens were not in use at this time. As he recalled there were no places close by for the workers to stay so they would set up housekeeping in the ovens themselves.At its peak, the population of Stone Cliff was 520 people in 1910. Due to the mine operations trading hands a number of times during the life of Stone Cliff, the population continued to fall in the following decades. By the late 1920s there were less than fifty men employed in the mine. Mining continued into the 1940s by the Pugh Coal Company. The post office established in 1880 ceased operation in 1948. Without economic prospects to sustain the town, Stone Cliff was abandoned in the late 1940s and left to decay. Only a few foundations and the railroad tracks remain today.

Stone Cliff was one of the earliest coal towns in the New River Gorge, located approximately one and a half miles upstream from Thurmond. By 1883, two drift mines were operating in the gorge wall above the town. The following year, more than twenty thousand tons of coal and coke were shipped to markets both East and West. The population of Stone Cliff was at times predominantly Black, though the town was segregated. Stone Cliff enjoyed a relatively high degree of economic success and the mines operated until after World War II.  Today, only the crumbling stone foundations of former structures remain.

Stone Cliff, WV

The Beechwood Coal and Coke Company began operating a drift mine to extract coal from the Fire Creek seam in 1887. Operations began under direction of a team of coal operators, led by the legendary New River coal operator Captain Joseph L Beury. Two years later, the company took control of another mine approximately half a mile upriver of the original one. The new mine was originally known as Central Mine but became the Claremont Mine following Beury’s acquisition. It is unknown what prompted the name change of the mine. Joseph Beury, son of the Cap. Beury, served as mine superintendent until 1917. The post office that had been operating under the name Beechwood since 1887 was renamed Claremont in 1897.Beechwood was located approximately three miles upriver of Thurmond along the Chesapeake &amp; Ohio Railroad main line. Further upriver was the community of Claremont. It was the community for the miners working in the mine at Beechwood as well as the drift mine that gave the community its name. Today, there is little left to indicate there was once a thriving industry and community located here. The USGS 1913 map shows three or four structures below the mine at Beechwood. There is a stone foundation between the road and the railroad tracks at this location. It looks like the remnants of a house or a similar structure. There are remains of smaller structures scattered around the location of the foundation.Like so many other mine towns along the New River, Claremont was built on the flat area along the River and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. The mines were entered above the town in the gorge wall. In addition to the structures usually found within any coal town such as houses, a company store, and a train depot, Claremont was the site of an area school for the children of African-American miners. Children from communities downriver were forced to walk to Claremont for an opportunity to gain an education. It is no wonder Claremont was selected as the location for the segregated school; according to available census records (1900-1920) the town averaged over 40% African-Americans, with a high of 54.0% in 1910.Today, the area that was Claremont is devoid of any ruins. In the area of the town site stands an Appalachian Electric Power substation. The USGS 1913 map indicates multiple structures along a siding for the C&amp;O Railroad. This siding was cut into the hillside between the road and the gorge wall and a portion can still be seen thanks to the power substation. At their peak population the two towns boasted a combined population of six hundred residents. Unfortunately, as with so many of the coal mines along the New River, the mines became unprofitable in the early twentieth century and by 1942, the mines and post office shut down permanently. The populations of Claremont and Beechwood left when the mine played out. The town did not offer people an incentive to stay. It was not a town like Thayer with an attraction like a huge theater. Nor was it a hub for the railroad like Thurmond or Quinnimont.One thing that distinguishes these sites from the others along the gorge are the graves. Coal mining has always been a dangerous profession. The mine report ending June 30, 1891 recorded four deaths in Fayette County attributed to the mines. One of these was young Berry Tucker fourteen years old. Employed as a trapper boy, someone that operated the trap doors allowing coal cars to pass. Overworked, the youth fell asleep on the tracks and was “mashed” as the mine inspectors report coldly recorded. Even though, like so many of the coal communities along the New River, Claremont and Beechwood did not survive long, the one enduring mark left was the graves. Surely, every community along the gorge had a place to bury their dead, but the sites for Claremont and Beechwood remain. They can be found along the main road or scattered along the railroad. Some of these graves are maintained, marked by wonderful monuments, and decorated by family members. Other graves are overgrown and all but hidden by Mother Nature. The one thing all have in common is they are not marked on any maps. Just past the site of Claremont along McKendree Road stands the remains of the Royal Coal Company. On the gorge side of the road are two large concrete silos. These silos are somewhat out of place as they are superior to any other structure within miles. On the other side of the road, between the road and the railroad tracks, stands remains of four concrete buildings and what appear to be reclaimed mine portals. The structures along the railroad side of the road look to possibly be the remains of a system for loading coal into train cars. The area of Beechwood was located slightly less than three miles and the community of Claremont was another three quarters of a mile beyond that upriver from Thurmond on McKendree Road (County Route 25), an improved dirt and gravel road. This road connects Thurmond to Prince fourteen miles downriver. In reality, this road becomes almost impassable just past Thayer, another four miles upriver. Even daily travel along this stretch of McKendree Road would require a four-wheel drive vehicle. Travel along McKendree Road should be done only under the best of weather conditions.

