Underground shuttle cars waiting to be repaired in Cannelton hollow.
These company houses still exist in Cannelton. Cannel coal, for which the area was probably named, was mined here before the Civil War. That kind of coal was formed from spores, and an oil can be produced from it. The cannel coal market was booming in the 1850s until oil was discovered in Titusville, PA in 1859. That kind of killed the
cannel coal oil market. Yet coal mining in Cannelton prospered in the 20th Century.
The company store that used to be located at Cannelton (Photo courtesy W. Caldwell)
A vintage view of the coal camp of Carbondale, WV with the tipple in the background (Photo courtesy W. Caldwell)
Pictured is one of the few remaining company houses at Carbondale. Kanawha & Hocking Coal and Coke Co. was the operator at Carbondale.
In later years coal was extracted from the hilltops above Cannelton by the mountaintop removal method. A portion of the dragline can be seen in the background. (Photo courtesy B. West)
After the coal camp era was over at Cannelton, the Lady Dunn prep plant was located near the mouth of Cannelton hollow along US Route 60. It was probably built by Cannelton Coal Co., which also owned mines in Boone and McDowell Counties.
Later Cannelton Coal Co. was absorbed by Cyprus-Amax Coal Co., a concern that got out of the coal business and sold their properties to Horizon Natural Resources. They in turn sold the operation to Massey Energy, the current owner.
After Massey purchased the mining complex near Cannelton and renamed it the Mammoth operation they threw out the UMWA, leaving this sign in Cannelton Hollow one of the few remnants of union coal mining in the area.