STIRRAT, WV
Stirrat was constructed by the Main Island Creek Coal Co. and named for that firm's General Manager - James
Stirrat. In the mid-1920's Main Island Creek sold their Logan Coalfield properties to West Virginia Coal and Coke Co., who designated their
new coal mine at Stirrat No. 15 Mine. They also produced coal from their No. 18 (Upper Cedar Grove seam) & No. 19 (No. 2 Gas seam) mines at Stirrat.
West Virginia Coal and Coke built a large tipple here to wash the coal from these mines and named it Dorrance Colliery. In the mid-1950's West
Virginia Coal and Coke closed their mines along Island Creek.
In December 1968 the Wheeling Steel Co. and Pittsburgh Steel Co. merged to form Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. Evidently, one of the first things they
decided was that they needed some coking coal reserves, and in 1969 they bought the mining properties at Stirrat, which had probably been dormant for several
years. Operating as W.P. Coal Co., W-P Coal Co., or just Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., the coal preparation facilities were probably rebuilt at
this time. According to state mine records, Wheeling-Pittsburgh stopped mining at Stirrrat in the mid-1970's. By that time, the steel industry in
America was starting to flounder into the "Rust Belt" era, and they probably had to divest themselves of what was once an asset.
In the 21st Century Massey Energy was running the mines at Stirrat under the name Diamond Energy / Stirrat Coa. Coal mining at Stirrat continued into the Alpha Natural Resources era.
Norma writes, "I was raised in Stirrat and lived in the coal camp called Littles
Creek. Thank you for the memories! Yes, Littles Creek was part of the coal camp. The
mines were so close that my daddy walked to work. My daddy moved there in 1950, and worked
for West Virginia Coal and Coke. We owed our souls to the company store when my daddy worked in that mine."
Early 21st Century aerial view of Stirrat showing part of the coal
mine and the old coal camp houses. Island Creek runs through the middle of the photo.
The preparation plant at Stirrat - probably rebuilt by W-P Coal on the same site as the
earlier Dorrance Colliery.
This had to have been one of the last functional coal aerial tramways left in America.
This bin with a little house on top remained from the Dorrance Colliery. The tram going up the
mountain is in the background.
Location where the CSX Railroad (originally C&O) crosses Rt. 44 in the Stirrat camp.
This is one of the nicer mining camps. The houses are large and there are sidewalks, too. The coal silos are in the background.
Another view of the camp from near the prep plant entrance.
Conveyor and aerial tram. I was told that the tramway
later flew apart and flung tram cars all over the mountain side. After this it was demolished, leaving the tram at Keystone
as (probably) the last remaining one in West Virginia.
Nice photo of the Stirrat tipple, also known as Dorrance Colliery.
This was probably the quintessential Southern West Virginia tipple in the fifties.
Carol sent us this great photograph. She wrote, "
I found a pic of the Dorrence Colliery. My friend Stella and I (age 14)were sitting at the corner of the theatre. The gas station (Junior Mercantile
Stores) is in view behind us. That was across the road from the YMCA.
Carol also sent in "a pic of the old 'Y,' as we knew it. This was the center of our world growing up.
From left of photo was the Post office, Grocery and clothing (we had to go to Omar to buy furniture), Restaurant, which had 3 divisions for service, (eating side, beer side, and 'colored' side all divided by walls), and Theatre.
On Sunday's after church there was always a big ball game in the lot behind the 'Y.'
My Mom, Bertha O'Brien was a short order cook there for many years.
We had no cars then - we walked everywhere we went, or rode a bike.
We did have school bus service, if you lived more then a mile from school, that was available when we started Jr. High, which was at Omar - grades 7 thru 9.
We lived as a huge family, and we knew everyone who lived there. Folks watched out for the kids and told the parents if they saw us misbehaving. We paid the price too - no hesitation on whippings (don't think it warped us in any way).
We were taught RESPECT. We were all poor but I don't think we realized how RICH we were."
Carol Ambrosetti also shared some more memories of growing up at Stirrat: "Just thinking of what our community had other then the YMCA. A gas station, (I
recall gas being 11 cents a gallon and cigarettes were 22 cents a pack), coal company doctor's office, church, and a 4 room school that taught grades
1 through 6. 1st and 2nd grades had single rooms; 3rd and 4th shared a room, as well as 5th and 6th. There were some pretty strict teachers with
a paddle - if you got a paddling at school you took a note home and you received another from Mom or Dad. (Today they call it child abuse.)
Didn't hurt any of us!! Everyone was called Mr. and Mrs.; we did not call any of our elders by their first name. To this day I do not know a
lot of those folks first names. I remember the coal company scrip we used for money. The war was going on, and I remember the ration stamps for
food and shoes. The kids took pennies to school for a stamp book that went toward savings bonds. We collected the milk weed pods in coffee sacks
and were told it was to make parachutes for the army. I remember getting 2 pair of shoes a year. One pair was for church, and were a little dresser then
school shoes. How I hated those brown lace up shoes for school. You could not wear them out, and if the sole came loose, Dad was there with a
shoe last and awl to fix them. We pulled off our shoes and winter underwear May 1st, no matter how cold it was, and went bare foot all Summer. How
I remember the stubbed toes and cut feet on glass playing in the creek. The kids rambled the hills, and swung from grape vines out over cliffs to
land in huge piles of leaves. Not one of us ever broke a bone or got snake bite, and trust me rattlesnakes and copperheads were everywhere. Kids even smoked
"rabbit weed" sometimes. My dad could whistle loud enough to call us home for supper. We had no TV to watch or electronic games, so we had
to entertain ourselves. Mom would give us a coffee can and tell us to pick blackberries in the summer for a berry cobbler. We gave up many
berry patchs to Mr. Rattlesnake when we heard him rattle, but the cobblers were worth it. At dusk the kids of our camp would play Tin Can Alley
out in the dirt road under an old street light, or hide and seek until we were called in for bed. (There was no traffic after quitting time at
the mines, and none of us had a car.) The miners all walked to and from work, unless a truck with running boards would pick up several miners
on both side of the truck and give them a ride. The Stirrat Community church is still there. It has had a face lift since the early years and
looks very good. A lady that worked with the church for many years told me she found the records of the coal miners names that donated 50 centes
a week to build the church, and my dad's name was on it: Everett O'Brien. But her and my Dad are gone now , and I don't know what happened
with the records. The old YMCA, the school, and the church had an old gray pebble stucco type finish on the outside. I guess that was the "in thing"
back then. The school has since been torn down as well as the YMCA. But the memories are very much alive for a little longer."
Bing Maps image
Feb. 2002 image by author
Feb. 2002 image by author
Feb. 2002 image by author
Feb. 2002 image by author
Feb. 2002 image by author
Feb. 2002 mage by author
Feb. 2002 image by author
1950s image from the "Keystone Coal Manual"
1950s image from the "Keystone Coal Manual"
Image courtesy of Carol O'Brien Ambrosetti
Image contributed by Carol O'Brien Ambrosetti of unknown origin