The Coal Companies

The Coal Companies. Mt. Hope. The turn of the 20th century brought the birth of two of the most important coal companies in the New River field: the McKell Coal and Coke Company and the New River Company. Thomas McKell's company was organized in 1893 to lease coal lands to operating companies, but by 1900 the company opened its own operations. The Kilsyth mine was directly adjacent to Mt. Hope. Here, McKell built a company town, named after the mine, which included a large company store and theater, a powerhouse for generating power for the town and mining operations, as well as the shops for their own short-line railway. McKell's properties were sold to the New River Company in 1939., The New River Company had the greatest impact on the development of Mt. Hope. It was founded by Samuel Dixon, who arrived in West Virginia from Shelton, Yorkshire, England in 1877. Dixon came to MacDonald in 1893 as general manager of the MacDonald Colliery Company. After great success in expanding that company, he formed the White Oak Coal Company to market and sell the coal produced by mines that he owned. In 1905 he joined with investors to form the New River Fuel Company, which was renamed the New River Company the following year. The original holdings of the New River Company consisted of 22 mining operations, 19 store buildings, 53 "officials houses," 1666 miners' houses, 605 horses and mules, 26 tipples, 3433 mine cars, 389 coke ovens, 57 mining machines, and 5 saw mills, along with extensive coal properties, amounting to 25,300 acres by 1907., These properties formed an almost unbroken area of coal for more than thirty-five miles, following the main trough of the New River coal seam from north of Fayetteville to fifteen miles south of Beckley. The company continued to grow during the ensuing decade, sinking new shafts to depths of over five hundred feet to reach the New River group coals, which thickened from three to four feet to up to five feet under the plateau., From its establishment, the New River Company was known as a company that "took care of its employees." A genuine concern for the welfare of miners and their families was part of the New River Company's philosophy from the beginning. Samuel Dixon intended to build houses better than the standard of the times, and include extras such as entertainment centers, churches, schools, and playgrounds. He also thought that the company should take a lead in providing wholesome activities for miners and their families outside of the daily work schedule. Reflecting the paternalism popular at the time among other mine managers, Dixon thought of his employees as part of the New River Company "family." Under Dixon's leadership, the New River Company was reported to be the first to provide medical services for its employees.