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University of Virginia Record
Extension Series
Vol. XII, No. 11May 1928
AN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SURVEY OF
Wise County
By:
RALPH EMERSON KENNEDY
A Laboratory Study in the School of Rural Social Economics of
The University of Virginia
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
1928
CONTENTS
page
Foreword 7
Acknowledgements 8
I. A Brief Historical Sketch of Wise County .. ..11
II. Towns of Wise County ..21
Big Stone Gap -- Wise -- Norton -- Saint Paul -- Appalachia -- Coeburn -- Toms Creek -- Blackwood.
III. Natural Resources ..39
Transportation -- Climate -- Minerals -- Soils -- Forests.
IV. Wise County Mines and Manufacturers... .50
Hatton, Brown and Company -- Stonegap Colliery Company -- Virginia Iron, Coal, and Coke Company - Norton Coal Company - Hawthorne Coal Corporation - J. A. Esser Coke Company - Bondtown Coal Corporation - Gladeville Coal Company - Tieche Coal Corporation - Ghess Coal Company - Hillman's Coal Mine - Crawford Printing Company - Wise Printing Company - The Norton Press - Appalachia Printing Company - The Wise Gazette - Old Dominion Power Company - Old Dominion Ice Corporation - The Kline Corporation - Saint Paul Bottling Company - Clinchfield Lumber and Supply Company - Saint Paul Baking Company.
V. Wealth and Taxation . .60
Total Taxable Property - Agricultural Wealth - Industrial and Mineral Wealth - School Finances - Automobiles and Vehicles - Inheritance and Income Taxes - Banks - Taxation - Statistical Tables.
VI. Facts about the Folks . .71
Total Population - Density of Population - Population According to Decades - Civil Divisions - Rural and Urban - Color and Nativity - Sex - Total Illiteracy - Native White Illiteracies - Negro Illiteracies - Some Conclusions on Illiteracy - Birth and Death Rates - Marriages and Divorces - Church Membership - Statistical Tables.
VII. Schools 83
Administration - School Buildings - A Few Years of Progress - Number and Qualifications of Teachers Employed - Length of School Term - System of High Schools - Bonds and Insurance - History of Lipps District - First Meeting of Trustees - Second Meeting of Trustees - Notice - Later Events.
VIII. Agriculture of Wise County 93
Idle Lands - Farm Tenancy - Size of Farms - Machinery on Farms - The Soil and Its Care - Dairying - Live Stock - Wise County Live Stock Census for 1920 - Beef Cattle - Horses and Mules - Hogs - Sheep - Corn - Wheat - Oats - Hay - Potatoes - Fruits - 1925 Farm Census - Statistical Tables.
IX. Food and Food Production 111
The Deficit - The Meat Deficit - The Deficit in Butter - The Corn and Wheat Deficit - The Surplus in Hay - Why the Deficits? - The Banks Can Aid - Statistical Tables - Balance Sheet of Food and Feed Stuff.
X. Evidence of Progress .118
Wise County Health Department -- Schools - Virginia Coal Operator's Association - Roads - Tourist Advantages - The Civitan Club of Saint Paul - Wealth - Associated Charities of Big Stone Gap - Norton Young Men's Christian Association - Wise County Board of Public Welfare - Railroads - Sandy Ridge Mission and Grace House on the Mountain - Appalachia Boy Scouts - Norton Salvation Army -- Newspapers
XI. Wise County Problems ..134
Schools - Roads - Conservation of Natural Resources - Deficits in Food and Feed - Unimproved Lands - Church Membership - County Government - The County Agent - Home Demonstration Agent - Public Welfare.
FOREWORD
Often in a day's work questions arise about one's county or town, and because of the lack of convenient and authoritative sources of information, these questions must go unanswered. Almost daily local chambers of commerce receive detailed inquires from outsiders interested in the county from a business or residence point of view; and for a similar reason the replies must only be partial or general in nature. The civics, history, geography and other courses in our public schools are incomplete because there is no comprehensive source book of definite information on the economic and social life of the county. Annually the program committees of numbers of woman's clubs search for worthwhile topics of study, and no time can be better spent tan that which is used in gaining a thorough knowledge of their home counties in the several phases that go to make up the life of such a unit.
During the past five years, among the courses offered in rural social economies at the University of Virginia one has been listed as "Economic and Social Surveys of Virginia Counties: a laboratory course in rural social economies dealing with the economic and social problems of the counties in Virginia. These county studies when completed, will be published as bulletins of the University." It is clear from this from this excerpt of a catalog statement of the course that the work of these surveys is a part of the student's class room instruction, and that he receives regular college credit for it as one of the five or more courses he is entitled to take as his normal load of work during the academic year.
At the present time eleven such surveys, including this one of Wise County, have been completed and published. Others are under way in varying stages of completion. The work proves exceedingly interesting to the good student, particularly when, as is usually the case, he is a native of the county which he surveys. The bulletins when published are made widely available mainly to the thoughtful citizenship of the county concerned. Out of these surveys has come an interesting series of County Geography Supplements, which are prepared in the Summer Quarter of the University by a group of teachers from the particular county. These supplements conform in arrangements with the State adopted geography text, and have proved very interesting and worthwhile subject matter for the geography pupils in the graded schools of the several counties for which the work has been done.
During the past two years, Mr. Kennedy has labored long and effectively in presenting the picture of Wise County given in the following pages. His efforts are exceedingly valuable not only because they are done with painstaking carefulness, but also because they bring to light many significant things about a county which has been transformed in recent years by industrial development. What has taken place in Wise County will come to pass in the next few decades in many Southern counties similarly inviting manufactures.
This study of Wise County is a permanently valuable contribution to the literature on one of the wealthiest and most industrialized counties of the State. Every thoughtful citizen of Wise County will find the time spent in reading the entire survey a good investment; and the vast quantity of exact statistical material contained in it makes the bulletin invaluable for reference purposes.
Wilson Gee,
School of Rural Social Economics.
University of Virginia
May 15, 1928
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It is always well for us to pause in the midst of our work and ask ourselves at what we are aiming, are we traveling in the right direction, and are our methods of procedure the best that we can follow. This is not true of the individual, but is doubly true of a business organization or of a political unit. The aim of this study is to aid the people of Wise County in making a brief survey of their past efforts along such lines as will render such a review most profitable to them. As far as possible, concreteness has been aimed at, and exactness has been sought. We wish to make it possible for Wise County people to think about their problems in a manner that is totally divorced from abstractions. Instead of telling the reader that a certain item is valuable we have given the figures so that he can make deductions of his own accord. We have been trying to compile a sort of handbook of the county that the man of affairs can use when he needs facts.
Wise, unlike many other counties of the State, has been a sort of "dark continent" to the average Virginian. Very little has been written about it, excepting of course the romantic stories of writers like John Fox, Jr. We fear that a somewhat erroneous impression has been created concerning it. Wise County is not the backwoods community of the "Trail of the Lonesome Pine," nor has it been such for several decades. It is a lively industrial industrial county that is perhaps progressing at the present time to a far greater extent than many of the other counties in Virginia. The ideals of the people differ radically from those of most other counties in the State in that the inhabitants of Wise are wedded in mind to industrial progress. The county, as a political and geographical unit, is relatively young, and therefore we find no such aristocracy of tradition as in met with in many of the counties of Virginia more to the east.
We wish to express our appreciation to different individuals in the county for their cooperation in this task. Some of these, taking time from their work, have put themselves at a disadvantage to aid us. One of the first of these has been Mr. Charles Andrew Johnson, Clerk of the Court, who not only prepared for us the historical sketch of the county, but aided us in many other ways. Superintendent J. J. Kelly, Jr., author of the chapter on schools, also deserves our hearty thanks for his invaluable cooperation. Mr. Bruce Crawford, Editor of the "Crawford's Weekly," has shown us unusual courtesy, and given us invaluable advice.
To the authors of the sketches on towns we are especially grateful. The names of these people are H. L. Sulfridge, of Big Stone Gap, T. R. Coleman, of Norton, Mrs. Ruth Flanary-Graham of Wise, R. C. Bray and Mrs. B. H. Crizer of Appalachia, C. J. Creveling of Norton, who wrote the sketch of Blackwood, James R. Thompkins of Toms Creek, Mrs. S. P. Buchanan of Coeburn, and J. M. Hillman of Saint Paul. All of these people are to be commended for their interest and effort.
There are others whose valuable suggestions and information have been of immeasurable aid to our task. Among these are Henry G. Gilmer of Norton, the editors of all the papers in the county, the Geology Department of the University of Virginia, Dr. Culbertson of the Health Department, Frank A. Cavedo of the Board of Public Welfare, Miss Minnie Fox, G. D. Jenkins of the Jenkins Studio at Big Stone Gap, C. B. Neel, W. W. Kemp, officials of all the industrial organizations mentioned in the study, and Professors Frank W. Hoffer, Wylie Kilpatrick, and Dr. W. H. Stouffer of the University of Virginia. To all of these people we wish to extend our sincere thanks.
Above all others we wish to extend our hearty thanks to the instructorial staff of the School of Rural Social Economics of the University of Virginia. The aid of Messrs. L. P. Nickell and Elliot G. Fishburne has been not only patient but invaluably helpful. It is, however, to Dr. Wilson Gee, Professor of Rural Economics and Rural Sociology at the University of Virginia, that the greatest thanks of all are due. His patience, his constant advice, his inspiration, and his cheerful personality are inextricably interwoven in this task. To him we cannot choose but extend the deepest acknowledgement of gratitude.
Ralph Emerson Kennedy
University, Virginia.
May 1, 1928.
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I
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WISE COUNTY
By Charles Andrew Johnson
Wise County, as a distinct geographical and political unit of the Commonwealth of Virginia, had its beginning on February 16, 1856 when, by act of the state General Assembly, a new county was formed from portions of Russell, Scott and Lee counties and designated Roan County. However, when Mr. Thomas L. Preston, member from Smyth County, suggested that the newly formed geographical division be named in honor of the, then, governor, the name was changed by acclamation to Wise County.
The boundaries, as fixed by the General Assembly, were as follows, the greater portion of Dickenson County having been struck off from Wise by the Act of 1880: "Beginning at the break of the Cumberland mountain on the Kentucky and Virginia line, where the Pound fork of Sandy breaks though the Cumberland mountain; thence up the Pound fork to the mouth of Crane's Nest, a water of said Pound fork; thence with the dividing ridge between the waters of Crane's Nest and McLure's (now called McClure River), to William Taylor's farm, including said Taylor's farm in the new County; thence a straight line to the Camp rock south of the High Knob; thence a straight line to the Pole fence on Little Powell's mountain, on the line dividing Scott and Lee Counties; thence said county line to the head of Stock creek, including the farm of Zachariah N. Wells in the said county; thence a straight line to the dividing ridge between the waters of Crab Orchard and Pigeon fork; thence with the said dividing ridge to the Kentucky line; and thence with the Kentucky line to the beginning."
The court house, or seat of justice, named Gladeville, was located on the lands of Daniel Ramey at the Big Glades, in territory that was formerly a part of Russell County. Daniel S. Hoge, William Robinson, John Davis, Reuben Powers, William Richmond, Hardin Dale, Charles Huff, Morgan T. Lipps, William H. Dean, and James M. Gibson were appointed commissioners to meet at the home of Daniel Ramey for the purpose of selecting a site for a court house, jail and other public buildings.
The commissioners met at the place appointed on the fourth Monday in June 1856 and selected the sight for the court house and other public buildings. At this meeting a place was selected for holding the first court, which was scheduled for the fourth Monday in the following June.
The first Court for Wise County was held in the Primitive Baptist Church, across the road from Daniel Ramey's home, on July 28, 1856. The justices present were, William Richmond, William Robinson, William H. Dean, Nicholas Horn, Jesse Davis, Joseph Estep, James Buchanan, Isaac Willis, S. H. Senter, George H. Gray, Jeremiah Powers, Hirman Riggs, James Holbrook, James H. McCoy, Martin Kilbourn, John Creech, Daniel Short, John H. Vanover, William Vanover, and Charles F. Bond. The Court preceded to appoint one of their number to act as presiding justice and William Richmond, William Robinson and James Buchanan were before the court in nomination for the station. After one ballot had been cast without either of the three candidates receiving a majority, Buchanan withdrew and William Richmond was chosen.
The court then preceded to classify all the justices commissioned for the county for the performance of their duties as follows:
1856 - July, Joseph Estep and James Buchanan; August, Wm. H. Dean, Jeremiah Powers and John H. Vanover; September, Charles F. Bond, and Stephen H. Senter; October, John Creech and Hiram Riggs; November, Daniel H. Short, and Jesse Davis; December, Martin Kilbourne and George H. Gray.
1857 - January, Nicholas Horn and James H. McCoy; February, Isaac Willis and William Robinson; March, James Holbrook and William Vanover.
And thus the first court ever held for Wise County was organized and read for business.
Settlement
In the year 1750 the Ohio Company of Virginia sent a party into the western wilderness to survey and make maps of the country. This party was led by Captain Christopher Gist and it was as he returned to eastern Virginia that the eyes of white man first looked upon what is now Wise County.
Captain Gist crossed the Cumberland Mountain by way of the Pound Gap in the year 1751 and made his camp for the night on the Pound River, four miles south of the Kentucky line, where the little village of Donkey now stands. He was thirteen days from passing through the present bounds of Wise County. At the Donkey camp he makes record of having killed a bear and a buffalo. His next camp was made on Indian Creek, some ten miles to the south of the first, and he says: "Came to a small creek on which was a large Warrior's Camp, that would contain 70 or 80 warriors. Their captain's name of title was the Crane, as I knew by his picture or arms painted on a tree."
Gist's next principal camping place was at Prince's Flats (now Norton) where he arrived on the evening of April 8th. He remained at this camp until the morning of the 11th when he proceeded east to the place that was known as Guest's Station until about 1891 when it was changed to Coeburn. Referring to the country around Prince's Flats, Gist says: "The weather being somewhat bad, we did not travel these two days, the country being still rocky, mountainous and full of laurel thickets, the worst traveling I ever saw."
