History Archives - Abandoned

Winding Gulf Churches

Mining in the Winding Gulf coalfield of West Virginia began in the early 1900s, producing low-volatile smokeless coal, including metallurgical coal suitable for use in steel making. Mining was centered on the thick Beckley seam until it was economically exhausted by the 1950s, and the Pocahontas seam until the late 1980s.

But after the coal seams were exhausted, these coal camps were all but abandoned and today, only a few reminders of this booming era remain.

I was pretty excited to come across two notable churches in the Winding Gulf that are still extant.

The History of Lake Shawnee

The abandoned Lake Shawnee Amusement Park in southern West Virginia is probably home to more ghostly tales than any other place in the region—but they are just that, stories told as truths that have at times come at the expense of Native Americans.

New River Gorge’s Industrial Transformation

The arrival of the railroad into the New River Gorge in West Virginia transformed the region into one of the world’s most important coal mining regions.

A White Christmas at Limeville

It’s been a long ten years since we had a white Christmas down in northeast Kentucky. I took advantage of the serenity and beauty to stop at Limeville.

Totuskey Creek Store

The Totuskey Creek Store is an abandoned mercantile stand along the still waters of Totuskey Creek near Warsaw, Virginia.

Tull’s Hill

Tull’s Hill, located along the Lincoln Highway six miles west of Bedford, Pennsylvania, and features a four-room school that later became a gift shop.

Gingerbread Houses

Victorian-era (“gingerbread”) adornments are one of my favorite architectural highlights of any building, transforming otherwise dull designs into lavish representations.

Ashland’s Field Department Store and Sears

The Millard F. Field Building, located at Winchester Avenue and 16th Street in downtown Ashland, Kentucky, was home to the Field Department Store and Sears.

Friars Club Mural by Lumen Martin Winter

Friars Club Murals

While living in the now-demolished Friar’s Club in Cincinnati, Ohio between 1941 and 1944, Lumen Martin Winter painted murals on the walls of the residents’ lounge. The 1,600 square-foot scenes, painted in tempera emulsion on a casein ground, depicted regional highlights of industry, music, religion, and literature.