Ashland, WV

Ashland was named after a town in the Pennsylvania Anthracite coalfields, since that is where some of the founders of the company, Ashland Coal and Coke Company, originated. The Ashland Mine started producing Pocahontas No. 3 coal in 1894 and produced coal for over 70 years. The last time that I visited Ashland there was no coal mining activity to be seen. But there were dozens of ATV riders from the Hatfield McCoy Trail buzzing and swarming around the roads.

Circa 1970's image courtesy of Russell Tilley Ashland Coal & Coke Company's tipple at Ashland at the end of its useful life. This tipple featured a button line conveyor that fed coal into the tipple.
1980 image by Robert Slavy The Ashland tipple still had a few full rail cars sitting around in this photo taken just after the Ashland mines closed. For the last few years of the operation tonnage was greatly reduced.
Apr. 2014 image by author Street scene in Ashland showing the building that was the company store. The original company store was located across the street. When that building burned in 1943, the store was relocated to this existing building.
Apr. 2014 image by author Around 2008 someone thought to revamp the unused Ashland company store and repurpose it to serve the traffic from the new Hatfield McCoy Trail system. In its new life the store contained a store selling WV crafts, a "Coal Camp Cafe," "computer lab," meeting room, and a coal mining museum. They even placed these rocking chairs with "Ashland Company Store" engraved in them, around the building. However, on the day when visited the area it appeared that the Ashland Company Store had closed.

UPDATE: In 2022 I revisited the area and the Ashland Company Store was very much opened for business, with a store and a restaurant inside. It is the center of a big ATV resort now.

Apr. 2014 image by author Looking up the North Fork of Elkhorn Creek behind the Ashland Company Store.
Feb. 2017 image by author Someone took an underground coal car and made a display out of it.
Mar. 2009 WVDEP AML Program image Old dynamite or powder house at Ashland.
Mar. 2009 WVDEP AML Program image Coal discharge hopper on the hill above Ashland.
Mar. 2009 WVDEP AML Program image Detail of hopper.
Mar. 2009 WVDEP AML Program image Probably head house ruins.
Feb. 2017 image by author Ashland as viewed from the road to Crumpler.
The company stores sold everything from food to coffins. Here's a 1953 newspaper ad for televisions showing all of the stores in this area of West virginia, Virgina, and Kentucky where the TV could be purchased - including the Ashland Coal & Coke company store.