Gist, it is said, had with him his son Thomas. He must have remained at Guest's Station for several days and have done some exploring for we learn from old citizens around Coeburn that the two creeks that empty into Guest's River at that place were named for Tom Gist. While the elder Gist was away from camp the son spent some time hunting between the two streams. His father had cautioned him to remain between the creeks so that he could always be sure in finding his way back to camp. It was of this reason that the creeks bear the names of Big Tom and Little Tom.
According to the most reliable history, as gleaned from old records and word of mouth traditions, the first permanent settlement in what is now known as Wise County was made on Guest's River, near the present town of Coeburn, by a man named Hamilton, about 1770. Other first settlers were the Bollings, the Robertses, the Rodgeres, the Robinsons, the Churches, and the Renfros. In the year 1786, Harry L. Smith, was granted some five hundred acres near Little Stone Gap, and his agent, Prince, attempted a settlement at Norton the following year. The new settlement was surrounded by great forests of chestnut and Prince, feasting too well on the nuts, died in great agony on the banks of Guest's River a few miles north of his camp. His comrades buried him on the bank of the stream and deserting the settlement, made their way back across the Blue Ridge to the east.
The settlement made by Prince gave the place its name and until 1891, when the Louisville & Nashville and Norfolk & Western Railroads were built to meet in the gap of Stone Mountain, it was called Prince's Flats. With the coming of the railroads the name was changed to Norton in honor of the Norton family of Kentucky, who were large stockholders in the Louisville & Nashville company at that time.
A few years after Prince's attempt to found a settlement in the Little Stone Gap, and his tragic end, Benjamin Bolling came from Wilkes County, North Carolina, and making a small clearing one mile north of the now town of Esserville, built a cabin. Bolling remained here only a short time, but during his stay a near-tragedy was enacted close by his home. Mrs. Bolling had gone to the spring for a pail of water, early one morning, when a panther sprang from a nearby forest and attacked her. She was unarmed, save for a club which she secured, but she succeeded in beating off the beast until her husband, hearing the commotion, came to her rescue and killed the animal. Shortly after this incident Bolling sold his claim to another homeseeker and returned to North Carolina. It is said that he received for his claim a rifle gun and two hound pups. The next year he returned to Virginia, established himself on Pound River, ten miles north of his Guest's River settlement, and there lived out his days, dying at a ripe old age. His descendants are now numbered by the hundreds in Wise County, one of them residing on the original homestead of Benjamin Bolling on Pound River. This great-grandson of the hardy old pioneer has in his possession a gourd in which the settler carried apple scions from North Carolina to plant the first orchard in Wise County. The orchard is still bearing fruit.
The first settler on Powells River was Gabriel Church, known as the Giant of the Mountains. He settled on Roaring Fork, and it is told how he would shoot a deer, tie its legs together and hunt all day with it swung around him.
Other first settlers were the Welles on Guest's River, near Esserville; the Sturgills on Powell River and Pound River; the Grahms, the Kilgores the Colliers, the Richmonds, the Lippses, the Snodgrasses, the Salyers, the Stidhams, the Hubbards, the Blevinses, the Beverlerys, the Bruces, the Dotsons, the Deans, the Creeches, the Rameys, the Buchanans, the Shorts, the Caricos, the Whites, the Isons and Wamplers.
Agriculture and Industries
When the county was formed, in 1856, the only means of livelihood was hunting, trapping and tilling the soil. There was nothing within the boundaries of the county that could be called industry. The millions of tones of fine coal lay hidden beneath the soil. True, the settlers knew of its existence, but they had not yet speculated to its value.
The several small farms were cultivated in the most primitive fashion. Corn, potatoes, sorghum, and beans were the principle crops and the chief articles of diet. The only roads connecting the settlements, and linking them with the outside world, were the few ungraded cart trails and bridle paths that had been cut through laurel thickets. These usually followed the shortest route to the objective point, regardless of the roughness of the way. Most everything needed for food and clothing was produced at home. The few articles that it was necessary to bring in from the outside world were freighted by ox-cart and wagon from Abingdon, several days travel to the south.
With the building of the Louisville & Nashville and the Norfolk & Western Railroad to meet at Prince's Flats (now Norton) in 1890, and the brining of outside capital into the county, a great deal of change commenced. Lands that had been traded, -- hundreds of acres, for a saddle, a gun, even a dog, began to command prices that ranged all the way from one to twenty dollars an acre.
With the opening up of coal mines and the building of long batteries of coke ovens at several points in the county, many farmers deserted their domains and sought work where already thousands of men from all corners of the earth were congregating. Others, looking down across the years to come stayed with their little farms, plowing and hoeing while their neighbors closed up the house to seek high wages. To-day the sons of this man, who deprived himself and family of the many enjoyments afforded by the wage of the worker, are the Lords of the Land in Wise County. Where their father's cabin stood, now stands a modern farm house equipped with all modern fixtures.
To-day, in some places, where fifty years ago men and woman could have been seen wrestling with the weeds, bushes and vines in small clearings, can be heard the "chug, chug" of the tractor as it worms its way across broad fields pulling a gang plow. The steep, but fertile hill sides, that produced fifteen or twenty bushels of corn, to be gathered and carried to the crib in a long sack in those old days, are now clothed with well kept orchards and vineyards that have produced prize winning fruits. And where, forty years ago the hoot of the owl and the scream of the wild cat were the only sounds to disturb the age old silence of the mountains, the hum of motors, now, are never stilled. Wise County with its few hundred people in 1856 has become an empire in 1927. The home of the wild animal has become the home of over 60,000 happy and contented people.
The history of the development of Wise County from the most backwoods section of Virginia into one of the greatest industrial communities in the South would be a story that would equal any romance ever written.
Before the steel had been laid to complete the railroads into the county, already men, reared in the coal and coke fields of Pennsylvania, were establishing themselves in Wise County. In most cases they came into this wilderness county with experience in mining coal and burning coke, but having little capital with which to begin. Among the pioneers of the mining industry in the county should be mentioned John A. Esser, George L. Carter and the Wentzes, Dan and Ted. These men are really the ones who laid the foundation for the wonderful industry of to-day. The Wentzes and Esser came from the great coke fields of Pennsylvania at about the time that the Louisville & Nashville Railroad reached the point where the town of Appalachia stands. It is said that the three camped in a box car, did their own cooking, washing their own clothes, and formulated plans for the Stonega Coke and Coal Company, now one of the largest producers of coal and coke in America. At about the same time Carter and his associates were developing plans for the big Toms Creek and Inman operations. The Pardee interests followed soon with developments at Blackwood, between Norton and Appalachia, and these three: The Stonega Coke and Coal Company, the Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke Company (the Carter concern), the Blackwood Coal & Coke Company together with the more recently organized Clinchfield Coal Corporation, make up the Big Four of coal operators in Southwest Virginia.
TOWNS(1)
At the time of organization, Wise County did not have a town within its bounds. To-day there are ten important towns, besides the many villages and mining camps, some of which have a population entitling them to be called cities.
WISE
The county seat, has a population of about 1200 and is situated at the western edge of the beautiful and productive Hurricane country. The town was laid out in 1856 on the lands of Daniel Ramey and named Gladeville for the glades located there. The town, never having a boom, has built slowly while small communities have been springing up all around it. The name was changed to Wise several years ago because the post office name had been changed. The town had paved streets, electric lights, its own water system, three garages, two banks, two departments stores, a newspaper, one of the best hotels in Southwest Virginia, business houses, and the finest court house in this end of the State.
NORTON
Formerly Prince's Flats, is situated in the center of the county, five miles southeast of the county seat, in a gap of the Stone Mountain. It is the largest and most important town in the county and is the junction point of four railroads. The Louisville & Nashville from the west, the Norfolk and Western from the east, the Interstate from the west, east and north, and the Norton Northern from the north. It is in the center of a rich and highly developed coal field and many large coal mining and brokerage concerns have their offices here. Severn large wholesale companies have their headquarters here; the town has two national banks; a United State Mine rescue station and post office are housed in a modern Federal building on Seventh Street and Federal Avenue; four department stores; six dry goods and shoe stores; nine garages; a power plant; an ice plant; several coal mines; and all other business houses to be found in a little city of 2000 people Norton has a modern lighting and water system and two weekly newspapers. The town had its beginnings about 1890 when the railroads reached the place.
BIG STONE GAP
Situated 13 miles southeast of Norton, was founded about the same time as that town. Until the coming of the railroad the village was known as Imboden City, for a first settler of that name. In the early nineties there as a great boom at "the Gap" as it is locally known. Fortunes were made and lost over night, and buildings sprang up as if by magic. It was predicted that Big Stone Gap was to be the metropolis of the South. The boom burst in a few years and left the town with a population of about 2000 to which has been added an additional thousand since, making a population, today, of some 3000. It is in a gap of the rugged Stone Mountain and can well be called the "Wise County home town." Many notable men have called Big Stone Gap home, among them being the late John Fox, Jr., writer of popular fiction stories of the Cumberlands, the most popular of which is "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine," Gen. Rufus Ayers and C. Bascom Slemp, former congressman and one time secretary to President Calvin Coolidge. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad serves the town east and west and the Southern from the south. Big Stone Gap has one weekly newspaper, the oldest journal in the county, two modern hotels, department stores, garages, paved streets, electric lights and modern water works.
COEBURN
Fourteen miles east of Norton, is in the center of a rich coal field. It had a population of about 2500, and is an important trade center for some 20,000 people, mostly miners employed by the Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke Company at the Toms Creek plants. Until the coming of the Norfolk & Western Railroad into the place it was called Guest Station for Col. Christopher Gist who camped there several days on his return to east Virginia from exploring the Ohio country. The town has modern lighting, sewerage and water systems and all business houses, including several wholesale concerns.
VIRGINIA CITY
In the eastern end of the county, is important only as a relic of blasted hopes and dreams unrealized. It was here that the first attempt to coke Virginia coal was ever made. The promoters of the "city" dreamed dreams of a metropolis that would outdo Chicago in a few years, but their visions faded and they were sadly awakened. The town has a population of about 200, mostly coal miners.
EAST STONE GAP
A few miles north of Big Stone Gap, in the southwest end of the county, is a pretty little hometown with a population of about 700. It is on the Southern Railroad running from Appalachia to Bristol, and has several general stores, hotels, restaurants and a good school.
POUND
On Pound River, almost sixteen miles north of Norton and six miles sought of Jenkins, Kentucky, the nearest railroad point, is a fast growing little town of some 100 people. It has several general merchandise stores and an excellent graded high school. At this time there is quite a boom on at this place owning to the completion of the automobile road to Jenkins, Kentucky, enabling coal miners to buy homes at Pound and drive to their work at the mining towns across the State line. Pound is one of the oldest towns in the county, but no until recent months has it shown any signs of developing into a modern civic community.
APPALACHIA
Is situated on Powells River at the mouth of Callahan Creek. It is one of the younger towns and has shown a remarkable growth since 1907, when its first streets were laid off. It is in the heart of a great coal field extending into Lee County and is the trading point for a bout 40,000 people. It is served by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad from the east and west; the Southern from the south and west and the Interstate from the north and east. It has paved streets, modern lighting and water systems, good business houses, one weekly newspaper, several good hotels and good schools. The population is about 4,000.
TACOMA
Is on the Norfolk & Western railroad about halfway between Norton and Coeburn. It is one of the county's oldest towns, and has a population of some 500. Several business houses are located here and the town enjoys a good trade from the surrounding farming community.
ST. PAUL
Situated at the junction of the Norfolk & Western and Clinchfield railroads, on the banks of the Clinch River has a population of 2000 and is the trading center for a territory with a population of 25,000. It has one bank, lumber yards, a milling concern, garages, a bottling plant, a bakery, and all sorts of business houses, including an extract plant that gives employment to some 300 people.
Other towns, but of less importance are Stonega, Ramey, Dooley, Esserville, Blackwood and Andover.
Mining camps in the county are Stonega, Roda, Osaka, Arno, Derby, Exeter, Imboden, owned by the Stonega Coke and Coal Company, the parent plant being Stonega, the name of which was formed from "Stone Gap" by omitting the "p;" Inman, Linden and Toms Creek, owned by the Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke Company; Pardee and Dunbar, owned by the Blackwood Coal & Coke Company; Dorchester, Little Wise and Sutherland, owned by the Wise Coal & Coke Company. Other mining operations in the county are Norton Coal Company at East Norton, Intermount Iron & Coal Company at West Norton, Fleming Coal Company, Banner, J. A. Esser Coke Company, Esserville, Stone Gap Colliery Company, Glamorgan, Clinchfield Coal Corporation, Toms Creek, and also several smaller plants in many widely separated section s of the county.
SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES
When the county was formed there existed no school system, and the only house of worship was the old log meeting house of the Primitive Baptists that stood some three hundred yards south of the site of the present Baptist Church at Wise. To-day every hamlet, cross-roads, and community has its graded school, and the towns of Wise, Big Stone Gap, Tacoma, Norton, St. Paul, Coeburn, Pound, Appalachia, Stonega, Toms Creek and others have high schools. Where, forty years ago, children plodded four and five miles to a little cabin school, to-day they are whisked along in an automobile, to a modern brick school building. Where a few years ago there could be found but a few scattered houses of worship there are to-day dozens of buildings dedicated to religious purposes, representing millions of dollars in construction costs.
Not until after the Civil War did any denomination have a congregation in Wise County, except the Primitive Baptists. Soon after the close of the struggle between the states, however, circuit riders of the Methodist Church came into this region, and soon churches were organized and buildings hastily thrown up for meeting houses. So it was for the unlettered ministers and elders of the Primitive Baptists to sow the seeds of religion in Wise County, but all others have followed and many a hill is now adorned with a house built for the Lord. No figures, showing the church membership, since 1916 are obtainable, but it is believed that a substantial showing of the country's people are enrolled as members of one of the several churches since the census of 1916, which showed a desperately low quota.
