ELKHORN COAL FIELD MISCELLANEOUS
These company houses at Fleming, KY have been nicely preserved.
The formerly important town of Neon, Ky. was a small commercial center for the surrounding mining towns. A regional chain of stores - Dawahares - started in Neon. The Dawahares
franchise eventually numbered 30 stores, but is defunct now.
Coal miner at Kona, KY. Elkhorn Coal Company opened the Kona mines and coal camp around 1913.
Former Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad trestle over Russel Fork with an old Addington Brothers
prep plant in the background.
Company houses built on the hillside in 1912 by the Elkhorn Fuel Company in Garrett, KY.
Abandoned theater in Drift, KY, where the mines have closed and most of the coal camp has been torn down. Although ruined, imposing and majestic structures remaining in old
coal towns are indicative of the wealth that once could be found (at least for the coal barons) in Appalachia. It also shows how some mine owners attempted to provide nice facilities to make coal camp life more pleasant for
their employees and their families. Beaver Coal & Mining Company was the most well known operator
of the Drift mines, but there were other smaller mines (Floyd-Elkhorn Consolidated Collieries, Turner-Elkhorn Coal Company, etc.) as well.
Idled coal tipple near McDowell, KY.
Headhouse of the idled tipple near McDowell, KY.
A coal camp built by the South East Coal Company at Millstone, KY. There is a very attractive and historic looking church to the left of these homes, but unfortunately most
of it is not in the picture.
Sadly, this South East Coal Company store at Millstone, KY did not fare as well as the one at Seco. This store has been demolished.
Last few remaining coal camp houses at Henry Clay, on Marrowbone Creek.
In 1942 Republic Steel Company of Ohio opened a small coal camp of about 12 houses on Road Fork in Pike County. Of course, the coal mine and town was named Republic, Kentucky (just
like Republic, Pennsylvania. Some of the mine and community survived into the 1980s, but, by the time I visited Republic, all that remained
was this retaining wall constructed out of underground coal cars.
Coal mining continues to the present day in the Elkhorn Coalfield. This is one of the entries into Arch's Bandmill II Mine
Nov. 2016 image by author
Nov. 2016 image by author
Image source lost
Nov. 2006 image by author
Nov. 2006 image by author
Google Street View image
Nov. 2006 image by author
Nov. 2006 image by author
Image courtesy of Mick Vest
Google Street View image
Google Street View image
Nov. 2006 image by author
Image courtesy of Douglas Foreback
Nov. 2006 image by author