The two communities of Beechwood and Claremont became synonymous with one another almost from the beginning of their existence. Beechwood was established in 1887, when a drift mine opened along the gorge. A post office in Beechwood was quickly established and miners, especially African Americans, flocked to the area. Claremont came into existence when a second mine approximately 0.7 mile south began operating under that name in 1889. The two locations had a distance of less than a mile between them. This close proximity, combined with the industrial connection has historically combined the two locations. Beechwood and Claremont are significant for their large and accessible cemeteries and burial sites.

Beechwood/Claremont, WV

Located four and a half miles upriver from Thurmond, Alaska was a small coal operation that was in existence for less than thirty years. It was one of the shorter-lived coal towns along the New River Gorge ceasing operation in 1914. The town was so small that it never registered for a post office. The population in 1900 was recorded as 168 people. It dropped to 76 in 1910. The USGS 1913 topographical map depicts a handful of structures near the Chesapeake &amp; Ohio Railroad mainline. Among these were twenty coke ovens. Alaska lacked anything approaching flat land, unlike some of the other towns along the New River from Thurmond to Thayer. The other towns were often constructed in a linear form along the main line or a siding of the C&amp;O Railroad. This was not the case in Alaska and the structures depicted on the 1913 map are not located along the tracks. They were built in any locations that could be made usable, often carving out a small section on the hillside. One side of the structure would be placed against the hill while the other side of the building was supported by a stone pier. Today, if one looks closely, the foundation of one of these structures is still evident. It is located between McKendree Road (County Route 25) and the gorge wall.The original drift mine at Alaska opened in 1888 and was involved in mining coal from the Fire Creek seam directly above the community. A second opening began operation after 1900. The USGS 1913 map shows only one opening for the mine. It is connected to the main line by a tramline or monitor line. This line runs vertically up the gorge wall to the same elevation as the mine opening. At this point it makes a 90-degree northern turn and parallels the river to a mine opening. Shown along this track are two structures, most likely supporting buildings such as a Blacksmith or carpenter shop. The opening shown on this map is most likely the second one as it appears to be more than a mile away from the community.Alaska was located four and a half miles upriver from Thurmond on McKendree Road (County Route 25), an improved dirt and gravel road. This road connects Thurmond to Prince fourteen miles upriver. In reality, this road becomes almost impassable just past Thayer, approximately three miles upriver. Even daily travel along this stretch of McKendree Road would require a four-wheel drive vehicle. Travel along McKendree Road should be done only under the best of weather conditions.

The town of Alaska was established in 1888 under the direction of the Alaska Coal & Coke Company with J.E. Robins acting as principal operator. Robins was a Pennsylvania physician that practiced medicine in the anthracite fields of his native state. He became involved in the Fayette coal fields following his move to Charleston, WV in 1886. Alaska was a relatively small coal town and had only 168 residents at its peak. It was also short-lived; by 1914 it ceased to be used. These days the only remnants of settlement are the ruins of coke ovens and stone walls, and a single foundation of a home.