WARS
THE CIVIL WAR
Coming just five years after the formation of the county, found the people struggling under the burden of taxes and assessments required to get the new sub-divisions of Virginia in working order, which included the construction of a court house and other public buildings. Despite this, the citizens of Wise rose up as one man in defense of their beloved Southland, and, on June 3, 1861, the first muster was held at Gladeville (now Wise) and a company of 101 men were formed and placed in command of Capt. Logan N. H. Salyer. This company was dispatched, immediately, to Wytheville, Virginia, where it was designated Company H, and made a part of the 50th Virginia Regiment of Infantry, under command of Gen. John B. Floyd and Col. A. B. [sic] Reynolds. This Regiment was sent into West Virginia and later to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where it engaged the enemy in battle. Several were killed in the struggle and Capt. Salyer was wounded. He was sent down the Mississippi River by steamboat to Memphis. He tells, in a sketch of his war experiences, about a comrade falling across him and dying, being unable to remove his dead body for several hours because he was so weak from loss of blood.
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II
WISE COUNTY TOWNS
The towns of Wise County, for purposes of classification, may be placed into four groups. (1) Villages or small towns that are centered about agricultural points. (2) Small industrial towns or villages. (3) Large towns that serve as trading centers. (4) Large industrial or mining towns. There are very few towns in the county which belong to the first class because of the fact that it is extremely difficult for one to make profit by agriculture alone. The lure of industries is too great. The more usual state of affairs is that the landholder devotes part of his time to the tilling of the soil, and the rest of it he spends as a wage earner in some industry. Towns of the fourth class are the most commonly found. Sometimes, especially in the case of mining towns, the entire property rights are held by a single company, and all stores, places of amusement, and other businesses are owned and operated by the company. It is in the third type that the larger and more substantial towns to pass away with the industry about which they are centered, such towns as Appalachia, Norton, Big Stone Gap, Coeburn, and Saint Paul would remain if there were no industries in the county.
The only data which we are able to obtain concerning the unincorporated towns of Wise County are found in the Rand McNally Pocket Map of Virginia. Although these data are often very unreliable, we have compiled the following table, hoping that they will aided by the personal judgment of the reader, be of some value. A caution is made, however, against relying to a too great an extent upon the figures included. An explanation of all abbreviations and reference marks will be found at the end of the table.
Towns of Wise County (Unincorporated)
From Rand McNally Map
Town Population Town Population
Almira * Kelly View F
Andovar F 535 Kent Junction F
Arno * Lipps F 51
Ax * Lyons * 65
Banner * F 109 Mud Lick
Big Laurel * Orenton 29
Blackwood * P E 600 Ormond F
Bold Camp Osaka * F 321
Cadet 210 Pardee * 218
Clear Creek 113 Phillips 12
Dewey 30 Pine 61
Dorchester * 171 Pound * 218
Esserville * F 110 Rhoda
Exter Roaring Fork * F
Flat Gap * 67 Russell Creek Junction
Flatwoods 27 Stephens
Franco Stonega * 215
Glamorgan 163 Strouth * 26
Haddonfield 12 Tasso 36
Herald * 120 Toms Creek 781
Imboden * P E F 120 Vicco * F
Inman * Virginia City * E F T
Josephine F Wells F____________________________
Abbreviations and explanations of the table:
* Money order post office
P Postal telegraph station
T Western Union Telegraph Station
F Prepaid freight station
As was stated before, the data of the table are not full, nor are they very reliable, especially in the case of very small towns and villages. They will, on the other hand, give the reader a fair idea of the size of the unincorporated towns in the county.
All of the towns mentioned in the foregoing table were unincorporated. Though some of these towns are very important, it is the incorporated towns that meant the most to the county as a political unit. We find among these towns, not only the largest by the oldest in the county. In order to give the reader an idea of size of incorporated towns we have compiled the following table from the United States Census for 1920.
Incorporated Towns of Wise County: 1920
Town Population Towns Population Towns Population
Norton 3,068 Wise 1,071 Bond Town 405
Big Stone Gap 2,009 Coeburn 884 East Stone Gap 383
Appalachia 2,036 Saint Paul 574 Tacoma 298
In the following pages of this chapter the reader will find summaries of most of the important towns in the county. These brief historical sketches are written by various citizens residing in the towns dealt with. The writer has taken the liberty, in many cases, of revising these summaries to meet the conditions of space and relevancy. No facts of importance, however, have been left out. We regret that, because of difficulty in obtaining data, we have not been able to include all of the towns. A perusal of those given, however, will present the reader with a fair picture of the characteristics of Wise County towns.
In these articles it will be noted that some of the towns are treated at more length than others. This fact does not indicate that those with longer articles are of more importance than others. The reason that some of the summaries of towns are longer than others lies in the fact that we were able to secure more data upon them than upon the rest.
The reader will note that in certain cases where the authors of the articles on towns have stated the population their figures differ from those of the United States Census for 1920 as stated elsewhere in this study. We have allowed these figures to go because it is often the case that a personal estimate of population is more exact than that of the Census, especially when the fact is considered that the 1920 Census report was compiled almost nine years.
BIG STONE GAP
By: H. L. Sulfridge
In the extreme southwestern corner of Wise County, Virginia, there is a small valley, surrounded on three sides by steep and rugged mountains. On the north is Stone Mountain, while Powell Mountain and Wallen's Ridge extend around the southern edge. Two braches of Powell River, South Fork and Butcher's Fork, have their origin in this valley, while the North Fork of the same has its source north of Stone Mountain; and, after flowing a westerly course some ten miles parallel to this mountain, breaks through the rocky barrier forming one of the wildest and most picturesque water gaps in the whole Appalachian range. Just south of this Gap the three forks of Powell River meet. About the junction of these three branches there are several hundred acres of comparatively smooth land consisting of rolling meadows and low lying hills. Here is situated the present town of Big Stone Gap, taking its name from the rugged gap in Stone Mountain. Originally the place was called Three Forks, a name suggested by the three forks of Powell River just mentioned.
With the purchase of large tracts of coal and timber lands in the region by northern capitalists about the year 1880, far sighted business men among whom were Gen. Rufus A. Ayers and Gen. A. D. Imboden began to see the possibilities of a town here. Surveys had been completed for two railroads, the South Atlantic and Ohio out from Bristol and the Louisville and Nashville up Powell Valley from Middlesboro, Kentucky. In order to get to the coal fields north of Stone Mountain these roads would be compelled to meet at Three Forks and pass through the Gap. The junction of two such roads would certainly mean a town, possibly a city. Moreover, another railroad, the Norfolk and Western, was being built down the Clinch Valley to Norton. There was the possibility that this road might be extended down the North Fork of Powell River to meet the other two roads coming from the South and West. So a town was started, on paper, at first, it is true. Three Forks became Imboden in honor of Gen. A. D. Imboden, one of the early promoters. The site for the proposed town consisted of three farms owned by Elkanah Gilly, H. N. Horton, and J. M. Flanary. These were bought at a price of about twenty-fire dollars per acre, the purchasers being Henry Clay McDowell, of Lexington, Kentucky, N. B. Wood and H. C. Wood, of Gate City, Virginia, the surveys being made by J. Peter Wolfe, a local engineer. The town was then laid out by John Nader, an engineer from Michigan. In the meantime, a charter was secured from the Virginia Legislature, the name Imboden being dropped and that of Mineral City substituted. This charter was dated February 23, 1888. The first town organization was as follows: Morrell Wells, Mayor; Joshua F. Bullit, Recorder; Henry Clay McDowell, Attorney; and J. H. Duff, W. T. Goodloe, Charles W. Evans, and Col. J. B. Adams, Trustees.
The railroads came with a rush and a big boom was fast developing. On Feb. 28, 1890, the charter for Mineral City was amended and the town was named Big Stone Gap. The price of lots went up with a bound. Shrewd speculators got a corner on the choicest lots and parcels of land. The railroads found it difficult to secure the land they needed for yards and other facilities. So much so that one of the roads skirted one edge of the proposed town, while the other hugged the mountain and passed by on the other side. They thus passed through the gap and made their junction at Appalachia, three miles north of Big Stone Gap. At the same time the Norfolk and Western coming down from Clinch Valley decided to make its terminus at Norton. Thus died the hopes of making Big Stone Gap a railroad center. To-day her two railroad stations are each a mile from the center of town, which would not be particularly objectionable if Big Stone Gap were a city, but since it is a town, the arrangement is inconvenient.
Nevertheless, the boom went on. Lots were bought and sold at fabulous prices. Many good homes were built. Big Stone Gap became and remains the headquarters for prominent business and professional men interested in other parts of the county. The Fox family came early from the famous bluegrass section of Kentucky, and here John Fox, Jr. wrote his popular stories and novels, weaving into them the wild beauty of the mountain scenery, the rivalries and fierce hatreds existing between the native hillsmen and the despised "furiners," the tragedy and romance of complete change and great industrial development. Also, here lived for a number of years Henry Clay McDowell, now Judge of the United States Court of the Western District of Virginia. Hon. Rufus A. Ayers, at one time Attorney General of Virginia, Hon. R. Tate Irvine and Joshua F. Bullitt, prominent attorneys and political leaders have made their home here. Big Stone Gap is the home of the Slemps, Col. Campbell B. Slemp and his son, Hon. C. Bascom Slemp, who together represented the Ninth District in Congress for twenty years.
The last census of Big Stone Gap showed a population of more than three thousand. In spite of the boom and the consequent failures the town has had a substantial growth. Hundreds of good business men have won success in Big Stone Gap. The Goodloe Brothers, merchants, have been in business here ever since the town was started, and the same might be said of W. W. Taylor and Sons. For a number of years, the General Offices of the Stonega Coal and Coke Company have been located here. It is also the headquarters for the Black Mountain Coal Company and a number of other prominent coal operators and dealers. This is made possible by a half dozen excellent hard surfaced highways which radiate from Big Stone Gap in every direction.
The town owns its water works, having purchased three thousand acres of land far up in the mountains, built a huge reservoir, and piped the water for six miles. By increasing the height of the dam, which may be done without great cost, the supply can be made double or treble that of the present, a quantity sufficient for a city of several thousand population.
The schools rank with the rest of this section. The large buildings of native sandstone have been erected, which together with modern equipment contained in them, are valued at four hundred thousand dollars. There are thirty classrooms, an auditorium that will seat thirteen hundred people, and an excellent gymnasium. The high school department, with an enrollment of one hundred and sixty-five, maintains a standard entitling it to membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The enrollment in the grades during the present year has reached seven hundred. Besides, the town has built and maintained a good two-roomed colored school.
Other public institutions of the town are a fine government building housing the United States Post Office and the Federal Court, a First National Bank doing a prosperous business, and several beautiful churches; Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Christian being the most prominent.
While the town is principally residential, a number of individual and business enterprises have been established and are prospering. There is a modern brick and tile plant, laundry, two hardware stores, two drug stores, and a number of dry goods, grocery and general stores.
Finally, Big Stone Gap has developed a fine community spirit and exercises much civic pride. There is an active Kiwanis Club with a membership of more than fifty leading business and professional men, and a number of Chamber of Commerce maintained principally by the merchants and business men. The most important and active ladies organization is the Community League, which in co-operation with the school has worked consistently for many years to build up and beautify the town. The town owns a lovely park and athletic field, the Lonesome Pine Country Club was built jointly by the business men of Norton, Appalachia, and Big Stone Gap. There is an excellent swimming pool and amusement park for the benefit of those who need diversion and recreation. Such is the town of Big Stone Gap.
WISE
By: Mrs. Ruth Flanary-Graham
Sometime prior to 1791, Richard Guiste, an English gentleman, received a grant of 350,000 acres in the colony of Virginia. The grant included the land lying west of Indian Creek in Tazewell County, and extended westward to the border of Kentucky. The immense territory was then an unbroken forest, and it yielded no revenue to its owner. Consequently, Guiste, growing tired of paying taxes upon so vast an acreage, sold it to Frances Pierre de Terbeau.
De Terbeau, a French nobleman, is to be remembered as the first white man to establish a settlement in Wise County, (then Russell County), and also as a father of the Wise County highway system. He made his settlement upon the banks of Clinch River on territory that now belongs to Wise County. Not long afterwards, he mortgaged two blocks of his land to the State in order to secure funds with which to construct a road from the county seat of Russell County to his Clinch River settlement. Unfortunately, before his plans were fully realized, de Terbeau was murdered, and the State brought suit to foreclose the mortgage.
In 1853 the two blocks of land that had been mortgaged were sub-divided into 32 tracts of different sizes and advertised for sale. At this sale, which took place on November 21, 1853 near the present location of the town of Wise, Daniel Ramey, for the sum of $1,400 purchased tract Number 13, an area of 708 acres, included the "Big Glades," the present site of the town of Wise. At this time the "Big Glades" consisted of a section of wild woodland and dense forest growth.
The county was cut off from Russell, Lee, and Scott counties in 1856. Its name was derived from that of Governor Wise, then chief executive of the State. After the formation of the new county the State appointed commissioners to select a suitable location for the county seat and locations for the necessary public buildings. The men selected to carry out this task met at "Big Glades" on the fourth Monday in March 1856. They decided that the place of this first meeting should become the county seat, and the place where the court house now stands was chosen for the public square.
The first court house, completed in 1858, was burned by the Federal army during the Civil War. This caused no end of difficulty, and during the ensuing years the court was moved from place to place. Finally, in 1865, the Governor of Virginia, learning of the difficulties, ordered the court to be held in the house of Daniel Ramey. Records show that in 1869 the court purchased a house and lot from C. W. Kilgore for their uses. That building served until the year of 1896, at which time a splendid brick structure was erected. In 1921 an addition of similar architecture was made. Within the public square, in 1906, a large brick jail, meeting all of the present day sanitary requirements, was erected.
