On Main Street (U.S. 52) 0.1 miles south of Lavania Street, on the right when traveling south.
Within a ten month period, two devastating floods impacted McDowell County and its residents. The first major flood occurred on Sunday, July 8, 2001, after
a series of heavy thunderstorms dropped over eight inches of rain. By early afternoon, the . . . — — Map (db m178770) 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 Carswell Hollow Road (Local Route 52/06) just north of Coal Heritage Road (U.S. 52), on the left when traveling north.
Mining at Carswell, a mile north of Kimball, started in May 1914 and continued until the complex closed in 1965. The mines had a history of fatal accidents that resulted in the deaths of 65 men. Explosions at the vivian (1916), Kimball (1919) & . . . — — Map (db m178659) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 52) 0.2 miles south of Lavania Street, on the left when traveling south.
The town of Kimball was named for Frederick Kimball, Norfolk and Western Railway’s (N&W, now Norfolk Southern Corporation) second president—serving from 1881-1903. Frederick Kimball was a civil engineer with an interest in geology who helped to . . . — — Map (db m178876) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 52) 0.1 miles south of Lavinia Street, on the right when traveling south.
Frederick James Kimball (1844-1903) was responsible for the Norfolk & Western Railway being built through McDowell County. Kimball was born on March 6,1844, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He worked for railroad companies in Pennsylvania and England . . . — — Map (db m178855) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 52) 0.2 miles south of Lavania Street, on the left when traveling south.
The West Vivian Tunnel (approximately 820 feet west of this sign) was constructed about 1907 by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W, now Norfolk Southern Corporation), and is named for a small unincorporated community about one mile east of . . . — — Map (db m178956) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 52) 0.1 miles south of Lavania Street, on the right when traveling south.
In the early 1920s, David Houston, a prominent coal baron and owner of the Houston Coal and Coke Company, built the Houston Company Store. Unlike other company stores, the Houston Company Store was built on the edge of Carswell Hollow along Route . . . — — Map (db m178862) 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
This structure, dedicated on February 11, 1928, was first building in U.S. built to honor African Americans for their military service during World War I. This Classical-style building, designed by Welch architect Hassel T. Hicks, was erected with . . . — — Map (db m1823) HM
