Elkhorn, WV

A coal camp along Elkhorn Creek operated by Crozer Coal and Coke Company. The post office opened in 1888. In 1926 Crozer upgraded the colliery with a 3000 ton per day tipple. Crozer Coal and Coke's last coal production in McDowell County came in 1954. But in 2000, the only ruins of the mine I found were some concrete foundations along the railroad. However, if one were to look up on the hills around the town he or she may find some remnants of the Elkhorn mine.

The other coal company to operate at Elkhorn was Houston Coal and Coke Company, mining a lease from Crozer Land Association. Their mines operated from 1888 until 1930. Beehive coke ovens supplemented Houston's Elkhorn coal mines until 1931.

Image source forgotten Miner working in one of Elkhorn's coal mines.
1918 image from "The Black Diamond" via Google Books Tipple, coke ovens, and company houses of Houston Coal and Coke. What a life - living with the railroad and beehive coke ovens right at your front porch. How bad was life in Alabama or Poland or Italy that this was a step up? And yet "The Black Diamond" magazine stresses the attributes of this coal camp being "modern in every respect, being equipped with electric lights, running water and the conveniences conveniences usually found in cities of some pretensions."
Undated image courtesy of David Barna This was the Crozer Coal and Coke section of Elkhorn in its heyday. The building in the center background with rounded, multiple roof pitches was the company store.
Early 1970s image courtesy of David Barna By the time this photo was taken, at least a few of the original houses were replaced by a mobile home.
Early 1970s image courtesy of David Barna In the background of this Elkhorn photo from long ago, one can barely make out a hillside church that is no longer there. Click here for high resolution image.
Oct. 2015 image by Carol Highsmith Most of these coal company houses look abandoned. The house on the left is getting new siding in this photo, but it burned in 2019. Click here for high resolution image.
Mar. 2022 image by author These coal camp houses a few years later were even more abandoned. The red brick "coal house" is from a long-removed coal company house. These structures were where the company wagon / truck would deposit the coal at regular intervals for the family's use. Click here for high resolution image.
Mar. 2005 image by author Looking down into the Elkhorn coal camp. Some of the Elkhorn homes did have running and water and indoor toilets. Others made do with outhouses and water hydrants shared between three or four houses.
Nov. 2000 image by author This photograph shows the former Norfolk & Western railroad passing through Elkhorn.
Mar. 2004 image by author Coal miners' homes in Elkhorn.
Mar. 2022 image by author Elkhorn, W.Va. streetscape. The former St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church is in the background at the top of the hill.
Mar. 2005 image by author St. Mary's Greek Catholic church was built in 1912 for all of the eastern European immigrants in Elkhorn at that time. They must not still be there, because St. Mary's congregation has moved to a new church in Bluefield.
Mar. 2005 image by author Note the Slavic writing on the church cornerstone.
Circa 1970 image courtesy of David Barna The priest giving the Easter blessing at St. Marys Church. Click here for high resolution image.
Circa 1970 image courtesy of David Barna Another view of the Easter blessing of the baskets in the Slavic tradition. This traditionally takes place on the Saturday before Easter.
Apr. 1966 image courtesy of David Barna Members of St. Marys Greek Catholic Church posing on the church steps.
May 1973 image courtesy of David Barna A final look at St. Marys Church. An anecdote I remember hearing or reading was that Eastern Europeans on the other side of the mountain (Ashland, Cherokee, Worth, etc.) would walk (or ride a mantrip?) through mined out sections of the Pocahontas No. 3 coal to come to church here, but that is unsubstantiated.
Image courtesy of David Barna The above photos of St. Marys Church in the 1960s and 70s were contributed by David Barna. His grandfather, Michael Barna Senior, is pictured here with his wife Mary Zazuyak and their two daughters.
Apr. 1966 image courtesy of David Barna Here is Mr. Barna with two coal mining mules at an unidentified mine portal.
Mar. 2004 image by author This wooden water tank up on the hill above Elkhorn held the water that the people of the town used in their homes.
Mar. 2004 image by author Below the tank, at the bottom of the mountain, this complex of old buildings comprised the water filtration plant of the Elkhorn Public Service District.
Mar. 2022 image by author Coal companies would locate a row of garages in their coal camps for residents who owned automobiles.
Mar. 2005 image by author Elkhorn, W.Va. - an Appalachian coal camp.
Mar. 2022 image by author Management level houses along the tracks.
Mar. 2022 image by author A closer look at this once nice management level house reveals that it is not long for this world. Yet someone is still mowing the grass. Note the double gabled roof.
Mar. 2004 image by author Former company houses. The green and white color scheme was supposed to have been uniform throughout Elhorn when the coal company owned the town.
Mar. 2004 image by author The bosses row - the largest homes in Elkhorn that the coal company probably built for the superintendent and other company officials.
1918 image from "The Black Diamond" via Google Books These houses when they were new.
Mar. 2022 image by author John J. Lincoln, who was chief engineer and superintendent for the Crozer Land Association, had this home constructed for himself and his family in 1899. He was later Vice President and General Manager of the coal company. He allowed orchestra concerts on the lawn of this house to uplift the Elkhorn community. The small structure on the left was a school for his children. After Lincoln's death, Pocahontas Fuel Co. used his former home for board meetings and other functions.
July 2023 image by author Sadly, restoration wasn't in the cards for the school. It is shown here as demolition had begun.
July 2023 image by author The elevator shaft can be seen on the left of the John Lincoln house in this picture.
July 2023 image by author Detail of the elevator control.
July 2023 image by author Outdoor swimming pool at the Lincoln house is original to the home.
July 2023 image by author I was able to view the interior of the house because the current owners, who have been restoring the historic home, opened the house to the public to enjoy a delightful dinner theatre, which I recommend. The wainscoting shown here is painted white now, but was orignally mahogany.
July 2023 image by author An upstairs bedroom.
July 2023 image by author The attic is on the third and top floor.
Mar. 2022 image by author A modern coal loading facility that is just upstream of Elkhorn. It opened around 2019. A Norfolk-Southern coal trail hauls loaded gondola cars in the background.

Sources:

Schust, Alex P. Billion Dollar Coalfield. Two Mule Publishing, 2010.

Sone, April, WV SHPO. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Lincoln, John J. House. 1992

WV state mining records