SEWELL

The mines and coking operation at Sewell were built in 1874 by the Longdale Coal Company. Eventually, almost 200 beehive coke ovens were constructed there. When the mines at Sewell worked out, coal came down the Manns Creek Railroad from mines around Clifftop, owned by Royalty Coal Company and, later, A.T. Massey Coal Co. The coke ovens at Sewell burned until 1956, the last ones in southern West Virginia. That is when the town began to close down, and the last resident, a railroad employee, moved out in 1973.

The vault and foundations of the company office

Ruins of the town of Sewell

The coke ovens at Sewell were the last ones operating in the area

Detail of one of the coke ovens

The back side of the ovens showing the supports for the larry car track on top

The rusting larry car is terminally damaged from a tree falling on it

It is unclear what part this piece of equipment played in the coking operation at Sewell