Since the location chosen for the county seat had been known as the "Big Glades" prior to the year of 1856, it was decided to call the town Gladeville. This name, however, in later years proved unsatisfactory. West Virginia had a town by the same name, and this caused no little confusion with express and freight. At first only the post office was changed in name to Wise Court House, having remained several years under the name of Gladeville, but finally the same name was adopted for the town. Under the administration of Cleveland the United States Post Office Department dropped the name of "Court House" from the addresses of many of the county seat post offices throughout the county, and Wise was one of them to undergo the change. From that time forward the name of the town has been Wise.
Wise is situated in the northern part of the county. To the southward it is about twenty-five miles to the Lee County line; to the eastward it is about twenty-two miles to the Russell County line. Kentucky, which is Wise County's western border, is only sixteen miles distant, and Dickenson County, the northern border, is only six miles away. Wise, with an altitude of 2450 feet above sea level, claims to be the highest county seat in Virginia. The situation is in the heart of the beautiful Cumberland Mountains. Not only is Wise connected with every other town in the county by hard surfaced roads, but these same roads lead from Wise through adjoining counties of Virginia to the border lines of Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina. The town is not located upon any leading railway system, but it is connected with Norton, a town only five miles distant, by local standard gauged line. At Norton there is a junction of three leading railroads, the Louisville and Nashville, the Norfolk and Western, and the Interstate. During recent years the railroad between Norton and Wise has discontinued passenger service because taxi service has proved more satisfactory for the short distance to be covered. The road, however, still retains a freight and express service.
The town of Wise has only recently installed a water system that is publicly owned. A deep well was sunk, and a modern filtering plant was installed. The water is pumped from the well through the filtering plant. Old Dominion Power Company furnishes the town with excellent electric service.
The main source of employment comes from the county offices. In early days the revenues of the county wee among the most meager in the State. However, at present, the situation has reserved itself and Wise stands out among the richest counties in Virginia. Most of the county officers reside in the county seat. As in most other county seats, the lawyers outnumber other professional men.
The chief industries of the surrounding territory are coal and timber. Since the timber land is now growing scarce, large areas are being cleared and transplanted into orchards. In quality, the apples of the section compare favorably with any raised in the Old Dominion.
The Methodist, Baptists, and Church of God all have large followings in the town. The chief pride of the Wise rests in its very splendid public school. A modern building was erected in 1910, and in 1924 an addition was made. Teachers are well paid, and to hold their positions they must be capable.
A striking feature about the town is the scarcity of Negroes. Only two or three colored families are found within the corporation limits. The population, estimated to be around 1,200, is also low in foreigners.
NORTON
By: T. R. Coleman
It has often been said that Big Stone Gap would be Norton were it not for a great mistake that speculators in the latter town made in frightening a railroad center from their borders. In 1890 three railroads were pushing into Wise County with an intention of making a junction at Big Stone Gap. The town went on a boom and lots leaped to fabulous prices. Speculators who held the lands believed that they saw a chance to realize large profits form the sale of right-of-ways to the incoming railroads. The officials of these roads, however, were not disposed to pay unreasonable prices for their right-of-ways. Consequently, they changed their original plan, and the Louisville and Nashville Railway, which was coming into the county from Corbin, Kentucky, and the Virginia and Southwestern Railway, which was coming in from Bristol, went around Big Stone Gap and made their junction at Appalachia, three miles away. The Clinch Valley Division of the Norfolk and Western Railway, taking the hint, stopped at Norton. The Louisville and Nashville came on to this point and a junction was made. There has also been constructed the Norton and Northern Railroad, a short standard gauge line, to connect the town with the county seat, five miles to the north. With the great advancement in highway construction this road, in recent years has almost discontinued service.
Anyone acquainted with the town of Norton would be prone to wonder why it ever became a town at all, and certainly why it became the largest town in the county. The topography of the place is not anything like as suitable for a town site as many places that are located within two or three miles of the town. It is situated in a narrow valley, a condition that has made it an engineering impossibility to give definite form to the streets. The fact, however, that it did succeed in becoming a very important town demonstrates the truth that there is something substantial back of it. The slopes of the environing mountains are not, however, so steep as to render it impossible to construct very beautiful residences upon their sides. Furthermore, the town is located in about the center of the county, a factor of considerable advantage. Yet, after all, it is the railroads that have been the making of the town.
From the village of 1890 Norton leaped to the town of 3,068 people in 1920. It might be added, owing to the fact that there is a large drifting population in Wise County, that most of the residents of the town of Norton are permanent, and therefore they are imbued with a public interest for their town. This is a very desirable feature in light of the fact that, especially in the mining towns of the county, so many of the inhabitants entertain no idea of making the place their permanent home, but hold themselves in readiness to drift on to the place where wages are better. It is only when people have an intention of remaining in a town for an extended period of time that they take pride in its progress.
The town owns its own water system, a well equipped plant that is second to none in the region. An adequate fire department is also maintained. Electric lights and power are furnished by the Old Dominion Power Company.
The Norton school system is one of the best in the county. So rapid has been its progress during recent years that it has been found necessary to make extensions to the buildings from time to time. The most recent addition was completed in 1922. This was an up-to date and convenient building that would make it possible to almost double the enrollment. At present Norton has one of the best high schools in Virginia.
Norton is the possessor of several miles of concrete sidewalks and streets. A concrete road connects the town with Esserville, and only recently another was constructed through West Norton. The town serves as a pivot from which many of the roads of the county radiate, a condition which brings many visitors to the place.
During recent years the progress of Norton has been very marked. There are two newspapers located in the town, any number of mercantile establishments, several manufacturing plants, a federal building occupied by a post office and a recruiting station, a large and well equipped Young Men's Christian Association building, and a number of other structures including one of the best hotels in the section.
SAINT PAUL
By: J. M. Hillman
The town of Saint Paul is situated in the southeastern corner of Wise County, on the north side of Clinch River, at a point where the Norfolk and Western and the Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railways make a junction. The town contains 324 ½ acres. It was first purchased, for the consideration of $25,000, in 1884, by Frank A. Stratton from William Fields. During the period that he remained in possession of the land, Mr. Stratton had the entire acreage surveyed and laid out in the form of a town plat which became known as the "Stratton Map." Before he had carried his plans to build a town very far into the execution Stratton sold the land to Colonel J. B. Moon and associates of the City of Charlottesville, Virginia. The new owners revised the Stratton Map in 1890 and filed the resulting map in the office of the clerk of Wise County. This revised map is called after the engineer who made it, the "J. O. Magruder Map." This, with the exception of a few lots sold while Stratton stilled owned the lands, has governed all sales and conveyances of land in Saint Paul.
While Moon was laying plans to build a town upon the Field's property another group of Charlottesville men, headed by Colonel T. L. Rosser, were carrying on similar operations just across Clinch River. This group of men purchased the "George Banner" farm, 998 acres of land across the river in Russell County within easy view of the Moon project. Colonel Rosser, who had been associated with the rise of Saint Paul, Minnesota, believed that both companies might be able to construct a new set of twin cities on the banks of the Clinch that would be similar to Saint Paul and Minneapolis in the North. Accordingly, the Minneapolis site was also laid out for a town site. On both sides of the river considerable street grading was carried on.
About this time the idea received an additional stimulation from an external source. There was a project started among some leading American capitalists to construct a railroad that should connect the three cities of Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago. This road was to be built through Saint Paul. Encouraged by this the Minneapolis company laid out a water system on their side ample to meet the needs of several thousand people. About two miles above Saint Paul, a good pumping station was installed, and several miles of water main were laid. Two large reservoirs were constructed on the high hill south of the town.
The Clinch Valley Division of the Norfolk and Western Railway was being constructed to Norton at this time, and it was expected that the two would arrive at Saint Paul along about the same time that the 3-C Railway would get there. This situation brought on the "boom days of 1885 to 1889." Prices of lots became fabulous. On the Minneapolis side sing lots found ready sale at $200, and entire blocks of 40 lots brought $8,000. On the Saint Paul side lots with a 25-foot front and 140-foot length commanded a price of $1,200.
About the year of 1890, some of the promoters of the 3-C Railway met with an untimely death. The heirs, who were not very enthusiastic over the project, notwithstanding the fact that considerable grading had been done, discontinued their support and the work was abandoned. This, of course, threw a wrench into the machinery of the boom. Prices of lots slumped to the lowest level in the history of the town, and they remained as such until the year of 1904 when the advent of the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway gave the town another stimulation.
From 1891 to 1893, despite the fact that the Norfolk and Western continued its work and ran the first passenger train into Saint Paul during the year of 1890, so complete was the depression that the promoters of the Minneapolis project blocked the lots that they still held into small farms and sold them to various individuals. Many of those who had bought lots, but who had not paid in full for them, let them go back to the original owners on deferred payments; and others who actually owned the lots allowed them to be sold for delinquent taxes. Minneapolis has never fully recovered from the blow that she sustained during this period. It is only during recent years, when several homes have been constructed along the highway, that the town has shown any marked signs of revival.
The two companies which were promoting the projected towns had connected their operations by means of a bridge across Clinch River. At the northwest end of this, on the Saint Paul side, J. L. Dingus and J. M. Hillman erected the first business house in the town. The building, intended for a combined mercantile store, post office, and hotel, was a large two story frame building. It remained the only hotel until the construction of the Blue Sulphur Hotel in 1906. During the boom days several other buildings were erected. Among these were a store constructed by M. V. Bates, another by Simon Greenspun, a dwelling by Dr. J. N. Grear, another by J. L. Dingus, which was sold to Stephen Broadwater, and another by J. M. Hillman.
In 1904, George L. Carter purchased the franchise rights of the old 3-C Railway and began the construction of the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway from Spartanburg, South Carolina to Elkhorn, Kentucky. By 1910 the road had reached Dante, and soon after that it was pushed on into Elkhorn. Perhaps no other road of its size in the South has a greater access to coal hauling opportunities than does this short system. It handles almost exclusively all of the coal mined in Dickenson County, and in addition to this, it carries nearly all of the southbound coal mined in that region of Kentucky which it penetrates. The coming of the Clinchfield road caused a material rise in property values on the Saint Paul side, but there was little attempt to revive the urban aspirations of Minneapolis.
At the time in which the town was being laid out an application was made for a post office. It was found, however, that Carroll County had a post office by the same name. An old gentleman who had been instrumental in naming this post office would not, for sentimental reasons, consent to have it altered. It was, therefore, necessary to give the post office of the Wise County town another name. For about three years the shipping point was Saint Paul, and the post office was Estonoa. This arrangement caused considerable confusion. Correspondence with the Carroll County gentleman could not prevail upon him to change the name of his office. Colonel J. L. Dingus and Frank Gillam finally went to see him, and, for the consideration of $100, secured a change in the name of the Carroll County office. Since that time the post office of the Wise County town has been Saint Paul.
The town of Saint Paul was incorporated April 12, 1911. W. P. Porter was chosen to be the first mayor, W. J. Bailey became the first clerk, and J. D. McReynolds, J. J. Coxe, Dr. J. N. Grear, A. Handy,
C. C. Bolton, and J. M. Hillman were members of the council.
During recent years a water system, which has been pronounced the best between Bluefield, West Virginia and Norton, Virginia, has been installed. The water is filtered from Clinch River and pumped to a large reservoir on the hill north of town. The town has an up-to-date fire truck and a volunteer fire squad.'
A lighting system was installed by the town shortly after its incorporation. The service, however, did not prove altogether satisfactory. About 1924 the plant and equipment were sold to Old Dominion Power Company. This concern remodeled the entire system and has given excellent service.
Two miles of continuous concrete sidewalks have been constructed, and provision is made for the construction of more as they are needed. The streets are hard surfaced and on excellent grade.
The Clinch River Extract Company, the Clinchfield Lumber Company, the Saint Paul Baking Company, the Saint Paul Bottling Company, two wholesale grocery stores, a number of garages, two hardware stores, two electrical shops, and a number of smaller concerns are doing business in Saint Paul. The Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterian, and Pentecostal churches all have followings in this town.
According to the 1920 Census, the population of the town was 574 inhabitants.
APPALACHIA
Data furnished by R. C. Bray and Mrs. B. H. Crizer
Appalachia, with respect to population, is the third largest town in Wise County. It was for the most part a wilderness prior to 1891. At that time the entire tract of land upon which the town is located was owned by J. J. Kelly, T. A. Blondell, and Joseph Kilbourn. In 1895, what is now known as Main Street and some of the western part of the town was sold by Joseph Kilbourn to the Keystone Coal and Iron Company. This was the first sale of lots in Appalachia. George Brown and George Kilbourn, the first residents of the town, still reside there.
Appalachia received its first civic encouragement in about 1890 by the advent of the Louisville and Nashville and the Southern Railways into Wise County. These two railroads mad a Junction at Appalachia. At first there was not a phenomenal growth, for it was not until 1906 that a charter was granted. The first officers were A. L. Pruner, Mayor, J. E. Moss, Chief of Police, A. L. Sturn, Treasurer, Stuart Stover, Recorder and the members of the Council were George Brown, F. W. Blondell, G. C. Jeffers, G. B. Head, W. F. Lee, and J. W. Guntner. Since the organization of the town there have been remarkable forward strides in almost every phase of civic interest.
The town, which takes its name from the Appalachian Mountains in the center of which it is located, has junction of three railroads. The Southern comes into the town from Bristol, the Louisville and Nashville from Corbin, Kentucky, and the Interstate from Glamorgan and Miller Yard. This central location makes it the trading post for what is estimated to be about 25,000 people. The Southern terminal yards, which employ a large number of men, are located in Appalachia. There are two depots. One of these, the freight depot of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, is said to be one of the best depots of its kind on the system.
Appalachia is the possessor of a large number of streets constructed of the best grade asphalt, and what is estimated to be about three miles of concrete sidewalks. The Old Dominion Power Company, which furnishes lighting and power to most of the towns in the county, serves Appalachia. One of the finest water systems in the section, at a cost of half a million dollars, has been recently installed by the town. And excellent fire department for the protection of life and property is maintained.