Alaska, WV

Of the many coal mining towns that came and went along the New River Gorge, Thayer offers one of the most interesting and compelling histories. The community has the distinction of being one of the few towns that survived the end of the mining operations that gave rise to its creation. Thayer was the company town for the Ephraim Creek Coal and Coke Company that operated the Buffalo and Slater mines. The first to open was the Slater mine, upstream of the community. It was a drift mine working the Fire Creek seam, a three-foot high seam of coal. The Buffalo mine was located at Ephraim, downriver of the town. It was also a drift mine working the same coal seam. When the Ephraim Coal and Coke Company combined operation of the two mines, it was anticipated they would combine to produce an astounding 1,000 tons of coal daily.The valuable flatland along the New River was a prime location for a town. The town was built on both sides of the main line of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad. As the population grew, the town expanded to the mountainside above the town. At its peak, the town contained a train depot, theater, company store, company offices, and company housing.  With the exception of a few houses, all of these buildings have been lost to time. The theater had the capacity to seat one thousand people. When the stage was not being utilized, the seats could be removed so the area could be used as a dance hall. The theater must have been an impressive building as it also boasted a billiards area and a bowling alley. Surely, these entertainment opportunities attracted miners and their families from other communities throughout the gorge and surrounding areas.The houses in Thayer were not the Jenny Lind buildings typical of company mine towns of the era. The usual home found within a company town consisted of two rooms, the more elaborate having four rooms, and without modern conveniences of the day. The company houses found here were frame construction with clapboard siding and included five or six rooms. They were surprisingly modern for their time, complete with running water, indoor bathrooms, and electricity. Three of these houses remain standing today along the railroad tracks.Above the town along a natural bench was located the superintendent house, several employee houses and the Methodist Episcopal Church. However, this makes the town sound larger than it truly is. It is simply spread out and along the wall of the gorge. Approximately a quarter mile above the tracks are some of the more impressive structures still standing in this area. The first and easiest to access is Little Rock Assembly Church. This is a white clapboard structure complete with a steeple that may be the Methodist Episcopal Church. It has the appearance from the outside to be a single room church. It is situated along McKendree Road where the road splits. The right fork is known as Thayer Post Office Road. It winds down the hill to railroad tracks and river. The left fork, McKendree Road, continues to Prince. Beyond the edges of Thayer, the road quickly becomes impassable for all but four-wheel drive vehicles with substantial ground clearance.It is unfortunate the road is in such a state of disrepair, as tt is along this section of road a large two-story structure, probably a boarding house, stands. This structure dwarfs everything else in the immediate area. Not only is it two full stories tall, it is built into the hillside making it appear even larger. Mother Nature and neglect have degraded this building to a state beyond repair. The windows have been broken and there is at least one gaping hole in the roof giving this once grand building a haunted look. In a report for the National Parks Services, it is theorized the building was possibly a boarding house for the community. The adventurous tourist that wants to see this building before it is completely reclaimed by nature is advised to park at Little Rock Assembly Church and walk to the building. The road is not suitable for most vehicles.Thayer’s economic heyday collapsed alongside most of the gorge’s coal mining in the mid-twentieth century. The final nail in the coffin for the coal town was the closure and cessation of post office operations in 1968. Today, Thayer is inhabited only by a handful of hearty souls that call this piece of history home. The company houses in near original condition along the bottom appear to remain in use as summer cabins. There are also a number of modern structures that appear to be in use as summer cabins and year-round residents. This area is also home to a spartan camping site managed by the National Parks Service. The community is located slightly more than seven miles upriver from Thurmond on McKendree Road, an improved dirt and gravel road. This road connects Thurmond to Prince fourteen miles upriver. In reality, this road becomes almost impassable just past Thayer. Even daily travel between Thayer and Thurmond would require a four-wheel drive vehicle. Travel to Thayer should be done only under the best of weather conditions.

Thayer sprang to life when the Ephraim Creek Coal and Coke Company began mining the Buffalo and Slater mines in 1902. Designed to be a pleasant location for the Ephraim Creek Coal and Coke Company’s home office, the town encompassed most of the bottom land along the New River. The town was designed alongside the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad main line and was a thriving community until the coal that could be accessed profitably was extracted from the area. As the mining companies abandoned the area, most of the residents moved away in search of new opportunities. The post office closed in 1968, and today only a handful of hearty souls still call Thayer home.

