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Ovens were often built directly into the terrain for both safety and practicality.

The coke ovens at Nuttallburg are beehive ovens, named for their shape.

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Before being purchased by Henry Ford, Nuttallburg Mine was famous for the coke it produced. Coke is a secondary product in coal mining. Once coal is mined and brought to the surface, it can be fired in oxygen deprived ovens to form hard grey chunks of coke. Coke is exceptionally high in carbon with few impurities. It produces relatively little smoke when burned and can power high-powered blast furnaces, such as those used in the production of steel. This made it a more desirable product than raw coal in the early twentieth century. Nuttallburg operated eighty coke ovens at the base of the mountain. Each oven — known as beehive ovens due to their shape — had a five-ton capacity. They were constructed of rough cut stone blocks with small openings on the front for access. Discarded rails from construction of the railroad were used as lintels. When Henry Ford purchased Nuttallburg Mine in 1920, he stopped production of coke at the site, preferring instead to use coke yards outside the state. Approximately forty coke ovens are still extant at Nuttallburg, though they are in various states of disrepair. 

Coke Ovens

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.

The coal conveyor and tipple were the focal points of Nuttallburg. They were instrumental in the production of coal by eliminating the need to transport loads of material down the mountain by hand. The first conveyor and tipple were constructed from wood. When the Fordson Coal Company took over Nuttallburg Mine, they upgraded several pieces of mining equipment, including the tipple and conveyor. The mine entrance was located halfway up the mountain; in order to transfer coal without breakage, the Fairmont Mining Machinery Company engineered a 1,385ft. long conveyor featuring button and rope technology. This technology consisted of a heavy wire (rope) with iron discs (buttons) spaced at four ft. intervals to move coal safely down the sharp incline. The conveyor additionally provided most of its own power. Though an electric engine was used to start it, once in motion, the movement of coal sustained the conveyor belt. At the time of its construction, the conveyor was the largest in the world. The tipple was built to store the coal, load it into rail cars, and transfer it to coke ovens. Nuttallburg had three tracks that passed underneath the tipple, allowing for optimal coal production. Though the conveyor and tipple have deteriorated some over the past century, they have been stabilized by the National Park Service and remain in sturdy condition. 

Nuttallburg Coal Conveyor and Tipple

African Americans made up a large part of the workforce in mines throughout the New River area with many arriving from Southern states south seeking a better life. To be sure, the advertising campaigns of coal companies and the professional labor recruiters spurred southern Black men and families to move to the coalfields. Nuttallburg was one of the many towns that recruited African American laborers. The town, however, was segregated and maintained separate schools, churches, and other facilities. White residents lived on the west side of the river while Black residents lived on the east side and between the railroad tracks and river. Despite being segregated, African Americans were able to earn a relatively decent living in the New River area.

This is the approximate location of a small canteen that served African American coal miners in Nuttalburg. The location is historically significant for many reasons, including its formative influence on Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a West Virginia miner known today as "The Father of Black History" for his work establishing what is now Black History Month, The Association for the Study of African American Life and History, and the Journal of African American History. At the age of seventeen, Carter G. Woodson moved to Nuttallburg with his brothers to earn money for schooling. He worked several years at Nuttallburg and the nearby Kaymoor mine, and it was here where Oliver Jones, the operator of a small canteen that served the needs of Black coal miners made young Woods a deal. Mr. Jones had amassed many books and subscribed to African American newspapers such as the Chicago Defender, but his reading skills and those of most of his patrons were less substantial than Woodson's mastery of the written word. As a result, the owner offered his food to Woodson in exchange for reading the latest news to the miners along with works from his library which included books on Black history, art, and culture. Woodson referred to Jone's small establishment as a tearoom that was also a veritable reading room, and he credited his experiences here as furthering his interest in the study and teaching of Black history. After graduating high school and teaching in Huntington, Woodson earned a Bachelor of Literature degree from Berea College, partly through coursework at the University of Chicago. Woodson later returned to the southern coalfields of West Virginia for a short time, teaching school in the town of Winona. Woodson went on to become the second African American to earn a Ph.D. at Harvard University and became one of the most influential scholars of the 20th century.

Carter G. Woodson and Black Coal Miners in Nuttallburg, West Virginia

While the tipple collected coal at the bottom of the conveyor, the headhouse was the intermediary between the mine and the long descent. The first headhouse at this location was one of the original buildings erected by John Nuttall in 1873. A new headhouse was constructed in the early twentieth century, though this too was replaced when the Fordson Coal Company modernized the mining operation. The current headhouse is the structure built in 1925-1926 by the Fordson Coal Company. The long building was organized over three floors. Coal cars would enter on the top floor. A weigh man would inspect the cars and then pay the miner based on the weight of coal they mined that day. There was then a space for the car to turn around and exit the building, often to be parked in the nearby hoist house. The middle floor is where coal was moved to be loaded onto the conveyor belt down the mountain. A sophisticated piece of machinery sorted and uniformly distributed coal so that it would arrive as whole as possible. The bottom floor of the headhouse contained the electric and mechanical starting equipment for the conveyor. Several other buildings in the area served auxiliary mine functions. The fan house circulated air in the mine so toxic gases could not build up, the hoist house served as a sort of holding area for mine cars and equipment, and an electric substation provided power to the other buildings. All of these structures have been heavily damaged by neglect and exposure to the elements.

Nuttallburg, WV

Coke Ovens

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