Appalachia is proud of her school buildings. Together with a teacher's home, it was constructed at an expense of $350,000. The total enrollment is 1,100, and there are 32 teachers employed. The athletic teams are among the best in the region.
There are a number of churches in the town, most all of which have been able to amass a large membership. Quite a few of these churches have been able to erect fine brick churches. Some of the denominations represented are the Methodists, Christian, Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Holiness. The Christian Church was the first to locate in the town.
The first merchants in the place were Head and Slone, H. M. Blair, R. N. Cornett, and C. S. Hale. The business of the retail merchant is one of the chief activities in Appalachia. There are three hardwares, a ladies shop, and a large number of department stores. Other business houses are Appalachia Grocery Company, Morley Brothers, two wholesale bakeries, Wisco Candy Company, Broadwater Feed Company, two builder's supply houses, an ice cream plant, and two coal dealers.
The Bank of Appalachia was the first institution of its type to locate in the town. This firm was established in 1904, with R. W. Holley as President, H. F. Whitehead, Vice-president, George B. Head, Cashier, and E. C. Mainous, Bookkeeper. The First National Bank, organized in 1909, succeeded the Bank of Appalachia. At the present time it is the largest bank in the county. The bank is located in a very beautiful building in the business section of town. While the Bank of Appalachia was being organized in 1909, another group of business men were busy laying plans for the Peoples Bank, a State institution. Unfortunately, we do not have at hand the names of its officers, but we are assured that it is doing a prosperous business. It occupies a beautiful three-story, marble and concrete building.
The town has recently constructed a modern, up-to-date city hall for the offices of the town officials. In addition to this, there is at present under construction, at a total cost of $250,000, a new hotel. It will have ninety rooms, all equipped in the latest and most accepted conveniences. There are also two other hotels of established reputation. Appalachia is to entertain the 10th Annual Convention of the American Legion for the State of Virginia in its new hotel in August 1928.
Appalachia, with her three railroads and her location on the Lynch Highway, has excellent means of communication with other towns in and outside of the county. By automobile the town is forty minutes from the county seat, and only two hours from Bristol, Virginia-Tennessee. Knoxville, Tennessee is also relatively easy to reach either by motor or by train.
The town of Appalachia, which, though the expression has been somewhat worn during recent years by application to so many towns in the United States, might merit the name of "the magic city of Wise County," is one of the most promising places in the county. Its growth has not been so rapid as to be unsubstantial. Although it is now one of the most progressive towns in the section, we feel that its greatest history lies in the future.
COEBURN
By: Mrs. S. P. Buchanan
In about 1760 Colonel Christopher Gist was sent out by the Ohio Company to explore the Ohio Valley. On his return eastward he camped for a short time in the place where Coeburn now stands. The name of Gist was corrupted into "Guest", and hence Coeburn got its first name, Guest's Station. It is reported that Thomas Gist accompanied his father, Christopher, on this expedition. The son seems to have been fond of hunting. During his hunting expeditions Thomas used two creeks which empty into Guest River, the mouth of one on the eastern side of the town of Coeburn and that of the other one on the western side, as guides to lead him back to camp. It is related that he always stayed between these two creeks. It was from the son that the larger creek received the name of Big Tom's Creek, and the smaller one that of Little Tom's Creek.
The present name which the town bears was derived from W. W. Coe, chief engineer of the Norfolk and Western Railway, and Judge W. E. Burns, of Lebanon, Virginia.
In 1888, R. P. Dickenson, father of Mrs. J. L. Litz, who owned the land upon which Coeburn is now located, laid out the town. Mr. Dickenson died that year and left the land to his daughter. Two years later, 1890, Mrs. Litz sold half of the tract to the Coeburn Land Improvement Company. The place was now making as much advancement that it became possible to secure a charter in 1892. So far as we are able to determine, with the exception of that of Big Stone Gap, this is the oldest town charter in Wise County. J. L. Litz became the first Mayor, and Tom Hurd the first Sergeant.
The Engineers of the Norfolk and Western Railway surveyed the right-of-way for their company in March 1887. In September of the same year construction was begun. The first passenger train passed through Coeburn in 1891. This event gave occasion for a large celebration, for many of the older inhabitants of the county who had never seen a passenger train turned out in their best clothes to pay tribute to the agency that was now opening the wealth of Wise County to the world. This advent of the Norfolk and Western Railway, together with the coming of the Interstate in recent years, has been the greatest event in the history of the town.
The present officers of Coeburn are Mack Evan, Mayor; Mrs. Rebecca A. Body, Treasurer; and J. W. Ashworth, Secretary and Recorder. The council consists of L. L. Addington, H. J. Horne, J. B. Wolfe, Jr., N. R. Medley, and J. D. Clay, Jr. R. B. Tate is Sergeant. In a great many of the towns of Virginia the sergeant is appointed by the mayor, but Coeburn, deviating from this method, elects the officer.
That part of the population of the town living within the incorporated limits numbers about 1,200, but there are at least 5,000 people residing inside of a radius of three miles. All of these people are dependant upon Coeburn for a trading point.
Coeburn is located upon State Highway Route Number 11. This give it ready access to Saint Paul, Norton, Appalachia, Big Stone Gap, and other places within the county, as well as to cities outside. In addition to this road there are others of equal importance leading out of the town. In order to approach Clintwood in Dickenson County, or Jenkins, Kentucky from points in the eastern section of Wise County, as well as from points east of the county, it is almost necessary to pass through the town.
Lighting and electric power are furnished by the Old Dominion Power Company. The town owns the water system, affording excellent service to the citizens. A volunteer fire department is maintained.
The high school occupies an up-to-date building that is equipped in the most modern fashion. There is an attendance of well above 1,000 pupils.
Coeburn boast sever substantial churches. Many of these have modern and expensive buildings with parsonages for the accommodations of their ministers. The town prides itself upon its religious activities. One is able to pass through the streets at most any time and see banners exhorting the people to attend church somewhere each Sunday.
There are three hotels and two of the best hardware and furniture stores in the county. Coeburn Grocery Company, a wholesale concern, maintains a branch at Saint Paul. Other business establishments include a number of department stores, a drug store, a bakery, a tourist camp, and many smaller concerns.
The Interstate Railway and the Norfolk and Western Railway operate trains regularly upon lines passing through Coeburn.
TOMS CREEK
By: James R. Thompson
Records show that in April 1860 John Buchanan had in his possession about 3,000 acres of land located in eastern Wise County. Most of it was forested, and practically all of it, with the exception of a few narrow valleys and some plateau here and there, was rugged and broken. This land had beneath it extensive seams of coal worth a large fortune. Buchanan, little realizing what the land might be worth in days to come, sold it at a very small figure to Saunders Hill. Hill was also to let the fortune slip through his fingers, for dividing it into smaller tracts, he sold the entire area, tract by tract, to various individuals.
In the sale made by Hill, Arch Skeens secured possession of the tract that was to enter directly into the history of what is known as the town of Tom's Creek. During the Civil War this tract was sold by Skeens to Andy Kiser. The latter, shortly after the War was concluded, divided it into half and gave to each of his two sons, Cummins and Wilkes, a half. Cummins, at a date not on record, sold his parcel to Kent Banner. Wilkes sold his share of the father's gift to the Carter Coal Company, now known as the Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke Company. Since this sale, it has never changed hands. This was the first purchase of coal land in Wise County by a company that has since grown to such a position as to be able to capitalize at $15,000,000.
The land of Wilkes Kiser was purchased by the Carter Coal Company at a price of twenty-fire and fifty cents per acre. For this same price the company gradually extended its holdings until it had finally acquired the original 3,000 acres held by Buchanan. The coming of the Clinch Valley Division of the Norfolk and Western Railway soon after this made it possible for the owners to market the coal. Development was started. Mines were opened, siding and trams installed, and houses for accommodations of the miners were built. Since that period the history of Toms Creek has been one of steady advancement, checked in one instance by the post-war deflation in prices.
The Toms Creek of to-day little resembles that of earlier times. An up-to-date hard surfaced road has been constructed from the main highway system of the county to the town, giving it an outlet to all of the main points in the section. A large company store has been erected for the miners. In addition, the coal company has its office buildings in the town. There is an electrical shop, a power house, a theater, a hospital, and a carpenter shop. The company has constructed approximately 650 houses. All of the property and business establishments in the place are owned and operated by the coal company.
Toms Creek was first called Georgel in honor of George L. Carter, a pioneer capitalist and railroad builder of the section. Mr. Carter was one of the first presidents of the company that developed Toms Creek. The name was later changed to Toms Creek because of its location upon the creek that bears the name of Thomas Gist.
In the pioneer days of the town Mrs. McKarg donated $15,000 for the construction of a school building. This same building is in good condition yet.
The religious places of the town are well represented by the existence of five churches. The denominations represented are as follows: Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic. There are two Negro churches, one of which is being used for a Negro school.
At the present time (1927) there are 650 men employed and 550 houses are occupied.
BLACKWOOD
By: C. J. Creveling
Blackwood is a town that happened to grow up because it was located at a point where coal could be advantageously produced. The cities of Cincinnati and Louisville are, by the route of the Louisville and Nashville Railway, about 300 miles respectively from the place. It is situated seven miles from Appalachia and four miles from Norton, at each of which places there is a junction of three leading railroads.
The town, Blackwood, derived its name from a coal camp located near Pottsville, Pennsylvania. This operation belonged to Calvin Pardee of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1902, Mr. Pardee, who had previously purchased a very considerable acreage of land in Wise County, principally from early settlers, began a town which he named after his Pennsylvania concern. At the same time he opened up the Imboden seam of coal and began to store away the product in preparation for the operation of some coke ovens which he was contemplating building. These ovens, which became known as the Bee Hive Coke Ovens, were completed early in the year of 1903. At first only 200 were constructed but later 82 additional ones were built, making a total of 282. The Bee Hive Coke Ovens continued to function with a fair amount of success until the invention of by-product coal. The product of the old coking plant was unable to sustain competition with this, and consequently the plan was forced to close down. At the present time the Bee Hive Coke Ovens are dismantled.
About the year of 1895 the Louisville and Nashville Railway reached the Pardee lands. This not only gave the town a substantial stimulation, but it made the marketing problem in the East simple. The town saw rapid progress as a result.
One of the great hindrances to coal production at Blackwood roots deeply in its location. The town is situated at the foot of Stone Mountain. This places it in a region where there is a large geological fault. Some of the beds are not only overturned and contorted, but they are full of anticlines and synclines. Such a condition, one can readily see, makes the problem of mining engineer very complicated.
The average elevation of Blackwood, at points contiguous to Powell River, is around 2,000 feet.
Pardee constructed houses for his employees, and two churches, one for the white workers and one for the colored. Later, a library, a pool room, a bowling alley, and a lodge room were built. Perhaps this has some bearing upon the fact that the Blackwood Coal Company has never been forced to contend with labor trouble.
At present the coal operation, which is the chief source of employment to the population, is not in a very favorable state. There remains, however, a considerable acreage of coal lands that will be worked as soon as the economic conditions make such a step profitable.
SAINT PAUL
By: J. M. Hillman
The town of Saint Paul is situated in the southeastern corner of Wise County, on the north side of Clinch River, at a point where the Norfolk and Western and the Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railways make a junction. The town contains 324 ½ acres. It was first purchased, for the consideration of $25,000, in 1884, by Frank A. Stratton from William Fields. During the period that he remained in possession of the land, Mr. Stratton had the entire acreage surveyed and laid out in the form of a town plat which became known as the "Stratton Map." Before he had carried his plans to build a town very far into the execution Stratton sold the land to Colonel J. B. Moon and associates of the City of Charlottesville, Virginia. The new owners revised the Stratton Map in 1890 and filed the resulting map in the office of the clerk of Wise County. This revised map is called after the engineer who made it, the "J. O. Magruder Map." This, with the exception of a few lots sold while Stratton stilled owned the lands, has governed all sales and conveyances of land in Saint Paul.
While Moon was laying plans to build a town upon the Field's property another group of Charlottesville men, headed by Colonel T. L. Rosser, were carrying on similar operations just across Clinch River. This group of men purchased the "George Banner" farm, 998 acres of land across the river in Russell County within easy view of the Moon project. Colonel Rosser, who had been associated with the rise of Saint Paul, Minnesota, believed that both companies might be able to construct a new set of twin cities on the banks of the Clinch that would be similar to Saint Paul and Minneapolis in the North. Accordingly, the Minneapolis site was also laid out for a town site. On both sides of the river considerable street grading was carried on.
About this time the idea received an additional stimulation from an external source. There was a project started among some leading American capitalists to construct a railroad that should connect the three cities of Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago. This road was to be built through Saint Paul. Encouraged by this the Minneapolis company laid out a water system on their side ample to meet the needs of several thousand people. About two miles above Saint Paul, a good pumping station was installed, and several miles of water main were laid. Two large reservoirs were constructed on the high hill south of the town.
The Clinch Valley Division of the Norfolk and Western Railway was being constructed to Norton at this time, and it was expected that the two would arrive at Saint Paul along about the same time that the 3-C Railway would get there. This situation brought on the "boom days of 1885 to 1889." Prices of lots became fabulous. On the Minneapolis side sing lots found ready sale at $200, and entire blocks of 40 lots brought $8,000. On the Saint Paul side lots with a 25-foot front and 140-foot length commanded a price of $1,200.
About the year of 1890, some of the promoters of the 3-C Railway met with an untimely death. The heirs, who were not very enthusiastic over the project, notwithstanding the fact that considerable grading had been done, discontinued their support and the work was abandoned. This, of course, threw a wrench into the machinery of the boom. Prices of lots slumped to the lowest level in the history of the town, and they remained as such until the year of 1904 when the advent of the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway gave the town another stimulation.
