This historic store is still in existance at Crellin, MD. In addition to coal mining
activities, Crellin was also the site of the Preston Lumber Company Mill, which was the largest sawmill in the state. I have
also seen it listed as the Preston Lumber and Coal Company. The Kendall Lumber Co. also logged in
the area. They developed the Preston Railroad to take their lumber to market, and mined the first coal at Crellin to fuel their locamotive. When the
saw mill closed the coal mines continued.
I was told that these houses in Crellin were built by the coal company, probably the Stanley Coal Company, named for Stanley Ashby. The original Crellin mines closed around 1960. Later mining in the area ceased around the early 1990s. Another
one of the coal companies that operated around Crellin was the Kray Coal Company an acronym for operators Kendall, Ream, Ashby and Yutzy. Thanks to both Dave Cathell and an unidentified gentleman sitting on his
front porch in Crellin for this information.