On Beckett Hill Road, on the right when traveling south.
Location of the original home plate of the old baseball field
Dedicated to all Concordians who stood here hoping to clear the pines in left field or rattle the music building in right field For all the coaches who shouted encouragement to . . . — — Map (db m270610) HM
On Beckett Ridge Road at Vermillion Street, on the right when traveling east on Beckett Ridge Road.
Chartered as Concord State Normal School, February 28, 1872. Relocated in 1910 to present campus. In 1931 name changed to Concord State Teachers College, in 1943 to Concord College and in 2004 to Concord University. — — Map (db m161242) HM
On Beckett Hill Road 0.2 miles north of Vermillion Street (County Road 9), on the right when traveling north.
Dedicated to all Concordians who made the Supreme Sacrifice in World War I Dedicated to all Concordians who made the Supreme Sacrifice in World War II Dedicated to all Concordians who made the Supreme Sacrifice in the Korean Conflict . . . — — Map (db m254672) WM
On Vermillion Street at Weaver Street, on the right when traveling east on Vermillion Street.
One mile east is the former home of Colonel William Henderson French, (1812-1872), local legislator, land dealer and soldier. Elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1842, 1843 and 1845, French later became a Captain in the Confederate cavalry . . . — — Map (db m161243) HM
On East River Mountain Road (West Virginia Route 598) just west of Overlook Lane, on the right when traveling west.
For many years, motorists wishing to cross the West Virginia-Virginia state line navigated the scenic but narrow and twisting route of old US-52 up and over East River Mountain. The top of East River Mountain featured a visitor information center . . . — — Map (db m281415) HM
On West Cumberland Road (U.S. 52) at Bland Road (U.S. 52), on the right when traveling south on West Cumberland Road. Reported permanently removed.
Site of the pioneer cabin of Andrew Davidson. While he was absent, Indians burned his cabin, tomahawked his children, and captured his wife. Mrs. Davidson was sold to a Canadian family from whom she was ransomed. — — Map (db m254668) HM
On Bland Street (U.S. 52) at High Street, on the right when traveling south on Bland Street.
Bailey Building
has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
1923 — — Map (db m305259) HM
On Bland Street (U.S. 52) at High Street and Federal Street, on the right on Bland Street.
Bluefield is on land which John Davidson patented in 1774. With Richard Bailey he built a fort about 1777. Later he was killed by the Indians. The home, built by Joseph Davidson in 1811, is still standing. — — Map (db m90455) HM
On Bland Street (U.S. 52) at Scott Street, on the right when traveling south on Bland Street.
Had you lived in Bluefield in the 1920s, you might well have been part of the crowd gatehring outside this building every October to watch a telegraphed-in dramatization of the World Series. This handsome Neo-Classical style building was built in . . . — — Map (db m305255) HM
On Princeton Avenue (U.S. 19) west of Tony Wagner Avenue, on the right when traveling east.
Bluefield, West Virginia had its beginnings as a flagstop at the farm of John Higginbotham, along the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W, now Norfolk Southern Corporation) line reaching west from Roanoke. Known in 1884 as Higginbotham’s Summit, the . . . — — Map (db m305233) HM
On Holbrook Sreet west of Rock Street, on the left when traveling west.
Established, 1895, by WV Legislature as Bluefield Colored Institute; 1929 became Bluefield State Teachers College. Renamed in 1943, Bluefield State College has continued providing quality higher education for all citizens of the area. — — Map (db m90505) HM
On Holbrook Sreet west of Rock Street, on the left when traveling west.
Established as the Bluefield Colored Institute by act of the Legislature in 1895. Later the school became an institution of higher learning for Negroes. Renamed and given its present title in 1929. — — Map (db m90502) HM
On Princeton Avenue (U.S. 19) at Tony Wagner Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Princeton Avenue.
Points of Interest ~
Ansted* – Visit the Ansted Heritage Museum, Hawks Nest State Park, or take a hike on the Ansted Rail Trail.
Ashland – Locally made crafts may be purchased at the restored Ashland Company . . . — — Map (db m304941) HM
On Grant Street at Wayne Street, on the right when traveling north on Grant Street.
❶ Grant Street Bridge (replaced)
Grant Street over Norfolk Southern Railyard
The Grant Street Bridge was built in 1941 by the Virginia Bridge Company of Roanoke Virginia. It is a two-span, riveted-plate . . . — — Map (db m305234) HM
The first woman elected to Congress from West Virginia. Born as Maude Etta Simpkins on June 7, 1895, she married Bluefield lawyer John Kee, who served in congress, 1932–1951. Employed 18 years as his secretary; elected to complete his term in 1951; . . . — — Map (db m1821) HM
On Bland Street (U.S. 52) north of Raleigh Street, on the left when traveling south.
