GLEN WHITE, WV

The Scottish / Gaelic influence on southern WV is evident in the number of community names with the prefix "Glen," such as Glen Rogers, Glen Daniels, Glen Morgan, Glen Hedrick, and Glen Jean. And then there is Glen White. The Glen White mining camp was built by coal baron E. E. White Coal Co. just before World War I, when he also opened the Stotesbury operation. The two mines were back to back on the same lease from Beaver Coal Company. The Glen White mine, one of the few shaft mines in the Winding Gulf Coalfield, closed in 1945. A gentleman, who we will call DP, said that his Italian-American family lived in the "hunk" section of Glen White in the 1920s and 30s. There was also a section for white Americans and one for Black people. DP remembered a store on the hill between Glen White and Lester which was run by a man named Albanese and catered to the Italian-American immigrants. There were even bocce courts in the back yard of the store.

Large company houses in the middle of the coal camp

These smaller homes are more numerous in the Glen White coal camp, and probably represent the housing provided for the average coal miner and his family.

Some of the miners' homes still in existence along Route 54

These company built houses at the back of the town still look original. When the coal company still owned the homes they were probably all painted the same color.

Typical of a coal camp hierarchy, these larger homes sit at a higher elevation than the miner's homes "in the bottom" and probably were inhabited by mine foreman and bosses.

The nicest house in the Glen White coal camp is the extant mansion that was built for owner E.E. White, and sits on a bluff overlooking the town.

The White mansion, which allegedly contains a ballroom, is now on the National Register of Historic Places. At the foot of the hill in front of the house is a "Service Roll" monument.

Detail of Service Roll, a monument which lists community residents that served in the military. These are common in mining camps of western Pennsylvania, but they are not a common feature of southern WV coal camps.

The former offices of the coal company. The company store used to sit beside this structure.

The power house has been recycled into a church. With so much cut stone work falling into ruin in WV it is nice to see some of it being saved and put to use.

Most other features of the Glen White coal mine are gone, but these tipple foundations are still there.

Next to the tipple foundations are the stone ruins of another mine building.

This Baptist church dates back to the coal camp era of Glen White.