• About

Brandon Ray Kirk

~ This site is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and promotion of history and culture in my section of Appalachia.

Brandon Ray Kirk

Tag Archives: Clothier

Attack Upon Non-Union Mine in Boone County, WV (1922)

16 Saturday Nov 2019

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Boone County, Clothier, Coal, Logan

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Appalachia, Boone County, Clothier, coal, crime, history, Lloyd Layman, Logan, Logan Banner, Madison, Ottawa, West Virginia

The following story about an attack upon a non-union mine at Ottawa in Boone County comes from the Logan Banner on July 21, 1922:

300 Shots Are Fired At Boone County Mine

Three hundred shots were fired from the mountain side into a group of non-union miners as they were going to work at 7:30 A.M., in a mine at Ottawa, Monday. There were no casualties as the miners fled and hastily hid behind trees, and other points of safety.

Two state troopers stationed at Ottawa made an immediate dash for the scene of the trouble but the firing which had lasted for only a few minutes, was over when they reached the mine. An investigation disclosed the fact that the attacking party had made a hasty retreat and their whereabouts could not be ascertained. A call for assistance brought five additional troopers from Clothier who brought with them a bloodhound but the dog could not take the trail evidently due to some substance that the attacking party had used to throw the hounds off the trail.

Immediately after the firing was over an investigation was made and 30 sticks of dynamite were found concealed beneath the mine track inside of the drift mouth of the mine and so arranged that it would explode when the first mine motor entered.

The outbreak Monday was the first that has occurred on Little Coal River in some months and the state police in that section are making every effort to apprehend members of the party who did the firing. Ten special officers were sworn in at Madison on Monday and Capt. Midkiff, in charge of the state police at Clothier, dispatched trooper Lloyd Layman to Logan Monday where he was furnished with 30 high-powered rifles and 3,000 rounds of ammunition with which to equip the special officers and successfully combat any further outbreak that might occur as well as to assist in apprehending members of the attacking forces last Monday.

Trooper Layman stated that in addition to the ten men sworn in Madison there would be 50 special officers sworn in at Ottawa, and every effort put forth by officers to track down the men who were responsible for the mine battle and bring them to justice.

Clothier, WV (1925)

08 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Battle of Blair Mountain, Boone County, Clothier, Coal, Timber

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Appalachia, Boone County, Boone Timber Company, Clothier, Coal River, Emma J. Chambers, Haddad Brothers Company, history, Logan County, Spruce Fork, West Virginia

IMG_5485IMG_5486IMG_5487IMG_5488IMG_5489

African-American Schools in Logan County, WV (1927)

21 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in African American History, Huntington

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

A.A. Wright, A.D. Robinson, A.V. McRae, African-Americans, Albert Meade, Anna B. Harris, Anna C. Hunter, Anna Spencer, Appalachia, Aracoma, Ardrossan, Audra Wilson, B.H. Hall, board of education, Bruce Hull, Clara Lee Johnson, Clara Richardson, Clothier, Coal River, Copperas, Cora, Crystal Block, D.E. Hopkins, Daisy Sheffery, Daniel H. Wood, Dehue, Doratha Withers, education, Elaine Ferguson, Elizabeth Creasy, Elizabeth Notter, Elma Phipps, Esta Shriver, Ethel, Ethel M. Page, F.O. Woerner, Flossie Hatfield, Flossie M. Jones, Garlands Fork, Georgia L. Miller, Gertrude Huntsman, Grace V. Reynolds, Harold Starcher, Hatfield, Helen E. Jones, history, Holden, Huntington, I.G. Hollandsworth, Imogene Baker, Ione Hall Cook, Island Creek, J.C. Evans, Jane Walker, John Pelter, Joseph D. Cary, Josephine Vaughan, Laura Griere, Laura J. Bayes, Laurel Hill, Lillian Samors, Logan County, Logan District, Logan High School, Logan Junior High School, Louis Simmons, M. Amelia Brooks, Macbeth, Mary Smith, Matilda Wade, Micco, Omar, Page Hamilton, Peach Creek, Preston A. Cave, Rossmore, Sharples, Slagle, Stirratt, teacher, Theodora Bradford, Thomas Jordan, Virginia Spratt, W.H. Houston, W.H. Huston, West Virginia, Yolyn

New Colored School at Crystal Block LB 08.12.1927 1

Logan (WV) Banner, 12 August 1927.

