Ghost Towns of the New River Gorge

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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.

2. Hamlet, WV

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.

3. Quinnimont, WV

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.

4. Royal, WV

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.

5. Prince Station

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.

6. Thayer, WV

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.

7. Alaska, WV

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.

8. Beechwood/Claremont, WV

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.

9. Stone Cliff, WV

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.

10. Thurmond, West Virginia

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.

11. Beury, WV

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.

12. Fire Creek, WV

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.

13. Caperton, WV

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.

14. Nuttallburg, WV

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.

15. Kaymoor, WV

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.

16. Fayette Station and Tunney Hunsaker Bridge

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&O). As the town expanded in the late nineteenth century, the omnipresent C&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.

This Tour is a Thematic Tour or Heritage Trail.

Ghost Towns of the New River Gorge

Created by Iain MacKay on June 16th 2021, 7:13:31 pm.

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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.

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Ghost Towns of the New River Gorge

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