From 1891 to 1893, despite the fact that the Norfolk and Western continued its work and ran the first passenger train into Saint Paul during the year of 1890, so complete was the depression that the promoters of the Minneapolis project blocked the lots that they still held into small farms and sold them to various individuals. Many of those who had bought lots, but who had not paid in full for them, let them go back to the original owners on deferred payments; and others who actually owned the lots allowed them to be sold for delinquent taxes. Minneapolis has never fully recovered from the blow that she sustained during this period. It is only during recent years, when several homes have been constructed along the highway, that the town has shown any marked signs of revival.
The two companies which were promoting the projected towns had connected their operations by means of a bridge across Clinch River. At the northwest end of this, on the Saint Paul side, J. L. Dingus and J. M. Hillman erected the first business house in the town. The building, intended for a combined mercantile store, post office, and hotel, was a large two story frame building. It remained the only hotel until the construction of the Blue Sulphur Hotel in 1906. During the boom days several other buildings were erected. Among these were a store constructed by M. V. Bates, another by Simon Greenspun, a dwelling by Dr. J. N. Grear, another by J. L. Dingus, which was sold to Stephen Broadwater, and another by J. M. Hillman.
In 1904, George L. Carter purchased the franchise rights of the old 3-C Railway and began the construction of the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway from Spartanburg, South Carolina to Elkhorn, Kentucky. By 1910 the road had reached Dante, and soon after that it was pushed on into Elkhorn. Perhaps no other road of its size in the South has a greater access to coal hauling opportunities than does this short system. It handles almost exclusively all of the coal mined in Dickenson County, and in addition to this, it carries nearly all of the southbound coal mined in that region of Kentucky which it penetrates. The coming of the Clinchfield road caused a material rise in property values on the Saint Paul side, but there was little attempt to revive the urban aspirations of Minneapolis.
At the time in which the town was being laid out an application was made for a post office. It was found, however, that Carroll County had a post office by the same name. An old gentleman who had been instrumental in naming this post office would not, for sentimental reasons, consent to have it altered. It was, therefore, necessary to give the post office of the Wise County town another name. For about three years the shipping point was Saint Paul, and the post office was Estonoa. This arrangement caused considerable confusion. Correspondence with the Carroll County gentleman could not prevail upon him to change the name of his office. Colonel J. L. Dingus and Frank Gillam finally went to see him, and, for the consideration of $100, secured a change in the name of the Carroll County office. Since that time the post office of the Wise County town has been Saint Paul.
The town of Saint Paul was incorporated April 12, 1911. W. P. Porter was chosen to be the first mayor, W. J. Bailey became the first clerk, and J. D. McReynolds, J. J. Coxe, Dr. J. N. Grear, A. Handy,
C. C. Bolton, and J. M. Hillman were members of the council.
During recent years a water system, which has been pronounced the best between Bluefield, West Virginia and Norton, Virginia, has been installed. The water is filtered from Clinch River and pumped to a large reservoir on the hill north of town. The town has an up-to-date fire truck and a volunteer fire squad.'
A lighting system was installed by the town shortly after its incorporation. The service, however, did not prove altogether satisfactory. About 1924 the plant and equipment were sold to Old Dominion Power Company. This concern remodeled the entire system and has given excellent service.
Two miles of continuous concrete sidewalks have been constructed, and provision is made for the construction of more as they are needed. The streets are hard surfaced and on excellent grade.
The Clinch River Extract Company, the Clinchfield Lumber Company, the Saint Paul Baking Company, the Saint Paul Bottling Company, two wholesale grocery stores, a number of garages, two hardware stores, two electrical shops, and a number of smaller concerns are doing business in Saint Paul. The Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterian, and Pentecostal churches all have followings in this town.
According to the 1920 Census, the population of the town was 574 inhabitants.
APPALACHIA
Data furnished by R. C. Bray and Mrs. B. H. Crizer
Appalachia, with respect to population, is the third largest town in Wise County. It was for the most part a wilderness prior to 1891. At that time the entire tract of land upon which the town is located was owned by J. J. Kelly, T. A. Blondell, and Joseph Kilbourn. In 1895, what is now known as Main Street and some of the western part of the town was sold by Joseph Kilbourn to the Keystone Coal and Iron Company. This was the first sale of lots in Appalachia. George Brown and George Kilbourn, the first residents of the town, still reside there.
Appalachia received its first civic encouragement in about 1890 by the advent of the Louisville and Nashville and the Southern Railways into Wise County. These two railroads mad a Junction at Appalachia. At first there was not a phenomenal growth, for it was not until 1906 that a charter was granted. The first officers were A. L. Pruner, Mayor, J. E. Moss, Chief of Police, A. L. Sturn, Treasurer, Stuart Stover, Recorder and the members of the Council were George Brown, F. W. Blondell, G. C. Jeffers, G. B. Head, W. F. Lee, and J. W. Guntner. Since the organization of the town there have been remarkable forward strides in almost every phase of civic interest.
The town, which takes its name from the Appalachian Mountains in the center of which it is located, has junction of three railroads. The Southern comes into the town from Bristol, the Louisville and Nashville from Corbin, Kentucky, and the Interstate from Glamorgan and Miller Yard. This central location makes it the trading post for what is estimated to be about 25,000 people. The Southern terminal yards, which employ a large number of men, are located in Appalachia. There are two depots. One of these, the freight depot of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, is said to be one of the best depots of its kind on the system.
Appalachia is the possessor of a large number of streets constructed of the best grade asphalt, and what is estimated to be about three miles of concrete sidewalks. The Old Dominion Power Company, which furnishes lighting and power to most of the towns in the county, serves Appalachia. One of the finest water systems in the section, at a cost of half a million dollars, has been recently installed by the town. And excellent fire department for the protection of life and property is maintained.
Appalachia is proud of her school buildings. Together with a teacher's home, it was constructed at an expense of $350,000. The total enrollment is 1,100, and there are 32 teachers employed. The athletic teams are among the best in the region.
There are a number of churches in the town, most all of which have been able to amass a large membership. Quite a few of these churches have been able to erect fine brick churches. Some of the denominations represented are the Methodists, Christian, Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Holiness. The Christian Church was the first to locate in the town.
The first merchants in the place were Head and Slone, H. M. Blair, R. N. Cornett, and C. S. Hale. The business of the retail merchant is one of the chief activities in Appalachia. There are three hardwares, a ladies shop, and a large number of department stores. Other business houses are Appalachia Grocery Company, Morley Brothers, two wholesale bakeries, Wisco Candy Company, Broadwater Feed Company, two builder's supply houses, an ice cream plant, and two coal dealers.
The Bank of Appalachia was the first institution of its type to locate in the town. This firm was established in 1904, with R. W. Holley as President, H. F. Whitehead, Vice-president, George B. Head, Cashier, and E. C. Mainous, Bookkeeper. The First National Bank, organized in 1909, succeeded the Bank of Appalachia. At the present time it is the largest bank in the county. The bank is located in a very beautiful building in the business section of town. While the Bank of Appalachia was being organized in 1909, another group of business men were busy laying plans for the Peoples Bank, a State institution. Unfortunately, we do not have at hand the names of its officers, but we are assured that it is doing a prosperous business. It occupies a beautiful three-story, marble and concrete building.
The town has recently constructed a modern, up-to-date city hall for the offices of the town officials. In addition to this, there is at present under construction, at a total cost of $250,000, a new hotel. It will have ninety rooms, all equipped in the latest and most accepted conveniences. There are also two other hotels of established reputation. Appalachia is to entertain the 10th Annual Convention of the American Legion for the State of Virginia in its new hotel in August 1928.
Appalachia, with her three railroads and her location on the Lynch Highway, has excellent means of communication with other towns in and outside of the county. By automobile the town is forty minutes from the county seat, and only two hours from Bristol, Virginia-Tennessee. Knoxville, Tennessee is also relatively easy to reach either by motor or by train.
The town of Appalachia, which, though the expression has been somewhat worn during recent years by application to so many towns in the United States, might merit the name of "the magic city of Wise County," is one of the most promising places in the county. Its growth has not been so rapid as to be unsubstantial. Although it is now one of the most progressive towns in the section, we feel that its greatest history lies in the future.
COEBURN
By: Mrs. S. P. Buchanan
In about 1760 Colonel Christopher Gist was sent out by the Ohio Company to explore the Ohio Valley. On his return eastward he camped for a short time in the place where Coeburn now stands. The name of Gist was corrupted into "Guest", and hence Coeburn got its first name, Guest's Station. It is reported that Thomas Gist accompanied his father, Christopher, on this expedition. The son seems to have been fond of hunting. During his hunting expeditions Thomas used two creeks which empty into Guest River, the mouth of one on the eastern side of the town of Coeburn and that of the other one on the western side, as guides to lead him back to camp. It is related that he always stayed between these two creeks. It was from the son that the larger creek received the name of Big Tom's Creek, and the smaller one that of Little Tom's Creek.
The present name which the town bears was derived from W. W. Coe, chief engineer of the Norfolk and Western Railway, and Judge W. E. Burns, of Lebanon, Virginia.
In 1888, R. P. Dickenson, father of Mrs. J. L. Litz, who owned the land upon which Coeburn is now located, laid out the town. Mr. Dickenson died that year and left the land to his daughter. Two years later, 1890, Mrs. Litz sold half of the tract to the Coeburn Land Improvement Company. The place was now making as much advancement that it became possible to secure a charter in 1892. So far as we are able to determine, with the exception of that of Big Stone Gap, this is the oldest town charter in Wise County. J. L. Litz became the first Mayor, and Tom Hurd the first Sergeant.
The Engineers of the Norfolk and Western Railway surveyed the right-of-way for their company in March 1887. In September of the same year construction was begun. The first passenger train passed through Coeburn in 1891. This event gave occasion for a large celebration, for many of the older inhabitants of the county who had never seen a passenger train turned out in their best clothes to pay tribute to the agency that was now opening the wealth of Wise County to the world. This advent of the Norfolk and Western Railway, together with the coming of the Interstate in recent years, has been the greatest event in the history of the town.
The present officers of Coeburn are Mack Evan, Mayor; Mrs. Rebecca A. Body, Treasurer; and J. W. Ashworth, Secretary and Recorder. The council consists of L. L. Addington, H. J. Horne, J. B. Wolfe, Jr., N. R. Medley, and J. D. Clay, Jr. R. B. Tate is Sergeant. In a great many of the towns of Virginia the sergeant is appointed by the mayor, but Coeburn, deviating from this method, elects the officer.
That part of the population of the town living within the incorporated limits numbers about 1,200, but there are at least 5,000 people residing inside of a radius of three miles. All of these people are dependant upon Coeburn for a trading point.
Coeburn is located upon State Highway Route Number 11. This give it ready access to Saint Paul, Norton, Appalachia, Big Stone Gap, and other places within the county, as well as to cities outside. In addition to this road there are others of equal importance leading out of the town. In order to approach Clintwood in Dickenson County, or Jenkins, Kentucky from points in the eastern section of Wise County, as well as from points east of the county, it is almost necessary to pass through the town.
Lighting and electric power are furnished by the Old Dominion Power Company. The town owns the water system, affording excellent service to the citizens. A volunteer fire department is maintained.
The high school occupies an up-to-date building that is equipped in the most modern fashion. There is an attendance of well above 1,000 pupils.
Coeburn boast sever substantial churches. Many of these have modern and expensive buildings with parsonages for the accommodations of their ministers. The town prides itself upon its religious activities. One is able to pass through the streets at most any time and see banners exhorting the people to attend church somewhere each Sunday.
There are three hotels and two of the best hardware and furniture stores in the county. Coeburn Grocery Company, a wholesale concern, maintains a branch at Saint Paul. Other business establishments include a number of department stores, a drug store, a bakery, a tourist camp, and many smaller concerns.
The Interstate Railway and the Norfolk and Western Railway operate trains regularly upon lines passing through Coeburn.
TOMS CREEK
By: James R. Thompson
Records show that in April 1860 John Buchanan had in his possession about 3,000 acres of land located in eastern Wise County. Most of it was forested, and practically all of it, with the exception of a few narrow valleys and some plateau here and there, was rugged and broken. This land had beneath it extensive seams of coal worth a large fortune. Buchanan, little realizing what the land might be worth in days to come, sold it at a very small figure to Saunders Hill. Hill was also to let the fortune slip through his fingers, for dividing it into smaller tracts, he sold the entire area, tract by tract, to various individuals.
In the sale made by Hill, Arch Skeens secured possession of the tract that was to enter directly into the history of what is known as the town of Tom's Creek. During the Civil War this tract was sold by Skeens to Andy Kiser. The latter, shortly after the War was concluded, divided it into half and gave to each of his two sons, Cummins and Wilkes, a half. Cummins, at a date not on record, sold his parcel to Kent Banner. Wilkes sold his share of the father's gift to the Carter Coal Company, now known as the Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke Company. Since this sale, it has never changed hands. This was the first purchase of coal land in Wise County by a company that has since grown to such a position as to be able to capitalize at $15,000,000.
The land of Wilkes Kiser was purchased by the Carter Coal Company at a price of twenty-fire and fifty cents per acre. For this same price the company gradually extended its holdings until it had finally acquired the original 3,000 acres held by Buchanan. The coming of the Clinch Valley Division of the Norfolk and Western Railway soon after this made it possible for the owners to market the coal. Development was started. Mines were opened, siding and trams installed, and houses for accommodations of the miners were built. Since that period the history of Toms Creek has been one of steady advancement, checked in one instance by the post-war deflation in prices.
The Toms Creek of to-day little resembles that of earlier times. An up-to-date hard surfaced road has been constructed from the main highway system of the county to the town, giving it an outlet to all of the main points in the section. A large company store has been erected for the miners. In addition, the coal company has its office buildings in the town. There is an electrical shop, a power house, a theater, a hospital, and a carpenter shop. The company has constructed approximately 650 houses. All of the property and business establishments in the place are owned and operated by the coal company.
