Byrd Prillerman High School was established here in 1927 for the Afro American students in this coal mining area. Named in honor of a former slave who was an eminent state educator and President of West Virginia State College. The two story frame . . . — — Map (db m138167) HM
The ancient fortification in a bend of Beaver Creek was first surveyed by Alfred Beckley in 1837. Isaac Craig mapped it a year later and estimated then~fallen stone walls were 7 feet thick and 6 feet high. The walls of large enclosure, with design . . . — — Map (db m109188) HM
James Beaty built sawmill at Crow in 1891 to mill timber on Grandview plateau and nearby areas. Mules pulled lumber in wagons on 8-mile tram from mill to point just east of here. Moved onto monitor, lumber lowered down steep incline to Mill Creek . . . — — Map (db m252087) HM
Many visitors come here to admire the "Grand View." One of the first of these visitors was Joseph Carper, a gunsmith who moved his family here in 1855. They sold their "Carper rifles" to area residents for $25 each, and operated a sawmill, . . . — — Map (db m272363) HM
When you look at this forest, what do you see? Pristine natural beauty? An ancient gorge covered by a vast unbroken forest? The story behind this scenery is more complex, for if you stood on this ground 100 years ago, you would be surrounded by . . . — — Map (db m292839) HM
Coal once powered factories, railroads, businesses, ships, and homes - and the New River Gorge was a major supplier of this "black gold" to the world. The topography of the gorge provided easy access to the seams of coal along its slopes, and the . . . — — Map (db m292837) HM
Stand at any overlook in the New River Gorge, and you'll see steep canyon walls and sandstone cliffs. How was this gorge formed? The short answer is by erosion, as the river cut through the uplifting Appalachian Plateau.
The New River is one . . . — — Map (db m292841)
The construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) from Virginia through the rugged Appalachian mountains to the Ohio River was a monumental undertaking. In 1873, after three years of manual labor, the east and west construction crews met . . . — — Map (db m292836) HM
The main overlook at Grandview is quite spectacular. On a clear day you can see directly into the heart of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, including seven miles of the new River and its watershed. You are standing at the highest point . . . — — Map (db m292847) HM
The Ingram family made their home at Grandview long before it became a park. The stone foundation is all that remains of the small house that Jim and Annie Ingram built in 1906. Jim worked nearby at the Royal coal mine, while Annie raised six . . . — — Map (db m292848) HM
Place names like Kanawha, Monongahela, and Allegheny remind us of the generations of people here before us. Prehistoric Paleo-Indians hunted, gathered wild foods, and buried their dead on the land we now call West Virginia. The earliest nomadic . . . — — Map (db m292831) HM
The Black Knight Country Club was organized in 1929 after Colonel Ernest E. Chilson offered more than 60 acres of Raleigh Coal and Coke Company property for a golf course and clubhouse. While the club itself was funded by sales of stock shares . . . — — Map (db m234724) HM
This bronze, titled "Mortality," is the work of West Virginia sculptor Bill Hopen. His study of a dying tunnel worker eulogizes the many men lying in unmarked graves near Hawk's Tunnel about 30 miles from here. There was no memorial for nearly a . . . — — Map (db m75073) HM
The airfield once located here was the first major aviation facility in southern West Virginia. Known variously as Skelton Field (for the town of Skelton), Scott Field (for S.A. Scott, President of the New River Coal Company) and most commonly as . . . — — Map (db m212839) HM
Here was located the main hangar of the Beckley-Mount Hope Airport (1937-1952). Hangar appears behind the U.S. Navy Aircraft pictured above. Built by Herbert L. Sessler to house the short-lived Beckley Air Transport Corporation. Sessler, a leading . . . — — Map (db m235073) HM
Founder of Raleigh County and the City of Beckley. Born in Washington, D.C., he was a West Point graduate, class of 1823, U.S. Artillery officer, and a brigadier general in the Virginia militia 1849-1861. He came to Fayette County (now Raleigh) in . . . — — Map (db m165062) HM
Alfred Beckley. Born May 26, 1802. Beckley was a
graduate of West Point and served
in the army 13 years before moving
to present-day Raleigh County in
1836. He pushed formation of the
county and named its seat after his
father. Made . . . — — Map (db m138150) HM
Mike Sizemore, a metal sculptor based in Mercer County, West Virginia, operates Mountain Artworks, a large welding studio he established in 1996. Sizemore founded the studio upon returning to West Virginia after his time in Santa Fe, New Mexico. . . . — — Map (db m281192) HM