Thayer, WV

In 1870, brothers William and James Prince purchased three hundred acres of New River Gorge land from General Alfred Beckley. They quickly set to building a mercantile store and establishing a ferry across the river. The area soon became known as Prince. The brothers proved to be in the right place at the right time. The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&amp;O) Railroad was laid out in 1873 and passed through the Princes’ land. The brothers brokered a right-of-way deal with the railroad that included the stipulation that all passenger trains stop in Prince. Though many towns sprang up around the New River in the late nineteenth century, Prince was a little different, at least at first. It was not a coal mining town but existed instead to serve the mining towns and travelers to and from them. Despite this, William Prince invested heavily in nearby mines. By the 1890s, Prince was directly involved in the coal boom through seventy-eight coke ovens a little downstream of downtown. Coal was mined on the south side of the river and then transported to Prince using a system of buckets suspended on wire cable. At its peak, Prince boasted an elementary and high school, two churches, a post office, hotel, and tavern. However, the population never crested two hundred fifty residents. Two factors contributed to the small population relative to the town’s success. Firstly, because Prince was not a mining town in the traditional sense, there were few opportunities for manual laborers. Secondly, the Prince brothers rarely ever sold parcels of their property, electing instead to rent it. This meant that they personally owned all the businesses in town, and most of the other buildings as well. Passenger trains into and out of the New River Gorge were the primary drivers of Prince’s economy. Another revenue stream came from travelers to and from Beckley, as Prince was the closest rail station.In 1880, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway built the first station in Prince, West Virginia. It was a relatively simple wooden structure designed with utility in mind. In 1891, the depot was enlarged due to expansion in commercial freight and passenger travel. The renovated depot featured a gabled roof with a large central octagonal tower. In 1917 a fire nearly destroyed the station causing a new one to be built. The new station was built to roughly the same specifications as its predecessor.Robert R. Young, the C&amp;O president, had a vision and wanted to create a more stylish, streamlined and efficient passenger rail system following World War II. In 1946 the old Prince station was demolished and the present red brick station was built. Garfield, Harris, Robinson and Schaffer, an architectural firm from Cleveland, Ohio, along with C&amp;O staff architects, designed the current station. It opened on June 26, 1946. Nearly 3,000 people attended the opening — over twenty times Prince’s population at the time. The newly constructed station was built in the Art Moderne style and featured large expanses of glass on the north and south facades. It also had a flat cantilevered roof and terrazzo flooring. The station platform was constructed so that the sun would warm the passengers who waited along the platform and inside the depot during the winter. Conversely roof and platform canopy provided shade for passengers during the summer. Along with its waiting area and ticket desk, the station consisted of a 125 foot long by 22 foot wide depot that contained restrooms. There was also a ladies’ lounge and freight, and baggage and express rooms. The station had modern technology too, offering ultraviolet lights and radiant heating in the floor. An image taken by Arnold Eagle in 1944 is displayed on one end of the waiting room. The wall length photo mural shows the coal tipple in nearby Crab Orchard. It was included to demonstrate how economically important coal mining was to the C&amp;O and the region. Another piece of artistic branding can be seen in the C&amp;O’s “Chessie” kitten logo embedded in the floor in the waiting room. Chessie was introduced in 1933 and quickly became one of America’s favorite mascots. Chessie often appeared with the slogan “Sleep like a kitten” and featured prominently in advertisements for the C&amp;O’s air-conditioned sleeper cars. Due to its location, serving a large number of passengers from Beckley and other communities, Prince Station was intended to be the prototype for a more modern nationwide rail system. It was planned for the depot to serve the railroad’s streamline passenger train from Washington, D.C. to Cincinnati, Ohio called The Chessie. However, this venture failed and Prince Station’s importance waned. With fewer than three thousand boardings and alightings at Prince Station in the 2010s, Amtrak opted to no longer position a station agent in Prince in 2016. The company cited increased online ticket sales as proof that physical ticket sales had become unnecessary. Despite this, the station remains operational and is used a few days a week. In fact, a 1.5 million dollar renovation recently brought the station into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Prince continues to serve as the general rail hub for its area. It is the main station for the majority of Fayette County. It also provides access to a variety of outdoor activities in the New River Gorge.