Logan District Colored Schools LB 08.26.1927 1

Logan (WV) Banner, 26 August 1927. This photo is meant to show the headline of the story; teachers named here are “white.”

Logan District Colored Schools LB 08.26.1927 2

Logan (WV) Banner, 26 August 1927. The list of “colored” teachers begin here and continue in the photos below.

Logan District Colored Schools LB 08.26.1927 3

Logan (WV) Banner, 26 August 1927.

Early Coal Mines in Logan County, WV

01 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Battle of Blair Mountain, Big Creek, Boone County, Coal, Holden, Logan, Stone Branch

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

A.D. Robertson, Albert F. Holden, Amherst Coal Company, Appalachia, Big Creek Coal Company, Blair Mountain, Boone County Coal Company, Buffalo Creek, Buffalo Creek Coal and Coke Company, Buskirk Hotel, Clothier, coal, Cole and Crane Company, Cora Coal Company, Dobra, Draper Coal Company, engineer, G.W. Robertson, Gay Coal and Coke Company, Gay Coal Company, George M. Jones, Guyan Valley Coal Operators Association, Harry S. Gay, Herbert Jones, history, Holden, Huddleston Coal Company, Illinois, Island Creek Coal Company, John B. Wilkinson, John Laing, Logan County, Logan County Coal Operators Association, Madison, Main Island Creek Coal Company, Monclo Corporation, Monitor Coal Company, Moses Mounts, Mounts-White Fisher Company, Omar, Omar Mining Company, Pennsylvania, Peru, Princess Coal Company, Shamokin, Sharples, Stone Branch Coal Company, U.S. Coal and Oil Company, Vicie Nighbert, Virginia-Buffalo Company, West Virginia, West Virginia Coal and Coke, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Coal Company, Wilkinson, William H. Coolidge, William J. Clothier, Yuma Coal and Coke Company

What follows are brief notes from a forgotten source regarding early coal mines in Logan County, WV. Each of these companies and their communities have storied histories.

Gay Coal and Coke (organized in 1903)

Soon after 1900, Harry S. Gay, a mining engineer, came from Shamokin, PA, to observe the Logan coal fields. He stayed at the Buskirk Hotel. With money from friends A.D. and G.W. Robertson, he leased 800 acres from Moses Mounts of the Mounts-White Fisher Company for $20,000. G.W. Robertson was president of Gay Coal and Coke, while Gay was its secretary-treasurer. The company opened the Number One mine in the spring of 1903.

Monitor Coal Company (organized in 1904)

Monitor Coal Co. was organized in 1904 on the land of John B. Wilkinson. The accompanying town was named Wilkinson. Monitor merged with Yuma Coal and Coke Co. in 1935. In 1942, Wilkinson consisted of 166 company-owned houses. The mines eventually played out and real estate was sold through Monclo Corporation.

In 1905, seven coal companies existed in Logan County: Big Creek, Cora, Draper, Gay, Monitor, Stone Branch, and U.S. Coal and Oil Co. (Island Creek).

Island Creek Coal

Island Creek Coal also came to Logan during that time and created Holden. About 1902, William H. Coolidge and Albert F. Holden bought land from Vicie Nighbert. In early 1905, they established Island Creek Coal Sales Co. Holden was built by 1912.

Yuma Coal and Coke Company

Organized in 1905 by the same Pennsylvania interests behind Monitor Coal and Coke Co., Yuma Coal merged with Monitor in 1935.

In 1910, seventeen coal companies existed in Logan County.

Boone County Coal Company (organized in 1911)

Organized in 1911, the Boone County Coal Co. was headquartered at Clothier. William J. Clothier served as its first president. Its buildings burned and new buildings were erected at Sharples. The company held 30,000 acres just above Madison and about 2000 of it came into Logan to the top of Blair Mountain. The company had stores at Clothier, Sharples, Monclo, and Dobra.

Amherst Coal Company

In 1911, George M. Jones and his brother Herbert became interested in the Logan field. They leased 1300 acres on Buffalo Creek and organized Amherst Coal Company in January of 1912. In 1916, the company purchased the Virginia-Buffalo Company and the Huddleston Coal Company. It later purchased Buffalo Creek Coal and Coke Company.

