On U.S. 52 at Steam Engine Drive (Local Route 52/19), on the right when traveling north on U.S. 52.
First black woman elected to West Virginia legislature, 1950; retied in 1964. Leading advocate for labor and education; in 1955 she sponsored bill to allow women to serve on juries. Born 22 September 1893, she began teaching in 1910. Drewry served . . . — — Map (db m1822) HM
On Wyoming Street (West Virginia Route 16) at Bank Street, on the right when traveling north on Wyoming Street.
In the early 1900s, McDowell County had a large and diverse ethnic population. Most of the immigrants came from Europe with the largest concentration from Italy, Hungary, Russia, Poland, and Austria. Smaller numbers traveled from Australia, . . . — — Map (db m178621) HM
On McDowell Street (West Virginia Route 16) near Wyoming Street, on the right when traveling south.
Welch is named for Captain Isaiah Welch, a surveyor whose accounts of rich coal seams in the Elkhorn Valley helped encourage development of the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W, now Norfolk Southern Corporation). In 1888 Captain Welch bought land . . . — — Map (db m178524) HM
On Coal Valley Road near Blair Mountain Highway ( Route 17), on the left when traveling east.
In August 1921, an estimated 15,000 coal miners and their allies participated in the largest armed labor uprising in US history.
But this was just the finale of a drama begun a decade earlier. In 1912, on Paint Creek and Cabin Creek, . . . — — Map (db m206809) 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
On McCorkle Avenue at 86th Street, on the right when traveling south on McCorkle Avenue.
In August 1921, an estimated 15,000 coal miners and their allies participated in the largest armed labor uprising in US history.
But this was just the finale of a drama begun a decade earlier.
In 1912, on Paint Creek and . . . — — Map (db m206835) HM
On Wyoming Street (West Virginia Route 26) at Bank Street, on the right when traveling north on Wyoming Street.
Captain Isaiah Arnold Welch (circa 1824-1902) was a land surveyor, civil engineer, and captain in the Confederate Army. Welch was hired by Major Jedediah Hotchkiss, a cartographer, to survey the coal and timber values in southern West Virginia. . . . — — Map (db m178572) HM
On Wyoming Street (West Virginia Route 16) at Bank Street, on the right when traveling north on Wyoming Street.
On February 20, 1858, the General Assembly of Virginia passed legislation creating
McDowell County from the western section of Tazewell County. McDowell County was named in honor of James McDowell, the governor of Virginia between 1843 and 1846, . . . — — Map (db m178627) HM
On Shop Hollow Road (County Route 659) at Boissevain Road (County Route 644) on Shop Hollow Road.
The Southwest Virginia Improvement Company
opened Pocahontas Mine No. 1, the first to
exploit the rich seams of the Pocahontas Coalfield,
in 1882. An extension of the Norfolk and Western
Railway soon followed, bringing industrial development to . . . — — Map (db m104975) HM
On Ferrell Street at Hatfield Street, on the right when traveling north on Ferrell Street.
The Battle of Matewan was one of the defining events of the West Virginia Mine Wars of the early 1920s. The battle — often called the Matewan Massacre — took place on the afternoon of May 19, 1920, when a group of Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency . . . — — Map (db m178411) HM
On Folsom Road 0.2 miles south of Coal Heritage Road (U.S. 52), on the right when traveling south.
Wilmore Dam is located on Folsom Road in McDowell County, West Virginia. The dam is 3 miles south of Iaeger on South Route 52 and 3 miles north of Roderfield.
Wilmore Dam is one of the most visited historical places by out-of-staters. . . . — — Map (db m306246) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 52) 0.1 miles south of Lavania Street, on the right when traveling south.
cDowell County had the largest concentration of African
Americans in the West Virginia coal fields. Between the 1870s and 1900s, African Americans came to West Virginia to construct the Norfolk & Western, Chesapeake & Ohio, and the Virginian . . . — — Map (db m178858) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 52) 0.1 miles south of Lavania Street, on the right when traveling south.
In the 1920s, a group of World War I veterans approached the McDowell County Commission to discuss their plans for building a
new memorial that would recognize African American veterans. The county approved the plan and set aside $25,000 for the . . . — — Map (db m178735) HM
On Wyoming Street (West Virginia Route 16) at Bank Street, on the right when traveling north on Wyoming Street.
The McDowell County Courthouse was the site of a significant event in West Virginia’s Mine Wars. On August 1, 1921, Sidney “Sid” Hatfield, former Matewan Chief of Police and hero to union coal miners, and his friend, Deputy Ed Chambers, arrived at . . . — — Map (db m178569) HM
On Lavania Street at One Way Street, on the right when traveling north on Lavania Street.
This is the site of Henrietta Dismukes Hospital and Nurses’ Home. The hospital burned down in 2016, and all that remains is the Nurses’ Home.
Dr. Henry Dodford Dismukes was born on August 11, 1889, in Troy, Alabama. His mother was . . . — — Map (db m278203) HM
On Riverside Drive (Route 16) north of Coal Heritage Road (U.S. 52), on the right when traveling south.
Boxcar P. L. M. K -134980 was given to the people of West Virginia by the people of France on 2/7/49. It was one of many used during World War I and World War II to haul troops and supplies to and from the front lines. Printed on its side is . . . — — Map (db m178646) 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 Coal Heritage Road (U.S. 52) 0.1 miles east of Bull Dog Hollow Road, on the right when traveling east.
Dedicated to the memory of the officers and men of the US Army who sacrificed their lives adjacent to this site in a transport plane accident on July 1, 1942
In Memoriam
2nd Lt . . . — — Map (db m306244) HM WM
On Stewart St (West Virginia Route 16) at Davy Street (County Route 7), on the left when traveling west on Stewart St.
This is a State institution. It was founded in 1900 and has been maintained as a general hospital for treatment of charity and semi-charity medical and surgical cases. — — Map (db m178518) 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 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
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 July 26, 1942 the first African American 4-H camp in the United States was opened here in Fayette County. A 1929 report showed that 44 of the state’s 55 counties had 4-H camps for white children, hut none for black children. Fleming Adolphus . . . — — Map (db m138104) HM
Thin black lines indicate changes in relevance. Between each pair of lines entries are ordered geographically but all have the same relevance.
* Inflectional forms of words are their plurals, singulars, and possessives as well as gramatical tenses and similar variations.