The town of Prince was established in 1870 by brothers William and James Prince. Rather than being a mining town like most other settlements in the New River area, Prince instead provided goods and served as a travel hub for miners and passengers on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. The first Prince Station was constructed in 1880 and rebuilt in 1917 following a fire. The current Art Moderne station was completed in 1946. It was envisioned as a prototype for a more modern rail system that would stretch from Washington, D.C. to Cincinnati, Ohio. Though this rail route never came to fruition, Prince Station is still one of its best surviving proofs of concept. Despite a station agent no longer staffing the building, Prince Station is still operational and is used several times a week by passenger trains.

Prince Station

Royal was a moderately sized coal town on the South Bank of the New River. Situated almost directly across from Prince, the two towns were heavily linked. The town of Royal predated coal mining in the New River Gorge, though it was settled only by a few independent farmers and there were no community structures. James Kay and brother-in-law James Laing established the Royal Coal and Coke Company in 1890. One important shareholder in the company was William Prince, founder and namesake of the town of Prince. By 1891, Kay and Laing had begun developing a mine in Royal. In the early years, priority was given to company buildings and indispensable structures for mining operations. Many workers commuted from Prince or nearby farms, while others made do in Royal with temporary shelters. As there was no bridge across the New River, people entering town from the opposite side of the river utilized a ferry operated by the Woods family.The lack of a bridge between Royal and Prince created a unique challenge. Though Royal was the site of a coal mine, the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&amp;O) main line was on the other side of the river in Prince. The railroad was the primary method of distributing coal to a much wider market. Additionally, eighty coke furnaces, which transformed coal into a more powerful fuel called coke, were set up in Prince. Laing, who served as mine foreman, devised an ingenious solution to the problem. Between 1890 and 1891, an aerial tramway was installed by the Trenton Iron Company to move coal from the mine entrance eight hundred feet above the river, through Royal, and finally on to Prince. The system was invented by German engineer Adolph Bleichert. Drawing from its installer and inventor, the system between Royal and Prince became known as the Trenton Bleichert Tramway (TBT). It was the first and only aerial system designed to transport coal in the New River Gorge. Preparation for installation of the TBT began in 1888. A one hundred foot wide path was cleared down the mountain and about ten stone foundations were constructed. Kay, who served as superintendent of Royal after helping found the company, was an experienced Scottish stonemason. In fact, a majority of the workers and miners in Royal were immigrants from Scotland, many of whom likely came to American to escape the brutal Highland Clearances, where tens of thousands of Scots were forcibly evicted from their land. The masonry experience of Kay and other immigrants gave rise to exceptionally sturdy foundations, many of which are still standing. These foundations are especially impressive because they are dry masonry, meaning they use no mortar, concrete, or other binding agent. Wooden towers were built on top of the foundations to keep the tramway from sagging too much. Timber for the towers was sourced from the immediate area. In addition to the