Helen

Helen. . As the railroad began to push west through southern West Virginia, mining of the vast coal reserves brought new opportunities, growth, and in many instances, new towns. That was the case with Helen. Helen was established around 1919, and named after the daughter of G.W. Stevens, who was the president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. The East Gulf Coal Company was the first to open a mine in the area. In the last six months of 1919, the East Gulf numbers 1, 3, and 4 mines produced a total of 62,837 tons of coal, increasing to 84,543 tons in the first six months of 1920. Later the Koppers Coal Company began mining the rich deposits of coal. Through the years Koppers Coal would later operate as the Eastern Gas and Fuel Company, and finally as the Eastern Associated Coal Corporation. , Helen was typical of coal towns found throughout the area. There was a company store, restaurant, movie theater, school, church, and even a boarding house for single miners. Helen was also a place with a very diverse population as black and white, Italian, Polish, and other immigrants worked side by side in the mines. Just east of this location was a baseball field where spirited games were played each week against teams from other mining towns across the region. At the height of the coal boom, thousands of miners worked in the coal mines in and around Helen. While the mines may be closed now, the memory of those who lived here and mined the coal remains strong.