This was your typical Southern West Virginia coal mining valley until the West Virginia Turnpike was built through much of it in 1954. By the time the Turnpike was upgraded to four lanes in the mid-1980s, much mining along Paint Creek had ended. The last CSX train rolled down the track in 1988, and in 1989 labor strife ended mining at Milburn.
Coal camp of Standard, Kanawha County, on Paint Creek. The operator was Standard Splint & Gas Coal Company.
Trestle remaining betweeen Greencastle and Burnwell from the C&O Railroad's Paint Creek branch. The last train came down the line in 1988.
The Imperial Colliery company store at Burnwell, WV. This was the last company store to close in WV. It was still being operated by the Imperial Collieries of Lynchburg, Virginia as late as the 1990s.
They kept the store open because it was popular with workers on the WV Turnpike. In its last days the store mostly sold sandwiches, but it was still set up as a store selling such items as miners' boots. The store closed when it
was burned by arsonists.
SOME OF THE LAST COMPANY STORES TO CLOSE IN SOUTHERN WV
1969-New River Company - Scarbro and Skelton stores
1970s-New River Company - McDonald (Mt. Hope) store
Mid 1970s-Westmoreland Coal Company - Eccles and McAlpin stores
1980-Youngstown Mines Corporation - Dehue store
1980-Olga Coal/LTV Steel - Coalwood and Caretta stores
1980s-Island Creek Coal Company - Oceana store
Late 1980s - Peabody Coal Company - Edwight store
Circa 1990s - Imperial Colliery Company - Burnwell store
The now-vanished coal camp of Burnwell. Now, though, nothing remains of the town but memories. The above two pictures are borrowed from the book "Kanawha County Images, A Bicentennial History 1788-1988" by Stan Cohen. There is also a volume 2 to this series.
Imperial Colliery's repair shops still remain at Burnwell, although they are dilapidated.
This small shed also remains from the Burnwell mining operations.
What's left of the Paint Creek Coal Mining Company's camp at Collinsdale, WV. There appears to be a coal car in the yard of the white house. Sometimes you see things such as that when driving around West Virginia.
Superintendent's house at Mahan, Wv. Like nearby Burnwell, this was a coal camp owned and operated by Christian Colliery Company. Their Mahan Mine No. 1 was in the Powellton seam, and Mahan No. 3 was in the Eagle seam of coal.
There is not much more than this sign left at Milburn, Fayette County. This coal mining town dates at least back to the 1920s, and at that time was a concern of the Milburn By-Products Coal Co (mining the Powellton seam). When this sign was erected, Milburn Collieries (probably a subsidiary of Imperial Collieries) was mining the No. 2 Gas seam. Operations ceased in the 1980s.
"Bhalv" writes, "Does anyone have information on Milburn By Products Coal Company Fayette Country West Virginia? I would love to know the very beginning; I was born and raised there in 1935 my parents Vester..., wife Beulah..., sister Helen.., and Sister Nancy ... Nancy and I were born there, Helen was born in Alabama. If anyone has any thing to share mail me please: Post Office Box 1106, McDonough, GA. 30253"
Thanks to Sal C. for this photo of the prep plant at Kingston, Fayette County. A whole mining camp was once here, operated by Semet-Solvay. However, the town is gone, the railroad has been removed, and all that's left is this mine, owned by Pioneer Resources.
SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA COALFIELDS
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