Pocahontas Is An Old Mining Town In Virginia With A Tragic And Haunting History
By Beth|Published May 29, 2023
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Beth
Author
A lifelong Virginia resident, Beth loves exploring different parts of the world and currently resides in Charlottesville. She holds a degree in English Literature and one of her short stories has been featured in the Shenandoah Review. Other interests include hiking, songwriting, and spending time in the mountains.
Virginia’s small towns are charming, welcoming, and almost always picturesque. Yet there are some places throughout the Old Dominion that time seems to have forgotten. One of them is the old mining town of Pocahontas, and its history is rather tragic. Pocahontas is largely considered to be the one place in Appalachia where the coal boom began. As soon as 1750, it was known that coal existed in this part of the country, though it wasn’t very sought-after. It wasn’t until after the Civil War that the region was surveyed for coal, and that’s when everything changed.
Pocahontas is a tiny town with a population of just around 300. It's nested in the Appalachian Mountains just a short distance from the West Virginia border.
In 1882, the Southwest Improvement Company bought the land and opened the Pocahontas mine. Immigrant workers from Sweden, Hungary, and Germany were recruited to help mine the coal. Business took off immediately, fueling the great coal boom.
Horribly, many of the workers were underage. At that time, workers were paid by the amount of coal they could extract rather than the hours they worked, so miners would bring their families along to help.
Making your way through town, you'll spot many points of interest, such as the former Company Store, shown below. It was the first and largest of its kind in the area.
If you plan to visit, be sure to stop by the Pocahontas Exhibition, the only operational mine exhibition in the state. Tours are offered between April and October, and offer a fascinating insight into the miner's daily work.
It's believed that during its seven decades of operation, the mine produced over 44 million tons of coal.
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If you have time for a bite to eat, be sure to stop by the Ole No 3 Restaurant, located inside the former mine bathhouse. It's a shining example of honoring the town's history while creating something that brings together locals and visitors alike.
Have you ever visited Pocahontas? Did you know about the Pocahontas Coal Mine or this old mining town in Virginia? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below — we would love to hear from you.
For an in-depth tour of Pocahontas, Virginia, check out the YouTube video below, courtesy of Mountain Roots:
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