Toms Creek was first called Georgel in honor of George L. Carter, a pioneer capitalist and railroad builder of the section. Mr. Carter was one of the first presidents of the company that developed Toms Creek. The name was later changed to Toms Creek because of its location upon the creek that bears the name of Thomas Gist.
In the pioneer days of the town Mrs. McKarg donated $15,000 for the construction of a school building. This same building is in good condition yet.
The religious places of the town are well represented by the existence of five churches. The denominations represented are as follows: Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic. There are two Negro churches, one of which is being used for a Negro school.
At the present time (1927) there are 650 men employed and 550 houses are occupied.
BLACKWOOD
By: C. J. Creveling
Blackwood is a town that happened to grow up because it was located at a point where coal could be advantageously produced. The cities of Cincinnati and Louisville are, by the route of the Louisville and Nashville Railway, about 300 miles respectively from the place. It is situated seven miles from Appalachia and four miles from Norton, at each of which places there is a junction of three leading railroads.
The town, Blackwood, derived its name from a coal camp located near Pottsville, Pennsylvania. This operation belonged to Calvin Pardee of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1902, Mr. Pardee, who had previously purchased a very considerable acreage of land in Wise County, principally from early settlers, began a town which he named after his Pennsylvania concern. At the same time he opened up the Imboden seam of coal and began to store away the product in preparation for the operation of some coke ovens which he was contemplating building. These ovens, which became known as the Bee Hive Coke Ovens, were completed early in the year of 1903. At first only 200 were constructed but later 82 additional ones were built, making a total of 282. The Bee Hive Coke Ovens continued to function with a fair amount of success until the invention of by-product coal. The product of the old coking plant was unable to sustain competition with this, and consequently the plan was forced to close down. At the present time the Bee Hive Coke Ovens are dismantled.
About the year of 1895 the Louisville and Nashville Railway reached the Pardee lands. This not only gave the town a substantial stimulation, but it made the marketing problem in the East simple. The town saw rapid progress as a result.
One of the great hindrances to coal production at Blackwood roots deeply in its location. The town is situated at the foot of Stone Mountain. This places it in a region where there is a large geological fault. Some of the beds are not only overturned and contorted, but they are full of anticlines and synclines. Such a condition, one can readily see, makes the problem of mining engineer very complicated.
The average elevation of Blackwood, at points contiguous to Powell River, is around 2,000 feet.
Pardee constructed houses for his employees, and two churches, one for the white workers and one for the colored. Later, a library, a pool room, a bowling alley, and a lodge room were built. Perhaps this has some bearing upon the fact that the Blackwood Coal Company has never been forced to contend with labor trouble.
At present the coal operation, which is the chief source of employment to the population, is not in a very favorable state. There remains, however, a considerable acreage of coal lands that will be worked as soon as the economic conditions make such a step profitable.
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III
NATURAL RESOURCES
The State of Virginia, as shown by the map, projects itself in the extreme southwest, forming what resembles half a spear point. Adjoining Lee, which forms the tip of the spear point, we find Wise County, irregular as to contour and rugged as to relief. It is bounded on the north, northwest, and west by the State of Kentucky, on the southwest by Lee County, on the south by Scott County, on the east by Russell County, and on the northeast by Dickenson County, Virginia. The Big Black Mountain forms a natural boundary between that part of Virginia and Kentucky, and hence between Wise County and Kentucky. Clinch River, on the southeastern border of the county follows a line almost parallel to Big Black Mountain, marking about half of the border between Russell and Wise. Drainage within the county is taken care of by many small creeks and runs and two major streams, Guest River, flowing southeastward toward Clinch, and Pound River, flowing northeastward toward the Big Sandy River of Kentucky.
Wise, with an area of 420 square miles, is the sixth largest county in the State. As to population, it ranks eighth among the other counties of Virginia, the total number of people being 46,500, or an average of 111 inhabitants per square mile. Much of the population is distributed in or around some nineteen of twenty small towns which range in size from about 100 to 3,000 people.
The surface of Wise County, as has been remarked, is extremely rugged and mountainous, a fact which makes less than one-fifth of it suitable for agricultural purposes. The other four-fifths is adaptable only to forests. Many mountains ranges are present, which, as a rule, follow a north-east-southwest direction. Among them are Stone Mountain, Sandy Ridge, Amos Ridge, and others. Sometimes one finds the slopes cleared and devoted to agricultural purposes, but, on the whole, the greater portions are still in forests of some sort. The lowest point to be found in the county is located in the southeastern section at a junction of Clinch and Guest River; the highest is found on the top of High Knob in the southern central portion. The point of least elevation is 1,409 feet above sea level; at the highest point there is an elevation of 4,162 feet above sea level. The maximum relief, or the difference between the highest and lowest point, is 2,753 feet.
Transportation
The transportation facilities of Wise are far ahead of any existing in neighboring counties. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, the Clinch Valley Division of the Norfolk and Western Railway, and a branch of the Southern Railway all pierce the very heart of the county. The Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway has a junction with the Norfolk and Western at Saint Paul. The Interstate Railway connects various points within the county and, by means of a recently constructed piece of track, joins with the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio at Miller Yard. It also makes connection with the Norfolk and Western at Norton, and the Louisville and Nashville at the same point. There is also a Norton and Northern Railway, which, at the present time, is not in operation.
The public highway system is excellent. During the last decade nothing in the way of progress has been so marked as in the field of road construction. Mile upon mile of hard surface highway has been built until now practically all of the towns are linked by means of good roads. At the present time there is a road under construction between Coeburn in Wise County and Clintwood, the county seat of Dickenson, and another between Dwina and Coeburn. Only recently a road connection the county with Kentucky was completed.
Climate
There is no official station of the United States Weather Bureau in Wise County, but from 1891 to 1911 such a station was maintained at Big Stone Gap. All of the data presented in this book with reference to temperature have been based upon the official reports of that station. In Scott County, at Speers Ferry, a station of the United States Weather Bureau was maintained from 1896 to 1920. Since it was located very near Wise County and in a section of almost precisely the same relief, what is true of the conditions which it recorded is likely to be true of those found in Wise. Therefore, further considering the fact that it covers a period of more recent date, it seems advisable to base the data relative to precipitation upon its reports. The temperature data will be derived from the Big Stone Gap reports.
At Big Stone Gap the mean annual temperature is 54 degrees Fahrenheit. The highest average temperature on record for any month between 1891 and 1911 was 97 degrees Fahrenheit, and the lowest was -26 degrees below Fahrenheit. During April, May, June, and July the prevailing direction of the winds at Big Stone Gap is towards the southwest and during the remaining eight months it is towards the west. The average date of the last killing frost at Big Stone Gap is April 25th, the latest on record being May 29th. The average date of the first killing frost in Autumn is October 13th, the earliest on record being September 24, 1897. The average length of the growing season is 169.7 days. The longest on record occurring in 1896, was 194 days; the shortest 130 days in 1895.
Normal Monthly, Seasonal, and Annual Temperature and
Precipitation at Big Stone Gap and Speers Ferry, Virginia
At Big Stone Gap (1891 - 1911) and at Speers Ferry (1896 - 1920)
Compiled from Reports of the United States Weather Bureau
Temperature Precipitation
(Big Stone Gap, Virginia) (Speers Ferry, Virginia)_______________
Total for Total for
Driest Wettest Snow
Year Year Average
Mean Highest Lowest mean (1906) (1916) Depth
*F *F *F inches inches inches inches
December 34.2 68 -5 4.48 3.97 6.23 3.7
January 34.5 72 -26 4.09 3.43 6.06 5.1
February 35.4 75 -18 4.13 4.59 1.36 4.3
Winter 34.7 71.7 -16.3 4.23 4.00 4.55 4.4
March 47.0 85 3 5.67 1.91 4.86 2.3
April 53.8 90 21 3.71 2.63 3.18 0.2
May 62.9 82 26 3.73 2.94 4.50 0
Spring 54.6 89.3 16.7 4.37 2.49 4.18 0.8
June 70.1 96 33 4.69 3.51 2.81 0
July 72.4 97 40 5.12 5.19 6.77 0
August 72.1 95 43 4.85 3.51 7.81 0
Summer 71.5 96 38.7 4.89 4.07 5.80 0
September 66.9 96 25 3.28 1.28 6.48 0
October 55.1 88 19 2.58 2.71 2.98 T
November 44.0 77 6 2.80 2.41 6.00 1.8
Fall 55.3 87 16.7 2.89 2.13 5.15 0.6
Year 54.0 97 -26 49.13 38.08 59.04 17.4
Minerals of Wise County
In the discussion of minerals present in Wise County we have, in general, taken the data from Bulletin XXIV published in 1923 by the Virginia Geological Survey co-operating with the United States Geological Survey.
Coal is Wise County's most important mineral. It is possible for one to discuss this item without fear of overestimation of its importance. In the production of coal Wise County leads the State, --indeed, she produces more coal than all of the other counties in Virginia taken together. Not only does she produce her own coal but she goes farther, supplying many other counties of the State with this item and even many other States of the Nation. That this statement may not be considered overdrawn it is best to consider some statistics. Competent authorities have estimated that before coal mining in Wise County, which began in the last decade of the 19th century, was instituted 5,900,000,000 tons of this mineral lay beneath her hills. Up to the year of 1922 only 86,098,415 tons had been removed, a very small fraction of the original. This serves to make the fact evident that the coal industry of Wise County is still looking forward to its brightest years. If the annual production were 4,000,000 tones, as it is at present, Wise County could continue to produce coal for the next 1,100 years; if the annual production were 6,000,000 tons, as in 1920, the highest annual production on record, the coal supply would last for 730 years. These facts are given to illustrate what we mean when we speak of the coal industry of Wise County.
In Wise County, there are outcroppings of twenty-three beds of high grade bituminous coal that have an average thickness of 30 inches or over. Besides these there are present five other beds of lesser thickness. Up to the present time it has been found profitable to mine only those beds of 30 inches or over but in the future, as the thicker seams become exhausted, promises to make the thinner ones of economic importance.
Of course, in a work of this nature, it is impossible to give a detailed description of all the coal beds found in the county but we will make an effort to touch briefly upon the more important ones.
The Tiller bed, at an outcrop which it makes on Bull Run, is a layer of coal with an average thickness of five feet. At Russell Creek it unites with the Jawbone bed to form a vein nine feet thick. It outcrops in workable thickness only in eastern Wise County.
The Jawbone bed, which overlies the Tiller, obtains throughout all of the eastern part of the county. There is a range of thickness in it from 4 to 10 feet, and often it unites, as is the case at Russell Creek, with the Tiller. Chemical tests show the bed to contain from 15 to 19 per cent ash due to numerous boney streaks that are present in it.
The Raven coal bed lies 75 to 100 feet able the Jawbone bed. The average thickness is 3.5 feet, and on Russell Creek, it has a three inch parting. This bed, which underlies a great deal of eastern Wise County, is not uniform. It has zones of hard and soft coal which, it seems, in no way affects the quality of the product.
The Kennedy bed, sometimes known locally as "the Widow Kennedy," lies 150 to 200 feet above the Raven bed. The seam is workable throughout most of eastern Wise County but it seldom gets above 4 feet in thickness, and at Tacoma, it drops to 2.5 feet. As a usual feature it contains a rash and therefore cannot compete with the other coals with any marked success.
A seam known as the Lower Banner is one of the most uniform beds to be found in the eastern part of the County. It lies 100 to 225 feet above the Kennedy vein and, as the Raven, is featured by seams of hard and soft coal of high quality. It has no parting and ranges in thickness from 35 to 45 inches.
The Upper Banner, one of the most important coal beds in the County, lies, in general, 150 feet above the Lower Banner. Not only does it underlie much of central and eastern Wise County but it extends into adjacent counties. The average thickness of the seam is about six feet. The Lower Banner is not only excellent for heating purposes but it is a superior cooking coal, much of it is being manufactured into coke as fast as it is mined.
The Norton bed, which obtains in the central portion, is one of the most important coal producing seams in the county. In the upper Guest River basin, where it is best developed, there is a thickness of clear coal ranging from 2.5 to 5 feet. As a coking coal it is very valuable and is therefore often manufactured into coke at the mine.
What is known as the Dorchester seam also underlies central Wise County. On Powell River it averages 56 inches, and at Norton it reaches 60 to 70 inches. Very often the seam contains partings which split it into benches making it non-workable. Despite this flaw the Dorchester is considered one of the most important coal producing veins in the county. For ordinary coking purposes it is very good, but there is too high a percentage of sulphur in it to make good metallurgical coke. For heating purposes it is especially commendable, producing sometimes as high as 14,000 British thermal units.
The Lyons bed ranges in thickness from 2.5 to 3 feet. Therefore it is not of very considerable commercial significance. The Blair seam, at Esserville 4 feet in thickness, occurs at its best in central Wise County. There, as is not always the case elsewhere, it is workable. The Clintwood vein extends westward from Dickenson County into Wise. Its thickness ranges from 4 to 5 feet with a parting present of from 1 to 5 feet.
The Imboden bed contains a high grade of well jointed coal suitable for coking purposes. It underlies much of the lower and western part of the county. At Inman, a slight parting being present, it reaches a thickness of 10 feet. On Pigeon Looney it averages 5 to 6 feet in thickness.
The Kelly seam of coal is workable throughout the greater part of its extent in the county, but at present Roaring Fork is the only place in which it is mined for shipment. It varies in thickness from 18 inches to 5 feet.
Coal mined from the Taggart line has a higher heating value than any other obtaining in the county. It extends under many square miles of the surface of Wise County and on into the State of Kentucky. The thickness of coal varies from 5 to 6 feet, and there is a slight parting of less than a foot.
What has come to be known as the Pardee seam of coal is one of the thickest in Wise County. It reaches a maximum thickness of from 9 to 11 feet, and there are only slight partings. In Wise it is mined at Pardee alone, but in Kentucky it is mined extensively.
