Trammel was built in 1918-1919 by the Virginia Banner Coal Corporation. After being briefly operated by Wakenva Coal Co., Trammel became the property of Vance L. Bird in the 1930's. Bird named his company the Big Banner Coal Corporation. Mining was in the Upper Banner and Lower Banner coal seams. In 1986, after Bird and his wife had died, Trammel residents formed the Trammel Homeowners Association, which raised more than $90,000 to help residents purchase their homes, which they had been renting.
Bluefield Daily Telegraph, August 18, 1990, titled "Former Mining Camp Steps Toward Modern Times."
TRAMMEL, Va. (AP) - This castoff coal mining camp is about to become a modern town, four years after it was bought for $70,000 by its tenants in a highly publicized auction. Dickenson County officials broke ground for the community's $1.3 million water and sewer system on Thursday.
"This is a very, very special day," said Delores Rose, of the Trammel Homeowners Association. "At one point, I did lose faith and give up, but now we have to look toward what we're going to have."
The Trammel Homeowners Association was formed soon after residents learned their rented homes would be sold at auction to settle the estate of M.S. Bird, who bought the property from Banner Coal Co. about 50 years ago.
The auction attracted national media attention as the community of two-dozen families held bake sales and yard sales to raise money to buy the 27 homes. Donations came in from organizations in several states.
Six different agencies are providing funding for the project including the Appalachian Regional Commission, $500,000, and the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, $700,000.