Through the years, this building has been the scene of many elegant balls, high quality theater performances, and the solemn ceremonies of the B.P.O. Elks. It was begun in 1902 and enlarged in 1922. The western portion of the building houses the . . . — — Map (db m305254) HM
On Princeton Avenue (U.S. 19) west of Tony Wagner Avenue, on the right when traveling east.
In 1887, 442 passengers traveled by rail to Bluefield; by the next year, that number had increased to 13,448. Almost overnight, Bluefield had become the "Gateway to the Billion Dollar Coalfield."
The Coal Boom
In the late 1800s, . . . — — Map (db m305224) HM
On Wayne Street west of Logan Street, on the right when traveling west.
In 1949, businesswoman Thelma Stone opened the hotel and restaurant for African Americans in Bluefield. "Mama Thelma" eventually expanded her business to include apartments and a grocery store. A safe place for Blacks during segregation, the . . . — — Map (db m305238) HM
On Federal Street (U.S. 52) north of High Street, on the right when traveling north.
Kee
Federal Building
hasbeen placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
1911 — — Map (db m305283) HM
On Federal Street (U.S. 52) south of Raleigh Street, on the right when traveling north.
Office workers in today's world will be able to identify with the function of this distinguished Neo-Classical Revival building. Completed in 1918, the Law and Commerce Building was Bluefield's first modern office building. One special feature . . . — — Map (db m305252) HM
On Princeton Avenue (U.S. 19) 52 miles east of Bland Street, on the right when traveling east.
In many ways, Bluefield has been the social, cultural, and political capital of the southern West Virginia coalfields.
Thanks in part to renowned architect Alex Mahood, Bluefield has been home to some of West Virginia's most distinctive . . . — — Map (db m305240) HM
On Bland Street (U.S. 52) south of Ramsey Street, on the right when traveling south.
The grand architecture of the Bluefield Municipal Building announced to all who entered that Bluefield was a proud city. This Classical Revival Style building was designed by noted architect, Wilbur Mills. It was built in 1924, and served as . . . — — Map (db m305257) HM
On Bland Street (U.S. 52) south of Scott Street, on the left when traveling south.
This unique building was built in 1919 by Dr. Thomas Peery, a prominent Bluefield optometrist. The building was designed by noted Bluefield architect Alex Mahood. Every office in the building had an outside window, and the biulding has entrances . . . — — Map (db m305248) HM
On Princeton Avenue (U.S. 19) west of Tony Wagner Avenue, on the right when traveling east.
It is difficult to imagine any place in the country that changed as quickly and dramatically as Bluefield, West Virginia, in the late 1880s. Before the Norfolk & Western (N&W) Railway arrived, the area in and around Bluefield consisted of . . . — — Map (db m305228) HM
On Federal Street (U.S. 52) north of Scott Street, on the right when traveling north.
The 1923 opening of the luxurious West Virginian Hotel made Bluefield, with its mild summer climate, an instant convention center. At twelve stories high, this opulent Second Renaissance Revival structure was a showpiece, and symbolized . . . — — Map (db m305284) HM
On East River Mountain Road (West Virginia Route 598) just west of Overlook Lane, on the right when traveling west.
Welcome centers are a familiar sight for American motorists today, located along major highways and serving as rest areas and sources of local information. But they were not always as common as they are now, and the first visitor information . . . — — Map (db m281414) HM
On U.S. 460 east of Leatherwood Lane, on the right when traveling west.
West Virginia. (Mercer County). "The Mountain State"—western part of the Commonwealth of Virginia until June 20, 1863. Settled by the Germans and Scotch-Irish. It became a line of defense between the English and French during . . . — — Map (db m105047) HM
On Princeton Avenue (U.S. 19) east of Bland Street (U.S. 52), on the right when traveling east.
The coalfields needed a steady supply of laborers, and the workers came from all parts of the world. In addition to native-born West virginians, African Americans poured into Bluefield from Virginia and the Deep South, and immigrants arrived from . . . — — Map (db m305243) HM
On Princeton Avenue (U.S. 19) east of Bland Street (U.S. 52), on the right when traveling east.
