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JENKINJONES, WV
Jenkinjones, at the headwaters of Tug Fork River, gets its colorful name from pioneer coal baron Jenkin Jones. His son, James Ellwood Jones, was General Manager of Pocahontas Consolidated Collieries
Company, and they built Jenkinjones in 1911-12 to support their No. 6, 7 and 8 mines. In 1917 PCCC morphed into Pocahontas Fuel Co. No. 8 mine production ended in 1953.
In the mid-20th Century Consolidation Coal Co. became the owner of Pocahontas Fuel's properties. They continued to mine coal in No. 6 and 7 mines in the Pocahontas 3 seam, and, in 1978 opened a new
Jenkinjones operation: No. 4 mine in the Pocahontas 4 seam. After 68 years of production No. 6 mine closed in 1980. In 1983 No. 7 shut down. Finally, the closure of Mine No. 4 in 1989 spelled the
end of coal mining at Jenkinjones.
Jenkinjones was a "model" coal camp, one that the coal company could show off and be proud of, although the inhabitants still had to use outhouses and carry water from
hydrants. The post office opened in 1912. Several of the company-built homes were of masonry construction, and some areas were illuminated with street lights. Two company
stores served the community, as did a movie theater. A few churches and schools for white and black children rounded out the community.
Ruins of the company store and mine office. Click here for high resolution image.
The Jenkinjones coal preparation plant at the end of its useful life.
Buildings constructed by the Pocahontas Fuel Company.
This photo shows the sad condition of the Pocahontas Fuel Company store in Jenkinjones, WV.
I think this was the office for the mine.
This wooden railroad trestle is still in
existence. The trestle originally supported the railroad going up to the Jenkinjones tipple, which used to be located at the
back of the hollow.
This was originally the United Mine Workers union hall. Like Jenkinjones, the
UMWA has seen better days.
Great architectural styling on the Jenkinjones Methodist Church.
These large cinderblock homes are unique among coal camp houses in McDowell County. This sturdy construction, plus the sidewalks, are evident that this wa
once one of the so called "model" company towns.
Cinderblock houses can be found in other parts of the Jenkinjones coal camp. This house still sports its original metal roof. Company-built houses on each side of it
have been demolished.
Pocahontas Fuel Co. also provided wood framed houses to its employees at Jenkinjones. These houses still have "coal houses" in front of them. When the company delivered coal
to the homes it would be deposited in these "coal houses". This picture shows, again, how nearby company homes have been razed. Many of the remaining houses are unoccupied.
Once there were continuous rows of houses along the road, but now there are gaps from the demolition of some homes.
There are also these smaller company houses at Jenkinjones. As
you can see, many are gone, leaving gaps in what was once a continuous row of coal camp houses.
Christmas in Jenkinjones.
In a 1998 article in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph Billie Pennington wrote about living at Jenkinjones in the 1930s: "Living there was good. It was well kept, clean and peaceful. To me, this town was one of the nicest that Pocahontas Fuel
owned. I remember our sleigh-riding parties out of No. 8 Harlow. We always had a nice bonfire to warm us. I learned to roller skate on
the sidewalks there. We had a theatre that always had good movies for us. There were two nice company stores. At one time, we even had a
tennis court. There was a closeness among the residents that has long passed in a lot of towns."
Sources:
Schust, Alex P. Billion Dollar Coalfield. Two Mule Publishing, 2010.
WV state mining records
History of coal mining. History of West Virginia. History of McDowell County West Virginia. History of Coal. Research history.
History of Welch WV. Pocahontas Coal Seam. Historic Pictures. Historic Photographs. Genealogy research. Railroad books.
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Historic architecture. Historic buildings. Historic towns. Organized labor. Unions. United Mine workers. Archives.
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