N&W in 1903 -- Guyandot and Tug River

NW Mailing List nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Mon Jan 14 16:16:34 EST 2008

Gordon,

My third book will cover the first 100 years (1888-1988) of commercial coal mining in McDowell County West Virginia (along with a few brief side stories such as the N&W wreck off of Maybeury bridge, wreck of the Powhatan Arrow at Powhatan, Wilcoe yard facilities, Eckman yard, excerpts from the Peerless Coal & Coke Co's mine foreman's diary of 1898 and a couple of other letters I am still trying to get permission to use.)

The book basically records who developed the coal leases and communities, when, acreage involved, tons produced, employment and over what period of time. It also goes over how the communities got their names and how the names changed from time to time. The chapters are arranged by segments of the N&W. As an example one chapter covers all of the communities and mines along the mainline from Maybeury to Northfork; the following chapter presents all of the mines and communities along North Fork Branch, the following chapter picks up on the mainline from Keystone to Welch, etc. The simplist way to write the book is to follow the mainline and branches of the N&W in McDowell County so there is a mix of mining and railroad pictures. My goal is to be able to at least have a picture of the coal facilities and the company store for each mining operation although pictures will be thin from Roderfield to Isaban along the main line. Photographs will range from about 1895 through the 1950s.

The book will also cover the love-hate relationship between the coal operators, railroad, land companies and marketing agencies as well as the geographical tariffs of the 1920s. There will also be a number of other related topics such as how the name "Pocahontas Coal" was protected by a US supreme court decision which included defining the geographic boundaries of the Pocahontas coal field.

Book is expected to be about 600 pages in a double column format and I am hoping for publication in late 2008. As usual everytime you think you are finished with a segment you find new information worthy of note. Library of Congress cataloging in number and copyright are already in place.

On a slightly different note both "Gary Hollow" and "Coalwood" were juried into Tamarack (West Virginia Arts and Craft Center at Beckley, WV) for sale and both are being reviewed for upcoming book reviews in the "Applachian Journal" published by Applachian State University and the "Journal of Southern History" published by Rice University.

Alex Schust
----- Original Message -----
From: NW Mailing List
To: NW Mailing List
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 2:58 PM
Subject: Re: N&W in 1903 -- Guyandot and Tug River


Alex,

Thanks for your detailed information. I know of your books on "Coalwood" and "Gary Hollow," but can you tell us anything about your upcoming book.

Gordon Hamilton
----- Original Message -----
From: NW Mailing List
To: NW Mailing List
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 11:16 AM
Subject: Re: N&W in 1903 -- Guyandot and Tug River


In 1903 M.J. Caples was associated with Pocahontas Coal& Coke Company which N&W purchased in 1901, Joseph I. Doran was General Solicitor of the N&W and A.J Hemphill was Secretary and Assistant Treasurer of N&W.

When the N&W took over the various railroads in McDowell County, WV (Iaeger & Southern, Tug River and North Fork, West Virginia South Western, Caretta Railway Company) Joesph Doran and A.J. Hemphill were normally named to the Board of Directors. Caples was recognized as an able railroad engineer and had been on the Board of Directors of the Iaeger & Southern and Tug River and North Fork.

I have never found any reason for the community of Hemphill to be named for Hemphill other than A.J. Hemphill. An excerpt from my upcoming book:

"Hemphill was established as a community when the N&W decided to have a coaling station at the location in 1902. Hemphill was named for Mr. A. J. Hemphill who was Secretary of the Norfolk and Western Railway Company and assistant Treasurer from 1897. He left the N&W after 22 years of service on March 1, 1905 to become a Vice-President of the Guaranty Trust Company of New York."



"The Welch Coal & Coke Co. opened the Welch No. 1 and Hemphill mines in1903. The Hemphill mine was also known as the Welch Coaling station for the N&W. These mines were located 0.5 and 1.0 miles from Welch. They mined the Pocahontas Thin Vein or Tug River Smokeless that averaged 3 feet 4 inches thick. The first coal shipment was made on July 5, 1903 with the N&W consuming about 99 percent of the coal produced at the Hemphill mine in its first year of operation. However after that first year the coal was sold on the market"



The mines in the area of Hemphill weren't chartered until 1902 and the mining company decided to have Mine No. 1 and Hemphill Mine and since none of the stockholders were named Hemphill, it is a resonable assumption that the N&W named the location after A.J. Hemphill and the community and tunnel name followed similar to the N&W naming of Huger.



I have never discovered any information to invalidate the assumption noted above.



Alex Schust





----- Original Message -----

From: NW Mailing List
To: N&W Mailing 1List
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2008 4:05 PM
Subject: N&W in 1903 -- Guyandot and Tug River


RAILROAD CHARTERED THAT WILL DEVELOP VAST COAL DEPOSITS
------
The Guyandotte and Tug River Railway Company, of Welch, W. Va., has been granted a charter to build and operate a railroad from Clark's Gap to a point where the Norfolk and Western railroad crosses Pine Creek. Capital, $50,000, incorporators, T. W. R??th??d [blurred], J. I. Doran, of Philadelphia, A. J. Hemphill, of Spring Lake, N. J., and M. J. Caples, of Philadelphia, and E. H. Allen, of Lansdowne [?? blurred, best estimate], Pa.

Bluefield Daily Telegraph
June 21, 1903

[This railroad, owned by the N&W, would have connected the end of the N&W's Bluestone Extension, i.e., Widemouth Branch, at Clarks Gap -- the same Clarks Gap that was the summit of the Virginian Ry's main line -- with the N&W's Ohio Extension at Wharncliffe, 62.27 miles. See the attached excerpt from the 1903 Annual Report map. This line, and some branches, were shown as a proposed line on Annual Report maps through the 1927 Annual Report. In 1926 the N&W, C&O and VGN all requested ICC permission to built in this territory. In 1928 the ICC authorized the VGN to build along the Guyandot River into Gilbert and the G&TR RR to build between Wharncliffe and Gilbert, which became the N&W's Gilbert Branch. From 1928 through 1936 Annual Reports the proposed line was shown as extending only from Clarks Gap to Pineville and a connection with the VGN. This remainder of the original proposal was never built, and this remainder was not shown after 1936. Note that previous postings to the Mailing List revealed M. J. Caples to be N&W Pocahontas Division Superintendent in 1904 and Chief Engineer on the construction of the Clinchfield RR a few years later. Also, is there any connection between A. J. Hemphill and the Hemphill Tunnels on the Pokey Div.? Finally, be advised that there have been several different spellings of the name of the subject river through the years.]

Gordon Hamilton


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