"Coal is known to be in so many places, as to have induced an opinion that the whole tract between the Laurel Mountain and Ohio yields coal." — Thomas Jefferson, 1785
Bluefield is the Southern Gateway to West . . . — — Map (db m305245) HM
On East River Mountain Road (West Virginia Route 598) just west of Overlook Lane, on the right when traveling west.
With the opening of the visitor information center here in 1960, the race to develop East River Mountain overlook into a major tourist attraction was on. Robert and Phyllis Conner created Skyland, Inc. in 1961, and Skyland's Museum of the Hills . . . — — Map (db m281413) HM
On Coal Heritage Road (U.S. 52) north of Bluewell, on the left when traveling north.
Erosion—Nature’s cutting tool—has chiseled away the stone on this spur of Flat Top Mountain, leaving this giant cockscomb more than 2700 feet above sea level. Several counties may be seen from these cliffs. — — Map (db m90566) HM
On Main Street (County Route 120) at Simmons Avenue (Route 120), on the left when traveling west on Main Street.
Stretching across western Mercer County through McDowell and southern Wyoming counties is the Pocahontas coalfield, one of the most productive, coal-bearing areas in the world. In this area, 6 seams of high-quality coal can be found close to the . . . — — Map (db m179086) HM
On Main Street (County Route 120) at Simmons Avenue (County Route 120) when traveling west on Main Street.
Bramwell is situated on a horseshoe bend of the Bluestone River at the eastern edge of the Pocahontas coalfield. This was an ideal location for a town. It was close to the coalfield operations yet removed from the dirt and noise of the industry.
. . . — — Map (db m179162) HM
On Bramwell-Pocahontas Road (County Route 120), on the right when traveling west.
Jordan Nelson, blacksmith, dug coal from bank to fuel forge, and made 1st commercial use by selling for 1 cent a bushel in 1870s. In 1873 I. A. Welch surveyed Pocahontas Coalfield for J. Hotchkiss who induced F. J. Kimball, later President of N&W . . . — — Map (db m130241) HM
Near Coal Heritage Road (U.S. 52) north of Bluefield, on the left when traveling north.
In 1938, during the New Deal Era, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the park's first resources The roadside park began with the construction of the stone picnic shelter fireplace grills, an overlook two trails, the water system, . . . — — Map (db m90586) HM
On Main Street (County Route 120) at Simmons Avenue, on the left when traveling east on Main Street.
While the description of Bramwell as a town of millionaires can be
viewed as an exaggeration, it did have a significant number of wealthy
families. Their wealth was built largely upon the rapid growth of the
Pocahontas coalfield and Bramwell’s . . . — — Map (db m179168) HM
The development of the southern West Virginia coalfields Was dependent upon transportation, specifically the railroad. In 1881, Thomas Graham and a group of investors from Philadelphia purchased the unsuccessful Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio . . . — — Map (db m179097) HM
On Main Street (County Route 120) at Simmons Avenue (County Route 120), on the left when traveling west on Main Street.
Bramwell was not just the home to the owners and operators of the mines. The productive Pocahontas coalfield needed labor. Native Appalachians, immigrants of southern and eastern Europe and African-Americans from the agricultural south filled the . . . — — Map (db m179100) HM
Near this site on May 1, 1862, Battle of the Henry Clark House occurred. Lt. Col. Rutherford B. Hayes’ 23rd Ohio Vol. Inf. engaged Confederates under Col. Walter Jenifer. Captain Richard B. Foley, commanding the “Flat Top Copperheads,” the “eyes and . . . — — Map (db m42173) HM
On Pocahontas Avenue 1.1 miles south of the Town of Bramwell, on the left when traveling west.
Called “Home of the Millionaires” when town’s fourteen represented the greatest per capita concentration in the U.S. Incorporated in 1889, Bramwell was the business and residential community for Pocahontas coalfield owners and operators such as J.H. . . . — — Map (db m1857) HM
On Pocahontas Avenue 1.1 miles south of Town of Bramwell, on the left when traveling south.
John Cooper’s mine in Cooper section of Bramwell shipped 1st coal from W. Virginia’s valuable Pocahontas Coalfield over N&WRR on 4 Nov. 1884. The Coaldale, Caswell Creek & Booth-Bowen mines, operated by Cooper, Jones, Freeman, Booth & Bowen, were . . . — — Map (db m1858) HM
Near West Virginia Turnpike (Interstate 77) south of U.S. 19, on the right when traveling south.
Sargent Cornelius H. Charlton, RA 12 265 405. Infantry United States Army, A member of Company C, 24th Infantry Regiment 25th infantry division, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, in . . . — — Map (db m164736) HM WM
On U.S. 19 at Toad Level Road, on the right when traveling north on U.S. 19.
