Tag Archives: photos

Micco in Logan County, WV (1916)

16 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by in Coal

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Micco Belt Line and Tipple, Logan County, WV. Photo date and credit unknown.

WELCOME AWAITS ALL AT THE NEW TOWN OF MICO

Mico is growing and Mico is going to be one of West Virginia’s best and most up-to-date mining towns. There are now one hundred houses here, and another hundred are under construction. There are also two pool rooms and a motion picture theatre in which to secure entertainment and while the hours away pleasantly.

The Main Island Creek Coal company conducts in this section one of the best stores, pool rooms and barber shops on the creek; they are well lighted, sanitary, bright and new. The pool room contains three fine tables and the barber shop is equipped with two chairs and all modern appliances and conveniences. There is also a reading room where the public may go and look over the newspapers and periodicals free of charge.

J.A. Roberts, formerly of Barnabus, is now installed as manager of the poolroom and barbershop and is working diligently to provide satisfactory service for his large and growing trade.

It is true that there are no sidewalks or hard roads here at this time, but such improvements are contemplated and may be expected soon. The people of Mico are looking forward to the time when the locality will be one of the model mining camps of the entire state, and they are confident and we will enjoy having you here.

It is a pleasure to come up to the pool room and play in a nice, clean, well-managed place, get a slick shave and hair cut, and then go home and greet the family with a smile and a kiss and not go in drunk, ragged and with hair long and unkempt, growl at the little ones and the wife. Nothing like that goes here. We are trying to live happily and make the other fellow happy by smiles. Come and see us. You will enjoy your visit and we will enjoy having you here.

Source: Logan (WV) Banner, 4 May 1916.

Early Mahon: Banjoist in Mingo County, WV

20 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Music

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BANJO GUY COPYRIGHT

Early Mahon (1884-1969), son of Plyant and Vicie (Hatfield) Mahon. Plyant Mahon was a participant of the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. Early was the grandson of Valentine “Wall” Hatfield. The family holds the original photo.

James Ferrell Log Cabin on Big Ugly Creek in Lincoln County, WV (1998)

06 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by in Big Ugly Creek, John Hartford, Rector

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This log cabin was built by James P. Ferrell before the Civil War. 1998

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My friend Mayme Ferrell lived here. James P. Ferrell was her grandfather. 1998

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One time, I visited with Eunice (Peyton) Ferrell and Doska (Duty) Adkins. 1998

Elk Creek Community Cemetery at Emmett, WV (2020)

29 Friday May 2020

Posted by in Cemeteries, Coal

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Up this way to Elk Creek Community Cemetery… 5 February 2020

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Coal is not dead! For more information, go here: https://www.ramacoresources.com/mining-complexes/elk-creek/ 5 February 2020

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My parking spot. Miners helped me to find the cemetery, which was concealed by the mining operation. 5 February 2020

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Up this way to the (mostly neglected) cemetery! 5 February 2020

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Someone left this pretty cardinal painting here. 5 February 2020

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View from the cemetery. 5 February 2020

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The Sias graves. 5 February 2020

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My great-great-uncle is buried here. 5 February 2020

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Sias graves. 5 February 2020

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Sias graves. 5 February 2020

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Sias graves. 5 February 2020

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This little guy found me. Made a buddy. 5 February 2020

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Here goes Mom to decorate the graves. 5 February 2020

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Walter F. Sias (1896-1933) was a brother to my great-grandmother, Gertie (Sias) Frye. He is buried here with two of his children. 5 February 2020

Wyoming County Museum in Oceana, WV (2019)

25 Saturday Apr 2020

Posted by in Coal, Timber, Wyoming County

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The Wyoming County Museum located in Oceana, WV, is one of the region’s best museums…and one of America’s greatest small town museums. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Here is a link to the museum website: https://wyomingcountymuseum.webs.com/

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Top object: “Cross cut saw, 1938: This saw was used to cut the mine timber used to construct the Koppers mine in Kopperston, WV, in 1938.” Bottom object: “Antique plane, circa late 1890s to early 1900s: This plane, manufactured by the Chapin Stephens Co., was used to flatten and impact a smooth surface to a rough piece of lumber or timber.” 29 October 2019

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Logging tools, including a chain dog. 29 October 2019

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“Ritter railroad spike: Railroad spike from the old Ritter railroad which ran through Oceana and was used to transport timber.” 29 October 2019

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29 October 2019

Ethel, Logan County, WV (2020)

11 Saturday Apr 2020

Posted by in Battle of Blair Mountain, Coal, Huntington, Italian American History

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In the 1890s, land speculators James L. Caldwell, a banker from Huntington, C.W. Campbell, an attorney from Huntington, and John Q. Dickinson, a banker from Charleston, acquired many acres of land on Dingess Run and Rum Creek. The trio procured some of Logan County’s finest coal lands with six accessible seams of coal. They formed the Dingess-Rum Coal Company in June of 1903 to administer their lands, which totaled over 26,000 acres. They surveyed a railroad bed up Dingess Run and laid the cross-ties, leaving only the rails to be laid by the C&O Railroad, which occurred by late 1906. From there, the railroad extended up Right Fork and Left Fork (Ethel Hollow). At the juncture of the two forks, the company town of Ethel, named for the daughter or wife of an early coal operator, was established around 1907. In 1923, the town was populated by 2000 residents.

Ethel was originally located at the mouth of Left Fork (now Ethel Hollow) of Dingess Run. Today, Ethel includes Camp Branch, Freeze Fork (town and stream), Rockcamp Branch, Rockhouse Branch (now Georges Creek), Mash Branch (formerly Wanda), and Bearwallow Branch (formerly Red Campbell). It is situated at the base of Blair Mountain.

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Ethel Coal Company Supply Building, constructed about 1914 by Italian stonemasons. The building served as a staging area for Don Chafin’s defensive forces in the Battle of Blair Mountain. 1 March 2020

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Remnants of Ethel No. 1 Company Store, built between 1907 and 1916. 1 March 2020

Devon, Mingo County, WV (2019)

22 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by in Big Sandy Valley

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Here’s a beautiful old landmark. Devon, Mingo County, WV. 12 July 2019

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This way to the Tug Fork. Devon, Mingo County, WV. 12 July 2019

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Mouth of Beech Creek in Devon, Mingo County, WV. 12 July 2019

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That’s Kentucky across the river! Devon, Mingo County, WV. 12 July 2019

Tom Dula: Ann Melton Grave (2020)

08 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by in Cemeteries, Tom Dula, Women's History

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Ann Melton, a married woman, was involved in a love triangle with Tom Dula and her cousin, Laura Foster. Up this way to Melton Cemetery, Elkville, Wilkes County, NC. 7 January 2020

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Anne Melton was charged with the Laura Foster murder, but was cleared by Tom Dula’s note shortly before his execution. Melton Cemetery, Elkville, Wilkes County, NC. 7 January 2020

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Ann Melton died a few years after Tom Dula. A Foster descendant suggested that I not put flowers at Ann Melton’s grave, but I did anyway. 7 January 2020

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Sources disagree as to Ann Melton’s cause of death. Family members recently placed this headstone. 7 January 2020