THE COUNTY LINE

STRAIGHT AHEAD
NO BUMP, BUMP
THEY PAVED OVER THE RAIL
HOME AGAIN
ROUTE 16
SAFE AT LAST

MCDOWELL COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA

MOST OF THE BUILDINGS ARE GONE NOW.

COALMINING

THIS TIPPLE OPERATED FOR A WHILE
BUT NOW, IT IS IDLE.
NO WORK TODAY
ON THE RIGHT
A FEW HOUSES REMAIN
STRIPPING
AS YOU GO TOWARD POCAHONTAS, TURN LEFT TOWARD GARY

RESULTS OF STRIPPING ARE EVERYWHERE
STRAIGHT DOWN
NO TREES
BARRON ROCK
IT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME
1000'S OF YEARS
Historically, coal mining has been the primary reason for development. Going back to the days of Carter in the 1930's, when it was said he bought the land where Caretta and Coalwood came into existance for a 'mountain rifle'. Carter opened up a mines in Number 5, and began mining coal. He recruited workers, sometimes from his native Carrol County, Virginia, one of which was my dad, Rollie Quesenberry. Houses and railroads sprang up, buildings, tipples, bathhouses, stores, theaters, doctor offices, schools. The coal was used in the houses for heat; but, mostly for making steal. It was also used to fire furnaces to power generators to produce electricity. With the exception of strikes by the UMWA, it was a good way to make a living, five days a week. As time went on, the demand for coal decreased, due to a decline in the production of steal, and most recently, the reduction in the use of coal to produce electric power plants. EPA standards have reduced the production of electricity by coal generatores 72 gigawats total. Sadly, natural gas, the new fuel is not without it's drawbacks. The natural gas industry pumps chemicals into the ground and they frack the terrain and drill holes everywhere. This has all allowed surface water to seep into the water table. Wells were contaminated, and became unusable. Public Water Companies have, by necessity, became the only source of clean water, and, that is often rendered suspect. The solution is to build electric power plants that burn coal under UPA standartds. Generators that capture carbon dioxide and divert it to underground sites. Baghouse filters may be used to remove particles out of the air as well as 'wet scrubbers'. The production of steal may be stimulated in the same way. Coal is a good thing, and, one day, it will return as the number one resource in Southern West Virginia. In the mean time, no strip mining, please.