Room for one
From the coal camp in Helen, WV, this one room dwelling dates back to the early 1920s. It was built for and occupied by a single miner or a married miner living away from home while working in the coal mines during a work . . . — — Map (db m86376) HM
Created Apr. 4, 1838. Named for John Beckley, clerk of the House of Representatives in terms of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson. General Alfred Beckley, his son, had home, "Park Place", later known as "Wildwood", built here in 1835. — — Map (db m60987) HM
Created Apr. 4, 1838. Named for John Beckley, clerk of the House of Representatives in the terms of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson. General Alfred Beckley, his son, had home, “Park Place,” later known as “Wildwood,” built . . . — — Map (db m138131) HM
Alfred Beckley built a mill along
Piney Creek (1838-1840) to spur
economic growth on his wilderness
landholdings. Union Commander and future U.S. President Rutherford
B. Hayes visited site in 1862. It
was destroyed in the 1878 flood . . . — — Map (db m138152) HM
Even before the construction of the airport here in the late 1930s, Raleigh County hosted a variety of air shows and “flying circuses.” Air shows were extremely popular for local coal miners who might never have seen an airplane before. . . . — — Map (db m212842) HM
Born July 4, 1938, in Slab Fork, Withers grew up in Beckley. After nine years of service in the US Navy, he began a successful career in the music industry, recording hit songs “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Lean on Me.” In his lifetime, he won three . . . — — Map (db m176833) HM
Built in 1927 as home of Raleigh Coal & Coke Co. general manager Ernest E. Chilson. One of the most prominent coal barons in the state, he also founded the Black Knight Country Club. His white-stuccoed mansion featured a copper roof and 18~inch . . . — — Map (db m250299) HM
Christopher "Chris" Sarandon was born in Beckley on 24 July 1942. Graduated Woodrow Wilson HS, earned a degree in speech from WVU, and a masters in theatre from Catholic U. of America. Noted stage, motion picture and television actor. Nominated for . . . — — Map (db m230295) HM
General Alfred Beckley
Founder of our city
John H. McCulloch
Mayor of Beckley 1970-1983
Fireman Steven Horwath
Killed in the line of duty Nov. 24, 1960
Capt. Jon A McBride, U.S.N.
Astronaut-Space shuttle pilot Oct. 5, 1984
Police . . . — — Map (db m165072) HM
This was a staging area for Confederate troops under the command of Gen. John B. Floyd in the fall of 1861. The 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry set camp here on April 18, 1862. — — Map (db m161224) HM
Born February 11, 1904, in Beckley. Meadows, a lawyer, entered public service in 1930. He served as state delegate, county prosecutor and WV Attorney General before becoming a judge of the 10th Circuit in 1942. As governor (1945-49) he oversaw . . . — — Map (db m176834) HM
Aviation had a long history in Raleigh County before the Beckley-Mount Hope Airport broke ground in 1933. Col. Paul Peck of Hinton is thought to be the first person to land an airplane in Raleigh County, in a field sometime before 1912 – only a . . . — — Map (db m212837) HM
Fulfilling spiritual needs
Built in 1921, this Church is from the coal camp of Pemberton, WV. Coal Baron Thomas Hurst Wickham paid to build the church and gave it as a gift to the community. The center of the coal camp community, this . . . — — Map (db m281607) HM
Ernest Earl Chilson was born in
Williamsport, Pennsylvania in August,
1869, the first child of an eventual
nine siblings in a large military family—an upbringing that doubtless
helped prepare him for his success
within a few years as a . . . — — Map (db m233467) HM
On May 12, 1962, Beckley Street Commissioner D. E. Warden, initially in charge of setting up the City's new Exhibition Coal Mine, announced the donation of a dinky locomotive to the project. Dinkies were small locomotives used on short line . . . — — Map (db m161230) HM
Five miles west at Eccles, on April 28, 1914, a gas explosion in No. 5 Mine in the Beckley seam killed 174 miners; another nine died in No. 6 Mine above from blackdamp. On March 8, 1926, 19 died in No. 5. In 1891, Royal Mine on New River was first . . . — — Map (db m60204) HM
In 1814 an injured young man thrown and abandoned by his horse on Piney Creek purportedly carved his own tombstone awaiting death. — — Map (db m177144) HM
Constructed in late 1903, privately owned and state rented, it housed Beckley's two National Guard units. The facility proved increasingly inadequate. Units relocated to the new Eisenhower Drive armory-field house in October 1941. The first armory . . . — — Map (db m236343) HM