towers down the mountain, a separate foundation and tower was also constructed on the Prince side of the river. The gap between towers that spanned the river was 665 feet. The total one-way length from the top of the system to the bottom was 2800 feet.At the top and bottom of the TBT were two similar buildings that served as loading and unloading points. At the top, coal was loaded into a hopper and poured into seven hundred pound buckets attached to the cable. The buckets were attached to the cable with a special clutch and could be detached for loading and unloading. Each bucket could hold a half-ton of coal. The weight of coal traveling down the mountain provided enough force that once buckets had been unloaded at the bottom, they were carried back up the mountain to be reloaded. Three drum brakes were installed as a failsafe in case the track ever began moving at unsafe speeds. The brakes were subjected to a constant stream of water, to ensure they would not overheat. The track supported a total of thirty-two buckets which reached speeds of three or four miles an hour. Theoretically, the TBT could move eighty tons of coal per hour, but in practice it rarely exceeded half of that number. In addition to coal, miners would also ride the TBT up the mountain to begin work each morning.In 1900, a C&amp;O bridge was built between Royal and Prince and a railroad spur line was also constructed. This superseded the need for the TBT, as a traditional tipple was cheaper and easier to use. The TBT was torn down in the early twentieth century and replaced with a coal tipple fed by an inclined conveyor. At this time, Royal was thriving. The Royal Coal and Coke Company had constructed seventy-five homes that were rented to workers and miners. A home cost $5.99 per month with an additional $1.00 due for coal. As coal miners were paid forty-five cents per ton of coal mined, a miner would have needed to extract over thirteen tons of coal each month just to pay rent. Additional services also sprang up in Royal. The town included a school, church, theater, pool hall, and even a doctor’s office. Having a dedicated physician was a rarity in the New River Gorge and most communities were serviced by travelling doctors.Miners at Royal were particularly active in labor advocacy and union activities. In 1902, most of the town’s miners participated in a strike sponsored by United Mine Workers of America. When the coal company brought in strikebreakers to continue production, Royal residents responded with violence. Snipers stationed on the hill across from the Royal mine fired shots upon the strikebreakers in an attempt to dissuade them from continuing to work. A year later in 1903, 142 strikers from Quinnimont passed through Royal and many Royal residents joined the group. The strike marched to Stanaford, where a shootout known as the Battle of Stanaford resulted in seven dead miners. This event caused United Mine Workers of America to quit attempting to unionize New River miners. Royal continued to produce coal until 1928, when the Royal Coal and Coke Company sold all its holdings in the area. With no employer left, the residents of Royal moved away and the town was all but abandoned. The area experienced a brief resurgence in 1936 when mining resumed under a new company, but by 1940 the Royal mine was permanently closed. Since then, Royal has been almost completely reclaimed by the surrounding forest. Only a few stone foundations and walls provide any evidence of the bustling mining industry that once defined the land. The land is owned by New River Gorge National Park and can be explored via Glade Creek Road off of State Route 41. A few interpretive signs have been erected by the National Park Service.

