The Virginian Arrives

The Virginian Arrives. America's Byways. The importance of the railroad to Mullens and the surrounding communities can be traced back to 1906 when the Deepwater Railway Company expanded into the area. After some negotiations, early settler Andrew Jackson Mullins agreed to sell right-of-way through his property, provided a railroad station was built near his store and the Deepwater company engineer lay out a plot for the town. The railroad was completed to Mullens in November of that year, setting the stage for the growth of not only the town, but for the entire Upper Guyandotte River area. The town served as the center of commerce for dozens of nearby coal towns including Itmann, Otsego, Caloric, Mead Poca, and Tralee, as well as the timber industry. Ritter Lumber, which had operations in surrounding states, was located in Maben just north of here. By 1960, the population grew from the original family of 12 to 3,544. , In 1907, the Deepwater merged with the Tidewater Railway forming the Virginian Railroad, which had a large presence in Mullens. With the railroad now in place, the stage was set for the coal boom. The massive deposits of coal in the area were mined and delivered to the coast of Virginia for distribution throughout the world.