Here in 1862 was stationed the 23rd Ohio Regt., U.S.A. Encamped here were Gen. J.D. Cox, Maj. R.B. Hayes and Sergt. William McKinley. All became governors of Ohio; Hayes and McKinley became Presidents of the United States. — — Map (db m42175) HM
On Makota Road (Route 10) 0.4 miles west of Beckley Road (U.S. 19), on the right when traveling west.
During the Civil War, the Southern
war effort relied on its agrarian
economy to help support military
operations. Although raiding and
foraging occurred often, so too
did business transactions between
the Confederacy and local farmers.
Former . . . — — Map (db m179170) HM
On Greasy Ridge Road, on the right when traveling west.
Wythe County, Va
Shelby G. Hensley •
Kenneth Darrell Spencer •
Stephen M Brumfield •
Jesse Stephen Manuel Jr. •
Edward D. Akers. •
Larry Elbert Collins •
Luther James Doss Jr. •
Michael Eugene Gearheart
Mercer County, Wv . . . — — Map (db m210490) WM
On Main St (West Virginia Route 20) at S Walker St, on the left when traveling west on Main St.
From 1879 to 1929, this bell was rung to open court at the Mercer County Courthouse in Princeton. After the courthouse was dismantled in 1929, the bell was used as a dinner bell at the County poor farm at Gardner. Later discarded at the farm, the . . . — — Map (db m60030) HM
On South Walker Street (U.S. 19) 0.1 miles north of Stafford Drive ( Route 104), on the right when traveling north.
Near a hill south of town on May 17, 1862, Confederate troops led by Maj. Peter Otey surprised and routed a Union regiment commanded by Colonel Louis von Blessing. Federal losses were 18 killed, 56 wounded and 14 captured. Confederate losses were 1 . . . — — Map (db m37742) HM
Side A
Erected to the Honor & Memory of the Confederate Soldiers of Mercer County, Virginia (now West Virginia)
By the Members of Sons of Confederate Veterans
Camp No. 1694-'Flat Top Copperheads’ & Parshandatha Foley Chapter of the Order . . . — — Map (db m161238) WM
On North Walker Street at Honaker Street (U.S. 19), on the left when traveling north on North Walker Street.
This house, the home of physician Robert B. McNutt, is the only antebellum dwelling in Princeton. It survived the fire that Col. Walter H. Jenifer of the 8th Virginia Cavalry ignited on May 1, 1862, as he evacuated the town.
Jenifer was . . . — — Map (db m37744) HM
On New Hope Road (West Virginia Route 20) 0.1 miles west of West Main Street, on the right when traveling east.
Born in 1811, French represented Mercer County as delegate and later senator in the Virginia General Assembly. Although he voted against secession as a delegate to the 1861 Richmond Convention, he served in the Confederate Army. He led the 30th . . . — — Map (db m161236) HM
On West Main Street (West Virginia Route 20) at Scott Street (U.S. 19), on the left when traveling west on West Main Street.
Scene of several actions, May 1862, between Federal troops from General Cox's army and Confederate forces under Jenifer and Wharton. When the Confederates abandoned their camp here, the town was set on fire and partially burned. — — Map (db m34813) HM
On Alvis Street (U.S. 19) at East Main Street ( Road 20), on the right when traveling north on Alvis Street.
Richard Blankenship, Revolutionary War Soldier, was a member of Major James Robertson's company of New River Valley volunteers who fought at the Battle of Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774. He lived on a 33 acre farm 8 mi. southeast, at Ingleside, . . . — — Map (db m37738) HM
On West Main Street (County Route 20) at North Walker Street, on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
With unselfish devotion and duty to country -- they came;
leaving family and friends, home and hills -- they came.
Sons and daughters --- united in a common goal
that right would prevail in a world in turmoil.
Some gave life --- Some . . . — — Map (db m273879) WM
On West Virginia Route 10 near Broken Arrow Drive, on the left when traveling west.
Here Mitchell Clay settled in 1775. Eight years later Indians killed two of his children and captured his son Ezekiel. Pursuers killed several of the Indians but the boy was taken into Ohio and burned at the stake. — — Map (db m117993) HM
West Virginia
(Mercer County)
"The Mountain State"—western
part of the Commonwealth of
Virginia until June 20, 1863.
Settled by the Germans and
Scotch-Irish. It became a line
of defense between the English
and French . . . — — Map (db m90595) HM