Royal was established just across the river from Prince in 1890. By 1891, the coal mine at Royal was producing coal for distribution outside of the New River Gorge. However, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad ran through Prince, not Royal. In order to move coal across the river, a technologically impressive aerial tramway was constructed. Known as the Trenton Bleichert Tramway, it could theoretically transport eighty tons of coal per hour down the half mile cable. Royal was the first and only place in the New River Gorge to utilize aerial transportation of coal. The town was also notable for its role in labor advocacy and union strikes. After Royal was abandoned in 1940, it was completely overrun by the forest. There is now little left but foundations and a few stone walls.

Royal, WV

Quinnimont is the oldest European-settled town in the New River Gorge. Jacob Smith first began subsistence farming there in 1827. He named the town Quinnimont after the five mountains that surround it — in French, quint means five and mont means mountain. Smith’s town, if it can even be called that, expanded only slightly over the course of the twentieth century. It was not until the arrival of industrialization in the New River Gorge that Quinnimont truly boomed. The Quinnimont Charter Oak and Iron Company were the first to realize the potential of the area when they built an iron furnace in 1870. However, this furnace only operated for three years. The true catalyst for Quinnimont’s growth was the arrival of Joseph Beury in 1872.Joseph Beury was born in Pennsylvania in 1842. He served as a Union captain during the Civil War before returning to his home state to help his father run anthracite mines. After just a few years, Beury set out on his own and found himself in the New River Gorge as whispers of its importance were beginning to circulate. Beury recognized that the fertile soil, convenient location near the under construction Chesapeake and Ohio (C&amp;O) Railroad, and relatively flat area made Quinnimont the perfect place to found a coal camp. He created the New River Coal Company and immediately began recruiting workers and miners. When the C&amp;O was finished in 1873, the New River Coal Company was already prepared to begin shipping coal. In fact, the first load of coal to leave the New River Gorge came from Quinnimont.Around the turn of the twentieth century, the population of Quinnimont peaked at about five hundred residents. The workers and miners who comprised the town hailed from a wide variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds. Many miners were white immigrants from the United Kingdom, Italy, or Poland. Black African-Americans were recruited from the South. Most of Quinnimont’s Black miners were recently emancipated slaves and there was little incentive for them to stay in the South where their economic prospects were far more limited. The houses in Quinnimont were constructed by the coal company and strategically segregated in ethnic and racial clusters. The goal of this system was to keep workers isolated, so there was less risk of unionization. In addition to this less formal segregation, there was also enforcement of formal segregation between whites and Blacks. This meant that the town had two churches and two schools. Despite the inherent segregation in Quinnimont, there seems to have been relatively little conflicts between different ethnic and racial groups. This was in large part due to the necessity of cooperation and reliance on each other in the mines. As one coal miner said, “We are all Black at the end of the day when we come out of that hell hole.”[1]In addition to the segregated schools and churches, Quinnimont also boasted a general store, post office, baseball diamond, hotel, jail, and boarding houses for railroad workers. Almost all of these businesses were owned directly by the coal company. Miners in the camp were issued scrip, which could be used similarly to regular money at the facilities. However, this system effectively prevented workers in the town from seeking economic opportunities elsewhere, as their payment and savings were only good in Quinnimont. Another structure was erected by Quinnimont residents in 1921, though it provided no direct services. This still standing construction is a twenty-five foot tall, fifty-five ton granite monument to Joseph Beury. $30,000 was paid for its construction. Found a little ways up the hill from the railroad tracks and river, the Beury Monument celebrated the business achievements of Joseph Beury, the first owner of Quinnimont’s coal industry. Though Beury owned Quinnimont for only a few years, he later went on to become one of the most prolific coal mine operators in the New River Gorge. Beury died in 1903.Unlike many coal towns in the New River Gorge, Quinnimont remains occupied today. However, the population has dropped dramatically, and the town is a shadow of its former glory. The mines closed in the 1950s and with them went much of the economy in Quinnimont. The businesses have all closed, the churches and schools are no longer in use, and the Beury Monument is overgrown. Even the post office closed its doors in 1997. However, many of the buildings are still standing and have been restored or stabilized by the National Park Service. In addition, the CSX railway, formerly the C&amp;O railway, continues to maintain an active rail yard at Quinnimont. As the New River Gorge’s earliest settlement and earliest mining camp, Quinnimont is a bastion of coal industry history.

Quinnimont is the oldest European settled town in the New River Gorge, the first town to ship coal on the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railroad, and one of the most significant historical coal towns in the area. Though Quinnimont was settled by Jacob Smith in 1827, it did not economically take off until the 1870s, when Joseph Beury invested in the town. A number of workers and miners from a variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds were recruited to work in the new coal camp. Despite this, the town was intentionally segregated ethnically and racially. At its peak, Quinnimont had a general store, post office, baseball diamond, hotel, jail, boarding houses for railroad workers, and two schools and two churches — one each for white and Black residents. There is also a large granite monument to Joseph Beury above the town. The mines operated until the 1950s. No businesses or economic opportunities remain in Quinnimont, though the town is still sparsely populated and CSX, the successor of the C&O railroad, maintains an active rail yard in the town. 