Dedicated to
veterans of all wars
Raleigh County
American Legion Posts 32, 70, & 169
American Legion Auxiliary units 32 & 70
March 1969 — — Map (db m165075) WM
Giles, Fayette and Kanawha Turnpike Company est. 1837. Road in operation and tolls collected by 1848. Portions later paved and improved. — — Map (db m251478) HM
Shortly after European explorers arrived, permanent settlers began to use the "Indian Path" to enter southern West Virginia. The first permanent settlers arrived at Paint Creek in the early 19th century. Agriculture was the dominant way of life for . . . — — Map (db m75144) HM
West Virginia Army National Guard Special Forces (Green Berets) were initially headquartered in Beckley in 1959. Detachments were home stationed here 1959-1963 and 1976-1979. — — Map (db m183908) HM
On this spot in 1842, James Bird Cole built the first residence in Alfred Beckley's 30-acre "paper town." Cole was born in Floyd County, Virginia, circa 1813. A blacksmith, he also established the first business in Beckley. He built his forge and . . . — — Map (db m177088) HM
Born Charleston, 14 August 1943, relocate to Beckley which he considered home Graduated Woodrow Wilson (1960), attended WVU, received BS U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (1971) Navy pilot in Vietnam (54 combat missions' thereafter served as test . . . — — Map (db m236362) HM
Founded by the charitable Beckley Circle of King's Daughters, which in 1922 opened a temporary hospital downtown while a new facility was built on Park Knoll. It filled a growing need for health care in the county and also provided a nursing . . . — — Map (db m221034) HM
A place to call home
This typical three room miner's house is an example of the simple, no-frills construction seen throughout the New River Gorge coal towns. Known as "Jenny Linds," these three to four room structures date from . . . — — Map (db m281613) HM
Authorized by the Virginia General Assembly (1811) as a "salt road." Completed c. 1812, the primitive road connected the Kanawha salines with southwestern VA markets and also gave access to the county's interior. Though one account stated it . . . — — Map (db m250301) HM
Location of the 23rd Mile Tree, the city's first business (James Bird Cole blacksmith forge, 1842-ca. 1865), and the original First Presbyterian Church building (1907-1923). The city purchased the property in 1925, converting the church edifice into . . . — — Map (db m229188) HM
Established in 1927 by act of the Legislature to provide additional facilities for sufferers from tuberculosis. Opened to the public in 1930. Capacity increased, 1938. Early treatment of the disease is emphasized. Altitude 2350 feet. — — Map (db m109187) HM
Formed, 1850, from Fayette. Named for Sir Walter Raleigh, who planted the first English colony in America. Beckley, the county seat, was founded by Alfred Beckley, and named for his father, John, first clerk of the House of Representatives. — — Map (db m138154) HM
The county's first mine opened at Royal on the New River in 1891. The Beckley Exhibition Mine, once an actual operating mine, and the dozens of others throughout Raleigh County produced 792,055,155 tons of bituminous coal in the first century of the . . . — — Map (db m161229) HM
In grateful tribute
toward the living
and the dead who
through their valiant
efforts and bitter
sacrifice have made
America great,
is this shrine
dedicated by the
Senior Girl Scouts
of Raleigh County.
Let us hold in
honored memory
those . . . — — Map (db m165069) WM
Captain Sam Antonio (b. Pax, 3 Jan 1916), learned to fly at the Beckley-Mount Hope Airport formerly located here, then became a pilot for Pennsylvania Airlines. He died on 21 May 1943, at the age of 27. Antonio was reportedly on a classified mission . . . — — Map (db m234781) HM
Worked as a mining engineer before moving to Beckley 1921 and pursuing architecture beginning in 1930. Major projects: Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building, Post Office and Federal Building, Pinecrest Sanitarium, Stratton High School, Mountainair . . . — — Map (db m192494) HM
In 1922, State Police Colonel Arnold announced Raleigh County roads were the "chief gateway into the state for the bootlegging fraternity." — — Map (db m203035) HM
During the deadly Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918-19, a special flu hospital operated on this site in the basement of the First Baptist Church. Volunteers, risking their own lives, tended to the plague victims brought in from throughout Raleigh . . . — — Map (db m159733) HM
On October 7, 1939, station WBSP
went live, part of a new shortwave
communication system throughout
the state. Within nine months, in
late-June 1940, Company D occupied
new, state-owned "barracks here.
