Scenes Along Buffalo Creek

This is a memorial near Man, WV for the Buffalo Creek Flood and the people who died in the 40-foot wave that came down the hollow when Pittston's dam broke. Allegedly, one man outran the wave by flying down the hollow in his truck and honking his horn along the way to warn people.

Here's a picture of the remains of Pittston Coal Co.'s prep plant up on Buffalo Creek. This was the mine site where, in 1972, the impoundment broke and caused the Buffalo Creek Flood that destroyed most of the coal camps on Buffalo Creek and killed over 100 people. It was very eerie up there, and the only sound I heard was the wrecking ball (up on the hill, out of sight) tearing down these silos while I took this photo and thought of those 100+ dead people.

Update: In the 2010s, a large new prep plant and coal mine opened near here. The location is no longer quiet and eerie.

This was the electric shop at Amherstdale, domain of the Guyan Eagle Coal Co. and, later, Island Creek Coal Co.

Evidence of auger mining in a coal seam outcrop near where Saunders, WV was located before it was washed off the map.

The 1972 flood washed away probably 90% of the original coal company towns on Buffalo Creek. However, these original coal camp houses at Lundale survived because they were protected by a big school building.

Lundale tipple and part of the coal camp.

Drift mouth from Lundale Coal Company's Latrobe Mine. This mine was in the No. 2 Gas coal seam.

Remains of a fan from the Latrobe Mine.

Pieces of old underground coal cars near the Latrobe Mine.

This old tipple used to be at Stowe, W.Va.

Two underground miners in the 1920s in one of the Lorado mines. They are operating a shortwall cutting machine.

Wreckage of the Lorado coal camp after the Buffalo Creek Flood.

This was the tipple of Buffalo Mining Company, a subsidiary of Pittston Coal Co.

A scene in Amherstdale showing the Guyan Eagle company store on the left and a tipple on the right.

Another company store in Amherstdale was operated by Island Creek Coal Co.

A few original coal company houses in Amherstdale.

Fanco, West Virginia.