Quinnimont, WV

Like most New River communities, the town of Hamlet sprang up in the late nineteenth century. Following the completion of the main line of the Chesapeake &amp; Ohio Railroad in 1873, many branch lines were constructed to connect outlying areas to the primary thoroughfare. Though there were likely some inhabitants in the relatively remote area in the 1870s, Hamlet was populated in earnest between 1880 and 1890. The primary draw of the area was almost 50,000 acres of pine and yellow poplar trees. Though coal was the immediate business motivator in the New River Gorge, industrialists quickly realized that they could also leverage the existing rail infrastructure to move timber as well.The Blue Jay Lumber Company was one of the first entities to begin harvesting timber from the region. Hamlet was the primary base of operations and staging area for even more remote communities, such as Glen Morgan upriver. Raw timber was loaded onto freight cars of the Glade Creek rail line and moved to Hamlet. At its peak, the Glade Creek line operated four locomotives, one passenger car, thirty-three freight cars, and twenty-four other unspecified cars. Once in Hamlet, the wood was processed and sent across the river to Hamlet’s companion town, Glade. In Glade, the processed items were loaded onto C&amp;O cars on the branch line and shipped to Thurmond, Hinton, Quinnimont, or Prince, where they were redistributed and delivered to industrial sites in major cities such as Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The entire operation centered on Hamlet comprised a lion’s share of the New River Gorge’s timber industry.Despite the importance and size of Hamlet’s industry, the town was relatively small. Historical maps indicate that the settlement included around twenty-two houses, though many of these were likely shared by more than one family. Based on similarly sized towns in the New River area, Hamlet was likely home to between one hundred and two hundred people. Most of the residents would have been loggers or mill workers. Each day, loggers would trek up the mountains to the constantly receding woodline and begin felling trees by hand. The timber was then transported down the mountain with the help of draft horses, or in some cases, narrow rail-like tracks, similar to ones used for mining. A mill pond in Hamlet was used to wash timber fresh from the hill. A lumber mill did the initial work of breaking timber into manageable pieces. Some of these were shipped as is while others were further refined at the saw mill. There was also a machine shop in Hamlet, though it is likely that it fabricated items solely for use in the town, rather than producing for other locations.In addition to logging and mill work, there was also a need for support services in Hamlet. These included a barber shop, doctor’s office, and ice house. A boarding house served visitors and temporary workers while a company store offered opportunities for residents to purchase essential items. Interestingly, there was only a single church and school in Hamlet. Most towns in the New River Gorge recruited and employed significant numbers of Black workers. Due to policies of segregation and general racism, most towns contained separate church and school facilities for white and Black residents. That there was only a single church and school in Hamlet indicates that either a significant portion of workers in the town were white, or that masses and classes were not segregated, with the former being the more likely explanation. Hamlet enjoyed over thirty-five years of relative prosperity but by 1917, the lumber boom was drawing to a close. This was due in large part to severe overlogging in West Virginia — all of the state’s old-growth forests were completely decimated by 1930. Hamlet rapidly declined and in 1921 only a few families occupied the five remaining homes in the town. All of these residents were employed either by the C&amp;O railroad, or at coal mines down the river. Despite the dire straits Hamlet found itself in, a revival occurred in 1921. The Glade Creek Coal and Lumber Company announced the building of a bridge between Glade Creek and Hamlet and the reintroduction of logging to the area. The Glade Creek rail line was also expanded to allow larger trains. The American Bridge Company was contracted to build the seven hundred fifty foot long girder bridge which was completed in 1923. A new sawmill was also constructed on the Hamlet side of the river.The Glade Creek Coal and Lumber Company continued operations in the Hamlet area until 1929, when they sold their holdings to the Babcock Coal and Timber Company. Babcock Coal and Timber Company continued commercial operations until 1936, when they closed the mills, possibly due to a devastating fire that destroyed a major mill structure in Hamlet. At the same time, Hamlet’s post office moved across the river to Glade Creek, signalling the finality of Hamlet’s economic prosperity. Babcock Coal and Timber Company went out of business in the late 1930s and removed the rails that connected Hamlet to most other communities. Though a few families still attempted to live in Hamlet, the final nail in the coffin came when the bridge between Hamlet and Glade was deconstructed for metal scrap during World War II. At this point, the isolated town was abandoned and the structures allowed to collapse. Only foundations of major structures and the piers of the dismantled bridge can be seen at Hamlet these days. Despite being no longer extant, Hamlet is the most significant example in the New River Gorge of an industrial settlement devoted to timber rather than coal mining.

Hamlet was a smaller town founded during the New River industrial boom. Its significance comes from the fact that it was not a mining town, but a logging town. The one hundred to two hundred residents of Hamlet were almost exclusively employed as loggers or mill workers. Timber felled around Hamlet was ferried across the creek to the companion town, Glade, where it was loaded on trains on a branch of the Chesapeake and Ohio main line and shipped out of the gorge. Hamlet was primarily active from the 1880s through 1917, though it experienced a brief renaissance in the 1920s and 30s. The town was completely abandoned following World War II. Though Hamlet once included several mill facilities, a boarding house, company store, ice house, barber shop, doctor’s office, church, and school, no buildings remain extant. Most have been completely reclaimed by the forest, though some foundations remain. 

Ghost Towns of the New River Gorge

Hump Mountain, WV

Introduction

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