Fayette County, West Virginia Biography of Walter R. THURMOND ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: Material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor. Submitted by Valerie Crook, , April 1999 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 64-65 WALTER R. THURMOND is a son of Joseph S. Thurmond of Alderson, and for the past ten years they have been associated in the development and operation of some of the important coal properties of Logan County. The principal operations are on Rum Creek and are conducted by the Argyle Coal Company and the Thurmond Coal Com- pany, of which companies Walter R. Thurmond is general manager and treasurer. The grandfather of Walter R. Thurmond was Capt. W. D. Thurmond, who came from Amherst County, Virginia, to Fayette County, West Virginia, in 1844, and opened up a home and farm in the midst of the woods. Captain Thur- mond was the actual discoverer of coal in the New River field. He uncovered a vein of coal near the surface while plowing in his garden. Subsequently he acquired quite a large acreage of coal land in that vicinity, which is now operated under lease by the Berwind interests. This land is in the heart of the famous New River coal field. Captain Thurmond held a captain's commission in the Confederate army under General Echols, and was on scouting duty in Virginia and West Virginia. Capt. W. D. Thurmond was born in 1820 and died at the age of ninety in 1910. Joseph Samuel Thurmond, long prominent in the politics and the coal industry of West Virginia, was born in Fayette County, May 9, 1855. He grew up on the home farm, at- tended the common schools and also Shelton College at Saint Albans when that school was conducted by Dr. P. B. Reynolds, who afterwards became president of West Vir- ginia University. Joseph S. Thurmond taught for several years in the public schools of Fayette County, later became a civil engineer and farmer and still later entered actively the coal mining industry. For years he carried heavy responsibilities in the development of the New River fields and subsequently in Logan County, being president of the Thurmond Coal Company and the Argyle Coal Company, mentioned above. Joseph S. Thurmond is one of the demo- cratic leaders of the state, served as the first mayor of the Town of Thurmond, was elected to the House of Delegates from Greenbrier County in 1914, was re-elected in 1916, was chosen speaker of the House at the following session, and was again elected in 1918. Joseph S. Thurmond married Betty Rippetoe, daughter of Rev. A. N. Rippetoe of Nicholas County, West Virginia. She died in 1900, and of her four sons and two daughters Walter R. is the oldest. Walter R. Thurmond was born at the old Thurmond homestead in Fayette County, April 30, 1881. He acquired his early education in the local schools, and in 1898 entered the preparatory department of the University of West Vir- graduating Bachelor of Science in 1905. Soon after leaving university Mr. Thurmond became an engineer in the New River coal field, and in 1912 he and his father began their operations in Logan County, and since that date he has had active charge of the Thurmond Coal Company and the Argyle Coal Company. Mr. Thurmond was president of the Logan Coal Operators Association in 1921, and was recently re-elected to that post. He is chairman of the Logan County Democratic Committee and a member of the Demo- cratic Executive Committee of the state. In 1907 he married Innis Dils, daughter of I. A. Dils, of Fayette County. They have two children: Sarah Elizabeth, now in the first year of high school, and Fred Wait, in the sixth grade of the grammar school Mr. and Mrs. Thurmond are members of the First Baptist Church of Logan and he is clerk of the church.