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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
"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
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