Main Island Creek

In 1913, John Laing leased 30,000 acres in Omar from Cole and Crane Company of Peru, Illinois. Mr. Laing was the first president of the company. Later, West Virginia Coal and Coke, the Omar Mining Company, and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Coal Company mined this land.

In 1913, the Guyan Valley Coal Operators Association organized. In 1918, it became known as the Logan County Coal Operators Association. (For more on the association, follow this link: http://www.wvculture.org/history/ms90-82.html.)

In 1920, over seventy coal companies existed in Logan County (most were small and few survived).

By 1960, there were about fifty coal companies in Logan County; four coal companies accounted for about eighty percent of production. The four companies were Island Creek, Amherst, Omar, and Princess.

Post Offices of Logan County, WV (1926)

17 Saturday Jun 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Battle of Blair Mountain, Big Creek, Big Harts Creek, Chapmanville, Logan, Man, Shively, Stone Branch, Whirlwind, Yantus

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Accoville, Amherstdale, Appalachia, Banco, Barnabus, Battle of Blair Mountain, Big Creek, Braeholm, Chapmanville, Christian, Clothier, Corco, Crites, Crown, Curry, Davin, Dehue, Emmett, Ethel, Fort Branch, Henlawson, Hetzel, history, Holden, Isom, Kistler, Kitchen, Lake, Landville, Latrobe, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Lorado, Lundale, Lyburn, Macbeth, Mallory, Man, Manbar, McConnell, Micco, Monaville, Monclo, Mount Gay, Omar, Peach Creek, Pecks Mill, Robinette, Rossmore, Sarah Ann, Sharples, Shegon, Shively, Slagle, Sovereign, Stirrat, Stollings, Stone Branch, Switzer, Taplin, Three Forks, Verdunville, Verner, West Virginia, Whirlwind, Whitman, Wilkinson, Yantus, Yolyn

65 Post Offices in Logan County LB 09.24.1926.JPG

Logan (WV) Banner, 24 September 1926.

Feud Poll 1

If you had lived in the Harts Creek community during the 1880s, to which faction of feudists might you have given your loyalty?

Categories

  • Adkins Mill
  • African American History
  • American Revolutionary War
  • Ashland
  • Atenville
  • Banco
  • Barboursville
  • Battle of Blair Mountain
  • Beech Creek
  • Big Creek
  • Big Harts Creek
  • Big Sandy Valley
  • Big Ugly Creek
  • Boone County
  • Breeden
  • Calhoun County
  • Cemeteries
  • Chapmanville
  • Civil War
  • Clay County
  • Clothier
  • Coal
  • Cove Gap
  • Crawley Creek
  • Culture of Honor
  • Dingess
  • Dollie
  • Dunlow
  • East Lynn
  • Ed Haley
  • Eden Park
  • Enslow
  • Estep
  • Ferrellsburg
  • Fourteen
  • French-Eversole Feud
  • Gilbert
  • Giles County
  • Gill
  • Green Shoal
  • Guyandotte River
  • Halcyon
  • Hamlin
  • Harts
  • Hatfield-McCoy Feud
  • Holden
  • Hungarian-American History
  • Huntington
  • Inez
  • Irish-Americans
  • Italian American History
  • Jamboree
  • Jewish History
  • John Hartford
  • Kermit
  • Kiahsville
  • Kitchen
  • Leet
  • Lincoln County Feud
  • Little Harts Creek
  • Logan
  • Man
  • Matewan
  • Meador
  • Midkiff
  • Monroe County
  • Montgomery County
  • Music
  • Native American History
  • Peach Creek
  • Pearl Adkins Diary
  • Pecks Mill
  • Peter Creek
  • Pikeville
  • Pilgrim
  • Poetry
  • Queens Ridge
  • Ranger
  • Rector
  • Roane County
  • Rowan County Feud
  • Salt Rock
  • Sand Creek
  • Shively
  • Spears
  • Sports
  • Spottswood
  • Spurlockville
  • Stiltner
  • Stone Branch
  • Tazewell County
  • Timber
  • Tom Dula
  • Toney
  • Turner-Howard Feud
  • Twelve Pole Creek
  • Uncategorized
  • Warren
  • Wayne
  • West Hamlin
  • Wewanta
  • Wharncliffe
  • Whirlwind
  • Williamson
  • Women's History
  • World War I
  • Wyoming County
  • Yantus

Feud Poll 2

Do you think Milt Haley and Green McCoy committed the ambush on Al and Hollene Brumfield in 1889?

