Bluefield Daily Telegraph 1896 McDowell Co. WV 1896 N & W RAILROAD PASSENGER SERVICE IN THE AREA AND AREA ACCOMMODATIONS McDowell County in the 1890's was not isolated from the rest of the state or country. The Norfolk and Western Railroad offered regular passenger service via multiple daily trains along its line into the Pocahontas/Flat Top Coal Field and into McDowell County. Regionally, the N & W serviced passengers traveling in the Tug Fork, Big Sandy, Bluestone, New River, and Clinch Valley watersheds. In addition, it offered extended passenger/Pullman service to points east and west of McDowell County and Bluefield. Norfolk & Western R. R. SCHEDULE IN EFFECT DEC. 1, 1895. March 14, 1896, Bluefield Daily Telegraph Train No. 15 leaves East Radford at 8:45 a. m. and arrives in Bluefield at 10:55 a. m. Leaves Bluefield at 11:15 a. m. for Pocahontas. Train No. 3 leaves East Radford at 6:10 p.m. and arrives in Bluefield at 8:40 p.m. Leaves Bluefield at 8:45 p.m. for Pocahontas. Additional trains for Elkhorn, Pocahontas, Welch and intermediate stations leave Bluefield (daily) at 6:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. For Coopers, Bramwell, Goodwill, leave Bluefield 6:00 a.m. and 11:15 p.m., 4:00 p. m. daily. Pullman services ran to Washington, D. C. , Norfolk, VA; Richmond, VA; and Columbus, OH, via Bluefield, Roanoke, and Radford connections. Through connections in Bluefield, passengers from McDowell could transfer to travel daily on the Clinch Valley Extension to Graham, (Blfd., VA), Tazewell, Richlands, Honaker, and Norton. Likewise, passengers from Clinch Valley could transfer in Bluefield to travel to the Tug River Valley. People, then, traveled steadily and regularly between points within the coal fields, and folks from out-of-state could easily reach most points to the coal fields. In fact, extensive travel prompted one insurance company to offer insurance to travelers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents: 1896 Colleries in McDowell DIRECTORY OF COAL COMPANIES in the POCAHONTAS-FLAT TOP FIELD Bluefield Daily Telegraph March 10, 1896 Colliery: S. W. Va. I. (Improvement) Co. Gen'l. M'G'R: Wm. Lang Buyer: F. Chalmers Post Office: Pocahontas, VA EXP/FT Office: Pocahontas, VA NOTE: from article in Bluefield Daily Telegraph re SWVA I CO, January 21, 1899, " Logan Bullitt, President of Southwest Virginia Improvement Company, was in town Wednesday and Thursday looking after his interests." Colliery: Browning Gen'l. M'G'R: J. S. Browning Buyer: John McHenry Post Office: Pocahontas, VA EXP/FT Office: Pocahontas, VA Colliery: Mill Creek Gen'l. M'G'R: John Cooper Buyer: John Griffith Post Office: Coopers, WV EXP/FT Office: Coopers, WV Colliery: Caswell Creek Gen'l. M'G'R: Jenkin Jones Buyer: C. M. Kyle Post Office: Freeman, WV EXP/FT Office: Bramwell, WV Colliery: Buckeye Gen'l. M'G'R: J. D. Hewitt Buyer: Geo. Lewis Post Office: Freeman, WV EXP/FT Office: Bramwell, WV Colliery: Booth-Bowen Gen'l. M'G'R: J. P. Bowen Buyer: Sam. Toy Post Office: Freeman, WV EXP/FT Office: Bramwell, WV Colliery: Goodwill Gen'l. M'G'R: Philip Goodwill Buyer: W. F. Goodwill Post Office: Goodwill, WV EXP/FT Office: Goodwill, WV Colliery: Louisville Gen'l. M'G'R: Justus Collins Buyer: C. W. Hardy Post Office: Goodwill, WV EXP/FT Office: Goodwill, WV Colliery: Coaldale Gen'l. M'G'R: John Cooper Buyer: H. G. Arnot Post Office: Coopers, WV EXP/FT Office: Coaldale, WV Colliery: Elkhorn Gen'l. M'G'R: W. H. Barlow Buyer: W. H. Barlow Post Office: Maybeury, WV EXP/FT Office: Maybeury, WV Colliery: Shamokin Gen'l. M' G' R: John Hunter Buyer : May Post Office: Maybeury, WV EXP/FT Office: Maybeury, WV Colliery: Norfolk Gen'l. M'G'R: S. M. Buck Buyer: Wm. Crump Post Offie: Maybeury, WV EXP/FT Office: Maybeury, WV Colliery: Lick Branch Gen'l. M'G'R: E. S. Hutchinson Buyer: S. T. Jones Post Office: Maybeury, WV EXP/FT Office: Maybeury, WV Colliery: Angle Gen'l. M'G'R: S. M. Buck Buyer: Wm. Crump Post Office: Maybeury, WV EXP/FT Office: Maybeury, WV Colliery: Turkey Gap Gen'l. M'G'R: W. H. McQuail Buyer: F. P. Harman Post OFfice: Ennis, WV EXP/FT Office: Elkhorn, WV Colliery: Crozer Gen'l. M'G'R: F. Van Crozen Buyer: H. C. Franklin Post Office: Elkhorn, WV EXP/FT Office: Elkhorn, WV Colliery: Houston Gen'l. M'G'R: T. E. Houston Buyer: N. W. Franklin Post Office: Elkhorn, WV EXP/FT Office: Elkhorn, WV Colliery: Upland Gen'l. M'G'R: Rolfe Gearhart Buyer: Frank Ryder Post Office: Elkhorn, WV EXP/FT Office: Elkhorn, WV Colliery: Powhatan Gen'l. M'G'R: L. E. Tierney Buyer: A. D. Wolfe Post Office: Powhatan, WV EXP/FT Office: Elkhorn, WV Colliery: Lynchburg Gen'l. M'G'R: L. E. Tierney Buyer: W. B. Hannah Post Office: Kyle, WV EXP/FT Office: Elkhorn, WV Colliery: Algoma Gen'l. M'G'R: W. H. Thomas Buyer: W. H. Thomas Post Office: Algoma, WV EXP/FT Office: Elkhorn, WV Colliery: Gilliam Gen'l. M'G'R: Jas. Johnstone Buyer: ___DeJarnette Post Office: Gilliam, WV EXP/FT Office, Elkhorn, WV Colliery: Rolfe Gen'l. M'G'R: George H. Paddock Buyer: W. B. Ellis Post Office: Worth, WV EXP/FT Office: Elkhorn, WV NOTE: from McDowell Recorder on Rolfe Company, Reprinted in Bluefield Daily Telegraph January 21, 1899, " The Rolfe Company is putting a Williams crusher and elevator in its tipple. This tipple when completed will become one of the best arranged in the field for the different grades of coal." Colliery: McDowell Gen'l. M'G'R: T. Lineweaver Buyer: W. A. Young Post Office: McDowell, WV EXP/FT Office: Elkhorn, WV Colliery: Greenbrier Gen'l. M'G'R: Justus Collins Buyer: R. L. Carney Post Office: McDowell, WV EXP/FT Office: Elkhorn, WV Colliery: Keystone Gen'l. M'G'R: J. D. Hewitt Buyer: C. P. Metzger Post Office: Keystone EXP/FT Office: Keystone, WV Colliery: Empire Gen'l. M'G'R: W. D. Ord Buyer: H. D. Knecht Post Office: Landgraff, WV EXP/FT Office: Vivian, WV Colliery: Tidewater Gen'l. M'G'R: Jas. Johnson Buyer: C. S. Angel Post Office: Tidewater, WV EXP//FT Office: Vivian, WV Colliery: Bottom Creek Gen'l. M'G'R: W. Spencer Buyer: S. W. Patterson Post Office: Tidewater, WV EXP/FT Office: Vivian, WV Colliery: Eureka Gen'l. M'G'R: L. E. Tierney Buyer: W. D. Thornhill Post Office: Eckmann, WV EXP/FT Office: Eckmann, WV Colliery: Peerless Gen'l M'G'R: H. C. Zacharias Buyer: H. C. Zacharias Post Office: Vivian, WV EXP/FT Office: Vivian, WV Colliery: Pulaski Gen'l M'G'R: S. F. Morris Buyer: Geo. Fackler Post Office: Eckmann, WV EXP/FT Office: Eckmann, WV Colliery: Shawnee Gen'l. M'G'R: W. R. Graham Buyer: A. J. Litz Post Office: Eckmann, WV EXP/FT Office: Eckmann, WV Colliery: Elk Ridge Gen'l. M'G'R: L. E. Tierney Buyer: J. T. Mitchell Post Office: Kyle, WV EXP/FT Office: Elkhorn, WV Colliery: Roanoke Gen'l. M'G'R: W. S. Cowell Buyer: W. Stone Post Office: Worth, WV EXP/FT Office: Eckmann, WV NOTE: from McDowell Recorder on Roanoke Company, Reprinted in Bluefield Daily Telegraph, January 21, 1899, " A tenement house belonging to the Roanoke Company was destroyed by fire on Monday evening." Colliery: Arlington Gen'l. M'G'R. Jas. Johnstone Buyer: Robert Palmer Post Office: McDowell, WV EXP/FT Office: Eckmann, WV Colliery: Indian Ridge Gen'l. M'G'R: C. Botsford Buyer: R. Martin Post Office: Worth, WV EXP/FT Office: Eckmann, WV Colliery: Ashland Gen'l. M'G'R: Thos. Dennan Buyer:T. B. Dennan Post Office: McDowell, WV EXP/FT Office: Eckmann, WV NOTE: from McDowell Recorder, on Ashland Coal & Coke Company, Reprinted in Bluefield Daily Telegraph, January 21, 1899, "The Ashland Coal & Coke Company are building more houses, and still the demand is greater than the supply. " Colliery: Charleston Gen'l. M'G'R: T. L. Henritze Buyer: Walter McMinn Post Office: Helena, WV EXP/FT Office: Welch, WV --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extracted from the Bluefield Daily Telegraph; compiled and submitted to McDowell County, WV, US Genweb Page by June White