Partially funded by WPA grants, . . . — — Map (db m165070) HM
Gone are the days of the early 1800s in which African Americans were mainly provided education by missionaries and charitable organizations. The WV legislature passed a bill in 1866 that provided public schools for black students, but revised it in . . . — — Map (db m161232) HM
On 20 August 1900, architect John Price Beckley (Age 26), grandson of county and city founder Alfred Beckley, was engaged in building a house for a prominent Beckley attorney. He and carpenter William E. George (30 y. o.), a friend, were conferring . . . — — Map (db m230297) HM
A reflection of Status Constructed in 1906 in Skelton, WV, the “super’s home” was just that, a three story structure for the mine superintendent to make his home. However, all indications are that Samuel Dixon the mine owner, had it . . . — — Map (db m86432) HM
General Alfred Beckley, founder of the city of Beckley, shows this corner location as land lot 29 on his 1838 map. Reverend Matthew Ellison, founder of the First Baptist Church of Beckley, built his home here in 1850, and his heirs held title to the . . . — — Map (db m60262) HM
Coal companies built entire towns from the ground up to provide for their workers. Schools, churches, stores, theaters, and residential structures were constructed for miners and their families. Coal camps in Southern West Virginia generally date . . . — — Map (db m281568) HM
Casa Loma, or "Knoll House," served as the private residence for Ernest Chilson and his descendants from 1928 to 1949. Designed by Chilson in Art Deco style and constructed in
cement and steel, it presented a sleek, linear appearance with stylized, . . . — — Map (db m233286) HM
Known as the "War Road", the "Hunter's Road", or simply the "Indian Path" by the time European explorers arrived in the 18th century, Paint Creek had long been a route of travel for Native Americans. Delawares, Mingoes, Ottawas, Senecas, . . . — — Map (db m75165) HM
There are many tales surrounding Ferguson rock, the oldest known landmark in Beckley, Raleigh County. One popular story holds “S. Ferguson” to have been an “old pioneer” who came to grief in 1814 while traveling from Virginia to the Kanawha . . . — — Map (db m177086) HM
This city block, laid out by General Alfred Beckley, was the headquarters of Union troops
during the Civil War
Among these troops were two future presidents of the United States:
Rutherford B. Hayes
19th Pres. 1877-1881
William . . . — — Map (db m165079) HM
Company town, company school
Originally constructed as a two room school, it became a one room school when enrollment declined. Built in 1925 in Helen, West Virginia, it served black children that lived in the coal camp. A similar . . . — — Map (db m281649) HM
This sign was located in the hoist building at the #10 mine before the mine shutdown. It was erected here for posterity in 1991 — — Map (db m281673) HM
An explosion underground at Montcoal in western Raleigh County on April 5th, 2010 took the lives of 29 miners listed below:
Deceased Miners
Carl C Acord, 52, Roof Bolter Operator Jason M. Atkins, 25, Roof Bolter Operator Christopher . . . — — Map (db m138161) HM
Dedicated to all Police, Fire, & EMS workers, & their families, who in any way gave their time, their effort, & in some cases their life, in serving & protecting the citizens of Beckley & Raleigh County.
The piece of steel on top of this . . . — — Map (db m184249) WM
Built by John Lilly, Sr. in 1835-36, it was the home of Alfred Beckley (1802-88) and Amelia Neville Craig. Son of John Beckley, first clerk of the House of Representatives, he founded the town of Beckley and wrote the bill proposing formation of . . . — — Map (db m76957) HM
Born in 1823, he moved to Raleigh County in the 1850s where he was a carpenter. A staunch Unionist during the Civil War, he served in
the 7th WV Cavalry until discharged due to ill health. Elected to the House of Delegates in 1863, Dunbar also . . . — — Map (db m186661) HM
Born December 19, 1920 in Bolt, Dickens was a country music star known as “Little Jimmy” due to his short stature of 4 feet, 11 inches. He began his musical career in the 1930s and by 1948 was a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He enjoyed a successful . . . — — Map (db m190012) HM
Grandview Park (11 miles N.), 878 acres, derives name from an overhanging cliff 1300 ft. high. In basal Pennsylvanian rocks. New River in this area has cut a steep-walled gorge through Mauch Chunk strata of late Mississippian Age. — — Map (db m250298) HM
Construction of the Logan Turnpike was authorized by the VA General Assembly on March 17, 1849. The road was an important entryway into he relatively remote region of present-day southern West Virginia. Starting on the Big Sandy in Logan, it roughly . . . — — Map (db m176831) HM
For over 30 years a Little General store stood on this site. On January 30, 2007 at 10:56 a.m., a propane explosion leveled the store killing the four men honored by this memorial and critically injuring five others.
