Pocahontas, Virginia, has always been one of my favorite small town destinations in Appalachia. It is a town very rich in history and with a backstory that is at the very heart of the coal mining industry in our area. Pocahontas was an original coal boom town beginning in March of 1883 following the opening of the famous Pocahontas Mine No. 1. Norfolk & Western (now Norfolk & Southern) brought their railroad through and from there the growth of the town (and the railroad) exploded. Much like what happened during the California Gold Rush of 1849, the coal boom brought in new housing, a bank, churches, saloons and other businesses necessary to meet the demand for a thriving community. The first theater in the region, the Pocahontas Opera House, was built to add arts to the community. The new jobs and opportunities also brought with it immigrants from a diverse racial mix all seeking the same goal of making a living from the mineral known as black diamond. Pocahontas coal soon became some of the most sought after in the world for heating homes and was also used by the United States Navy. During this time, Pocahontas was considered THE coal town in our area. The coal industry in Pocahontas was humming along until the fateful morning of March 13, 1884, when an explosion at the East Mine of the Southwest Improvement Company tore the heart out of the town. It took a month to retrieve all the bodies from the mine but the final count was 114 miners killed in the worst mine explosion of its kind in American history at the time. The town had nothing in place to deal with a disaster of that magnitude and had to quickly find a way to properly bury the large number of casualties. A local cabinetmaker, William Butt, had to open the Butt & Co. Coffins to meet the demand for the deceased. One of the most beautiful landmarks arose from this terrible tragedy as the Pocahontas Cemetery is a very scenic and peaceful resting place for those whove passed away and their grieving families. A walk through this historic cemetery will lead to numerous gravestones with inscriptions in languages as diverse as Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, and Russian give an idea as to the extreme diversity of the population. I picture all those racial groups joining together with the African-Americans, Irish and Welsh to grieve their lost husbands, fathers, brothers and sons. Tragedy has a way of tearing down walls that often divide us. The coal industry soon rebuilt and the town continued to thrive until the late 1950s when manpower to operate the mine began to lessen resulting in a population drop. The 1920 U.S. Census reported a population of 3,775 and it had dropped to almost a third of that number by 1960 at 1,313. The population had dwindled to 389 in the 2010 census report due to the continuing downturn in coal. The drop in population has resulted in many houses and businesses being abandoned and falling into a state of disrepair with some even collapsing. The hope and faith is that a focus on tourism to take advantage of the history and natural beauty of the area can help sustain the future of Pocahontas. Pocahontas is a vital part of our Appalachian history and hopefully grants or other funding can be found to improve its long term prospects. The town is also in close proximity to another Appalachian treasure in the town of Bramwell, WV. The leaders of both towns seem to work very well together so joint tourism and promotions can help both out. Plans have been in the works for a considerable amount of time to develop a passenger train to connect the two towns to help with tourism appeal - if that finally materializes itd bring a great boost to both towns. Bramwell (which we will feature in a future post) is known as the Home of Millionaires and still has numerous elegant homes from the early part of the 20th century. Pocahontas is home to the Pocahontas Exhibition Coal Mine and Museum while both towns have access to the popular Hatfield & McCoy ATV Trail. Pocahontas is a town worth fighting for and with the proper funding can be a solid tourist draw. It is definitely worth the drive to view an old coal boom town and along with a stop in Bramwell makes for a great day trip to capture a glimpse of the glory days of King Coal. - Shane
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 03:30:54 +0000
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