Blogroll

  • Ancestry.com
  • Ashland (KY) Daily Independent News Article
  • Author FB page
  • Beckley (WV) Register-Herald News Article
  • Big Sandy News (KY) News Article
  • Blood in West Virginia FB
  • Blood in West Virginia order
  • Chapters TV Program
  • Facebook
  • Ghosts of Guyan
  • Herald-Dispatch News Article 1
  • Herald-Dispatch News Article 2
  • In Search of Ed Haley
  • Instagram
  • Lincoln (WV) Journal News Article
  • Lincoln (WV) Journal Thumbs Up
  • Lincoln County
  • Lincoln County Feud
  • Lincoln County Feud Lecture
  • LinkedIn
  • Logan (WV) Banner News Article
  • Lunch With Books
  • Our Overmountain Men: The Revolutionary War in Western Virginia (1775-1783)
  • Pinterest
  • Scarborough Society's Art and Lecture Series
  • Smithsonian Article
  • Spirit of Jefferson News Article
  • The Friendly Neighbor Radio Show 1
  • The Friendly Neighbor Radio Show 2
  • The Friendly Neighbor Radio Show 3
  • The Friendly Neighbor Radio Show 4
  • The New Yorker
  • The State Journal's 55 Good Things About WV
  • tumblr.
  • Twitter
  • Website
  • Weirton (WV) Daily Times Article
  • Wheeling (WV) Intelligencer News Article 1
  • Wheeling (WV) Intelligencer News Article 2
  • WOWK TV
  • Writers Can Read Open Mic Night

Feud Poll 3

Who do you think organized the ambush of Al and Hollene Brumfield in 1889?

Recent Posts

  • Sheriff Joe D. Hatfield, Son of Devil Anse (1962)
  • The C&O Shops at Peach Creek, WV (1974)
  • Map: Southwestern West Virginia (1918-1919)

Ed Haley Poll 1

What do you think caused Ed Haley to lose his sight when he was three years old?

Top Posts & Pages

  • Sheriff Joe D. Hatfield, Son of Devil Anse (1962)
  • Anthony Lawson founds Lawsonville
  • Levisa Hatfield (1927-1929)
  • Logan Memorial Park in McConnell, WV (1928, 2020)
  • Anse Hatfield Letter to Perry Cline (1886)

Copyright

© Brandon Ray Kirk and brandonraykirk.wordpress.com, 1987-2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Brandon Ray Kirk and brandonraykirk.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Archives

  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • February 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,747 other subscribers

Tags

Appalachia Ashland Big Creek Big Ugly Creek Blood in West Virginia Brandon Kirk Cabell County cemeteries Chapmanville Charleston civil war coal Confederate Army crime culture Ed Haley Ella Haley Ferrellsburg feud fiddler fiddling genealogy Green McCoy Guyandotte River Harts Harts Creek Hatfield-McCoy Feud history Huntington John Hartford Kentucky Lawrence Haley life Lincoln County Lincoln County Feud Logan Logan Banner Logan County Milt Haley Mingo County music Ohio photos timbering U.S. South Virginia Wayne County West Virginia Whirlwind writing

Blogs I Follow

  • OtterTales
  • Our Appalachia: A Blog Created by Students of Southern West Virginia CTC
  • Piedmont Trails
  • Truman Capote
  • Appalachian Diaspora

BLOOD IN WEST VIRGINIA is now available for order at Amazon!

Blog at WordPress.com.

OtterTales

Writings from my travels and experiences. High and fine literature is wine, and mine is only water; but everybody likes water. Mark Twain

Our Appalachia: A Blog Created by Students of Southern West Virginia CTC

This site is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and promotion of history and culture in Appalachia.

Piedmont Trails

Genealogy and History in North Carolina and Beyond

Truman Capote

A site about one of the most beautiful, interesting, tallented, outrageous and colorful personalities of the 20th Century

Appalachian Diaspora

  • Follow Following
    • Brandon Ray Kirk
    • Join 749 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Brandon Ray Kirk
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...