We will never . . . — — Map (db m243309) HM
Coal Marsh Missionary Baptist Church was built in 1829 of rough logs. Guyandotte Church moved in July 1836 to petition the Greenbrier Convention for a new church at Coal River Marshes, then Fayette County. Upon approval, all members living east of . . . — — Map (db m221285) HM
Before the timber boom in the New River area, the Glade Creek and Piney Creek valleys contained about 50,000 acres of virgin pine and substantial stands of yellow poplar and oak. This seemingly endless old-growth deciduous forest was a siren song . . . — — Map (db m197519) HM
As logging in the New River Gorge expanded, timber operations gradually became more efficient. Local timber company J. R. Beaty and Company created the first railroad in Raleigh County, the Glade Creek and Raleigh (GC&R) Railroad, in 1895. The . . . — — Map (db m197516) HM
While early explorers knew about the rich timber and coal resources in this region, it took the completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railroad through the New River Gorge in 1873 to open the area up to major logging and mining operations. . . . — — Map (db m197514) HM
In the early 1920s baseball was becoming America's game, and the small towns of West Virginia were no exception. Little boys throughout the area dreamed of being the next Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig while playing with baseballs made from paper and . . . — — Map (db m186955) HM
Children in coal towns like Helen were sure to find many activities that kept them entertained throughout the year. Of course there was a theatre in town where the children watched the latest movie or serial. In the spring time, many could be found . . . — — Map (db m186958) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m186953) HM
In the 1910s, the East Gulf Coal Company opened what came to be known as the Helen Mine and Coal Camp. Realizing their need to attract a more reliable and family-oriented workforce, the coal operators began constructing "model towns.” Here in the . . . — — Map (db m186950) HM
At the peak of the coal boom in the Winding Gulf region, thousands of miners worked in the four mines of the Eastern Associated Coal Company in Helen. These miners came from various races and nationalities, and their hard, often dangerous work . . . — — Map (db m186951) HM
In 1902, competing railroads raced to reach the coal fields of southern West Virginia. The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) and Deepwater-Tidewater Railway (known as the Virginian after 1907) both wanted to be the first to reach the rich coal deposits . . . — — Map (db m204806) HM
Est. 1930 to serve Beckley and Mount Hope areas. Early aviator Herb Sessler trained pilots, tested aircraft here. Airfield closed ca. 1935. — — Map (db m180724) HM
From 1921-65 school served students from coal towns Hot Coal, Big Stick Woodbay, McAlpin, Stotesbury, Tams, Ury, Helen, Amigo, Sophia and Slab Fork. Robert C. Byrd, valedictorian, Mark Twain High School class of 1934, served in West Virginia . . . — — Map (db m138164) HM
Raleigh County. Formed, 1850, from Fayette. Named for Sir Walter Raleigh, who planted the first English colony in America. Beckley, the county seat, was founded by Alfred Beckley, and named for his father, John, first clerk of the House of . . . — — Map (db m290050) HM
New Salem Baptist Church has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2023 by the United States Department of the Interior — — Map (db m251476) HM
In the mid-1800s, the Richmond family built a grist mill on this small channel of the New River. The river's regular high flow guaranteed a dependable water source for grinding grain. As subsistence farmers like the Richmonds settled this area, . . . — — Map (db m292892) HM
Situated along a road originally cut by frontiersman Francis Farley during the late 18th century, the community was named for the nearby spring that served area residents and passersby with a continuous water source. Business activity in the area . . . — — Map (db m143110) HM
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
This monument was designed and erected by Chapter #156 of the Korean . . . — — Map (db m179215) WM
In 1950, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers established a training and testing facility near McCreery. Chosen for its unique directional flows and proximity to Bluestone Dam, this section of the New River also allowed testing of floating bridge . . . — — Map (db m176827) HM
A severe drought that began in 1939 caused a prolonged water crisis for the City of Beckley. After a frozen water main burst and water usage was restricted, officials ordered a better water supply be provided. The solution was to access nearby Glade . . . — — Map (db m197782) HM