So high upon the Black Mountains that it cannot compete successfully with other coals in the High Splint bed. This seam ranges in thickness from 4 to 5 feet.
There are a few other beds in Wise County but for the most part these are of small economic importance. Among them one is able to name the Hagy, the Splash Dam, the Rock Fork, the Addington, the Upper and Lower Sandifords, the Low Splint, the Phillips, and the Taggart Marker.
The coal of Wise County, on the whole, is blocky and usually comes out in lumps. Because of this fact it is very suitable for export, but it is also crushed for stoker usage. The slack is very frequently transformed into coke. Tests by experts show that the common impurities present are moisture, sulphur, and ash.
In the year of 1920 there were forty-nine companies and private corporations listed by the Division of Mineral Resources of the United States Geological Survey as producing coal in Wise County. These forty-nine operators mined 6,062,325 short tons of coal that year, the highest amount that has ever been mined during a single year of Wise County's coal producing history. In 1925 there were twenty-one companies or corporations engaged in the coal producing business in Wise County, and they maintained thirty-five operations. During that year 6,013,566 short tons of coal were produced. This coal was valued at $10,549,004.
For the statistics and data used in this discussion we are indebted to the Virginia Geological Survey which co-operates with the Division of Mineral Resources and Statistics of the United States Bureau of Mines in the annual collection of mineral statistics.
In addition to coal there are a number of other minerals found in Wise County that deserve to mentioned. These are, for the most part, various stones.
Limestone is found in the region around Big Stone Gap in the southwestern part of the county and at Saint Paul in the extreme eastern portion. Of this stone there are several varieties, but the Newman and Cayuga are of the greatest importance. The Newman, a very hard type of stone, is easily tooled and polished. This quality makes it exceedingly desirable for construction purposes. It is also used for ballast in concrete. The Cayuga has been quarried at East Stone Gap for flux in the blast furnace heated at this place. Several quarries are in operation, the oldest being that owned by Simpson and Crawford, which has been going for over thirty years.
Several varieties of sandstone occur in the county. The Maccrady Shale, which has a reddish-brown color, and for the Price Sandstone, which has a pale green color, are used for decorative purposes.
Four beds of iron are found in the county. Number 1 and Number 2 are so thin as to be commercially insignificant, but beds Number 3 and Number 4 have been mined since 1902. Yet even these mines were forced to close down with the depression of 1920 prices. The Number 3 and Number 4 beds vary in thickness from 20 to 40 inches. Analysis shows 44.90 iron, 15,81 silica, 0.22 per cent lime, and 0.29 per cent phosphorus. There has been a blast furnace located at East Stone Gap for many years. The Wise County iron industry seems to have passed its prime, and in future years it will tend to become lesser rather than greater importance in the industrial activities of the county.
There is oil present in the county but not in sufficient quantity to be of a commercial value. Experts tell us that it is not at all improbable that there is natural gas present which will become important to industry some time in the future.
Soils
Since no soil survey has been made in Wise County it is impossible to give a detailed description of the various soils prevalent. It is possible, however, to give certain facts about them which will give the reader some idea of their nature.
Wise County lies in the Appalachian Mountain and Plateau province. Nearly all of the county, save a small region about Big Stone Gap, and another in the southwestern part, and another very small region around Saint Paul in the eastern part, has coal bearing sandstone and shale of the carboniferous age. Most of these rocks have a yellow color. The soil, by reason of the fact that they are derived from the decomposition of these rocks, in their natural state, are sandy, open, yellowish and poor in plant element. Slope farming is carried on to some extent, but usually when the hillsides are cleared the rich soil is soon washed away by the rainfall. The best soils are found on the top of the slopes where the erosion is least. It is for this reason that the region on top of Sandy Ridge and in the Flatwoods are very fertile.
We will take Bulletin Number XXIV published by the Virginia Geological Survey in 1923 and show what each rock formation weathers into.
The Lowville limestone weathers into fertile clay, but it outcrops on slopes that are too steep for cultivation. For this reason the chief use derived from the soil is pasturage.
Cannon limestone weathers into a fertile loam that produces luxuriant grass. The soil from this grade of rock is too steep for cultivation and is therefore used for pasturage. It is found in William's Cove, one mile south of Cadet. Cathey's limestone, also found in William's Cove, erodes into a fertile soil that is able to support bluegrass. Reedsville shale, occurring at the same place, decomposes into a fairly fertile soil which, at the present time, is chiefly covered by forests. The Sequatchie, found also at William's Cove, yields a light, sandy, and moderately fertile soil. The Clinch sandstone, which is found in many places throughout the western part of the county yields a soil that is very thin. For this reason it is usually covered with hardwood forests interspersed with evergreens.
The Clinton sandstone is the most widely distributed rock formation in the county. The soil which comes from it is fairly fertile, but is loose and easily washed away on the slopes. It, as a general rule, supports forests, but at times it is cultivated along the streams. The lumber industry is chiefly dependent upon this type of soil.
The Cayuga sandstone, which is found mainly in the valleys and especially around East Stone Gap, tends to form a soil of very fertile variety that is cultivated in the lowlands and used for grazing on the slopes. The Helderberg limestone weathers into a fertile, sandy clay which is better suited for grazing than cultivation. Most of its area is in bluegrass, but some of it is still in timber. The Genesee shale forms a soft shaly soil that is covered in the lowlands with a rich sandy loam that makes it highly desirable for cultivation. The soil is easily eroded. It is found in the lowlands, especially along with that from the Genesee formation. It is a light, fertile soil which receives extensive cultivation.
The Big Stone Gap shale forms a sandy, stony soil. Although it is for the most part in forests it is sometimes used for pasture, and in a few cases it is cultivated. The Price and Maccrady formations of sandstone yield a soil that is sandy and stony. This type of soil occurs only in slight quantities in the county, and as a general rule it is so high upon the slopes that it is devoted to forest growth. The Newman limestone forms, through erosion, a soil that is partly cultivated and partly pastured. It is found mostly in Powell Valley and the southwestern part of the county. The Pennington shale breaks up into a rough and stony soil that is usually found upon the mountains and therefore undesirable for cultivation. The Lee and Norton sandstone formations tend to form a sandy clay soil which is of little value for cultivation. Gladesville sandstone weathers into a course, sandy soil. The Wise Formation weathers into a yellow, sandy soil.
Alluvial soils formed by the admixture of sand, clay, soil, shale and stone are found to a limited extent in the flood plains of the streams. The chief accumulations are deposited in the valleys of the Clinch, Pound, and lower Powell rivers.
There are two regions of limestone present in Wise County. One is found around Big Stone Gap. This region, which is very fertile, is cultivated extensively. There is another very small limestone region at Saint Paul which is a continuation of the limestone area lying immediately across Clinch River. This region is so very small that it is little known to the people of the county in general.
Forests of Wise County
The steep and at times precipitous relief makes farming of less importance in Wise than in most of the other counties of Virginia. It is for this reason that much of the land is still forested.
According to the United States Census for 1920 the total land area of the county is 268,000 acres. Of this 72,877 acres, or about 27.1 percent of the total area, is being devoted to farming purposes. In 1910 there were 122,874 acres in farms. This shows that over the ten year period between 1910 and 1920 the area in farm land decreased 49,997 acres. Over the same period the area is improved farm lands dropped from 51,398 to 35,470 acres, a decrease of 15,928 acres. Much of this decrease might be explained upon the grounds that the high wage scale during the World War drew many of the farmers to industrial centers.
Four large coal companies which have operations in Wise own more than two-thirds of the land area of the county. They allow this land to lie idle or in forest growth, using only a small portion of the surface of it for sites upon which to locate their operations.
Fred C. Pederson, in the Virginia Geological Survey Bulletin Number XXIV published in 1923, from which most of the data used in this discussion are taken, divides the forests of Wise County into four classes. The first class, "virgin with poplar," includes all of the forest land of Wise County on which there have been no cuttings with the possible exception of black walnut. This class, comprising about 2,000 acres of the total forest area, or about 12,000,000 board feet of lumber, has less than 1 per cent of all forest lands. The second class, "virgin without popular," amounts to about 10.6 per cent of the total forest area, or 24,272 acres. It stands about 4,500 board feet to the acre, the total stand amounting to something like 97,088,000 board feet. The third class, "forests that have been lightly culled but have saw milling possibilities at the present time," takes in about 12,971 acres, or 5.7 per cent of the total forest area. The total number of board feet of lumber falling into this class at the present time is estimated to range about 45,398,500. It stands at about 3,500 board feet per acre. It is in this type that numerous small, portable, sawmills find the greatest part of their supply of raw materials. The fourth class is designated as "forests which consist mainly of mining timbers." Approximately 83 per cent of the total forest area of Wise County, or an area of 188,018 acres, falls into this class. On account of the fact that this type of forest land has been heavily cut over and only a small amount of second growth remains, the stand per acre amounts only to about 1,000 board feet. There is about 188,018,000 board feet in all. All four classes taken together cover a tract of land approximating 277,261 acres bearing on the average of 1,235 board feet per acre, or about 342,504,500 board feet in all. It should be taken into account that all of these figures are approximate.
Continuing to follow the work of Mr. Pederson we find that there are four types of forests in Wise County with respect to content. (1) The "ridge type" occurs "on the ridges and spurs and upper slopes that face the south." Chestnut, chestnut oak, red oak, black oak, and occasionally white oak are found in this class. (2) The "slope type," since it includes more than 50 per cent of the forest area, is of most commercial importance. White oak is the dominate specie, but with it are associated yellow popular, hemlock, beech, basswood, cucumber-tree, buckeye, white ash, and hard maple on the lower slopes, and on the upper northern slopes are red oak, black oak, rock oak, and chestnut. This type of timber makes excellent sawing wood. (3) The "cove type" includes about `5 per cent of the forest area. Yellow popular predominates, but there is present basswood, white oak, white ash, buckeye, hickory, hard maple, black walnut and beech. This type of forest produces the best variety of lumber to be found in the county. (4) The "hemlock bottomland" type of forest, which covers about 10 per cent of the forest area of Wise County, is of little industrial significance. Hemlock is the predominant specie, but with it one finds beech, red maple, black gum, white elm, river birch, basswood, yellow popular and "to a lesser extent the cucumber-tree."
Lumbering is the third industry of Wise County in respect to commercial importance, mining and agriculture taking first and second places respectively. The industry had its beginning in 1897 when certain men entered upon an exploration of black walnut. The first band sawmill, which depended largely for its supply upon the forest of Dickenson, Russell, and Tazwell counties, was established at Saint Paul, Virginia. Since that time, several mills have been set up in various parts of the county, each exhausting the immediate region within which it is located. None of these mills used scientific methods, and in general their methods of exploitation were wasteful if not extravagant. At present a great deal of the lumbering of the county is being done through the agency of small, portable, circular sawmills. Often these are owned by men who, when wages are high, work in the industries of on their small farms, and when they have time to spare turn to their sawmills. Most of them, in their effort to gain, lose all sight of the future welfare of the forests. One of the largest lumber industries in the county is the Clinchfield Lumber and Supply Company, which is located at Saint Paul. This very up-to-date concern does not, however, draw heavily upon the forests of Wise County for most of its materials come from points upon the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway.
In 1916 the Clinch River Extract Company established a plant at Saint Paul for the purpose of manufacturing tanning extract from bark and wood. It used about 25,000 cords of chestnut wood and about 23,000 cords of bark per annum. It is estimated that not over 15 per cent of its supply came from the forests of Wise County, the remainder coming from points on the Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railway. The disrupted state of industries during the post-war deflation forced this plant to close down temporarily, and even now it is not working at capacity.
"Evidences of seriously destructive forest-fires are to be seen in almost any section of the county," says Mr. Pederson. He further adds that 80 per cent of the land is so steep, the soil so thin and filled with gullies, that it will always be used for forest growth. For this reason we are fully in sympathy with him when he stresses the importance of a campaign against forest-fires. If Wise County is to raise forests she ought to raise good ones, and they ought not to be subject to the constant menace of destruction by fire. There is as plan for the prevention of forest-fires under way at the present time. A chief forest warden has been appointed. Under him local assistants are being appointed for the purpose of patrolling specific districts, investigating the causes of fires, preventing unnecessary damages and destruction, and assisting the Commonwealth's Attorney in enforcing the laws. It is to be hoped that these officials will receive the hearty co-operation of the people of the county.
It is also highly desirable that the people of the county come to realize the prime importance of more conservative cutting. At present only the best trees are cut, leaving those of inferior quality to be the seed-bearers. It has been found that this type of tree does not produce the best type of young forest. The lumberman can well afford to leave a few of the best trees for the purpose of seeding. "High stumps, unused tops, the leaving of sound windfalls, or trees blown down by he wind, and wasteful methods of felling," are other features to be noted in the wasteful cutting of Wise County forests.
The value of Wise County forests cannot be too highly appreciated. Complete statistics as to the value of forest products are not available, but we know that it is not to be taken too lightly. Much lumber, both in logs and in sawed timber, is shipped out of the county each year, and a large amount of local building is done. Pulp wood, extract wood, cross ties, telephone poles, and mining timbers are also cut in large quantities. Additional values of the forest are to be seen in the fact that experts believe the mulch of leaves and humus to cause the water to sink into the ground rather than run off, thus preventing floods in the case of hard rains. It is thought that the presence of forest mitigates both the extreme heat in the summer and the extreme cold in the winter. The also aid in bringing about an equal distribution of rainfall over various districts. The offer a home for birds and other wild life which are highly desirable, not only as the enemies of crop-destroying insects, but as a source of amusement. Lastly, they offer beauty and shade to the landscape. With these values in mind it is scarcely possible to believe that the people of Wise County will fail to realize the supreme importance of protecting their forests through preventing forest fires, eliminating wasteful methods of cutting, and replanting waste areas.
* It will be noted that figures on population given by Mr.
Johnson differ from those reported in the Census. Several years have elapsed since the last
Census (1920), so his estimates may be more correct at the present time than those of the Census
of a few years ago.
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