Description
Coal used to be mined in Southern West Virginia even before the state’s birth in 1863 but used to be most commonly consumed within a couple of miles of where it used to be dug. When the railroads arrived at the scene, they not only provided a means of getting that coal to market, additionally they brought in trainloads of workers to the sparsely populated region. With the mines normally situated in remote, out-of-the-way spots, operators were forced to build housing for the ones workers and their families, in addition to company stores, schools, and churches- the whole lot needed in a small community. Overnight, the nation’s demand for coal turned sleepy, little places in Southern West Virginia into boomtowns and helped cities such as Charleston and Huntington grow and prosper as gateways to and from the coalfields.