Abandoned and Forgotten Communities in Virginia

In Virginia, the remnants of abandoned and forgotten communities provide a stark yet compelling insight into the state’s history.

Table Of Contents

Highland County
- New Hampden
Wise County

In Virginia, the remnants of abandoned and forgotten communities provide a stark yet compelling insight into the state’s history. These ghost towns, once vibrant and lively, now stand as quiet witnesses to the rise and fall of human settlements. From the coal mining villages in the Appalachian Mountains, which dwindled as the industry waned, to the small agricultural hamlets that faded away under the weight of urbanization and economic shifts, each location has its own distinct story. Engulfed by nature and marked by crumbling structures, these communities act as historical snapshots, preserving the stories of their former inhabitants and the socio-economic dynamics that led to their decline and abandonment.

Additional communities can be located under the Communities location filter.

Highland County

New Hampden

New Hampden, established around 1858, is notable for its historical flint quarry, which Native Americans utilized for crafting arrowheads. This quarry was highly valued and recognized as a neutral territory among native tribes.

The town is characterized by several key landmarks: the historic Rexrode grist mill, operational from 1816 to 1944, an old general store that remained open until the 1980s, a warehouse, and a few residential buildings.

Wise County

Osaka

In April 1902, the Stonega Coke & Coal Company was established to develop the coal properties of the Virginia Coal & Iron Company. ⁶ The latter had already begun mining operations in Wise County at Stonega in 1896. The company was under the control of Dr. John Shriver Wentz, a coal operator from Philadelphia, who was also the president of Virginia Coal & Iron.

Stonega Coke & Coal developed Osaka along a tributary of Callahan Creek, north of Appalachia, within the year. ^{1 23} Osaka was comprised of the Osaka No. 1 Mine, an underground coal mine with a daily capacity of 1,200 tons, 365 coke ovens with a daily production of 25 tons of coke, and an associated coal camp. ^{5 24} The community was divided into several distinct sections, including “Happy Hollow,” “Slabtown,” a series of older homes that had been moved onto concrete slabs for Black workers, and “Hunktown,” an ethnic enclave. ^{24 25} A post office was formally established on December 1. ²⁶

Osaka was connected to the Interstate Railroad, which linked the company’s various plants to the Louisville & Nashville and the Virginia & Southwestern Railroad at Appalachia. By 1908, the Interstate Railroad was extending its tracks by 12 miles to reach Norton, where it would establish a direct connection with the Norfolk & Western Railway.

In 1916, due to a growing number of Black workers, the company found it imperative to increase housing facilities. ²⁵ Consequently, they renovated an old supply house and transformed it into sixteen rooms, each designated for a family. The interior was finished using affordable building paper.

The original mines at Osaka were closed in 1927 but workers continued to live in the community and commute to nearby mines at Roda and elsewhere. ^{1 24}

Osaka circa 1930. Source: 1993233_G2_S2_010_10_003, Group 2, Series 2, Box 10, Folder 10, Westmoreland Coal Company photograph and video collection (Accession 1993.233), Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department, Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, DE 19807.

In 1926, a new brick company store was built to replace the original wood-framed building, which had been destroyed by fire. Then, on January 28, 1954, the Andover Shopping Center opened in Andover, operated by the Stonega Coke & Coal Company, ¹² replacing many of the company stores in the coal camps. ¹ The shopping center boasted a range of modern amenities, including a self-service supermarket, a snack bar with a soda fountain, as well as departments for furniture, hardware, appliances, and ready-to-wear clothing.

In October 1953, Stonega Coke & Coal embarked on a demolition project in Osaka with the aim of clearing out vacant buildings in “Hunktown,” “Happy Hollow,” “Slabtown,” and other locations. ^{24 25} Their inventory at that time included various structures: a ten-room boarding house for black workers, five three-room houses in “Slabtown,” a superintendent’s servant house, another servant’s house, an amusement hall, barns, garages for employees’ vehicles and horses, and a small church for black residents. Additionally, they planned to sell four four-room, four six-room, and one two-room structures situated above the coke ovens. ²⁵ In the “trot section,” they targeted the demolition of seven two-room and eleven three-room buildings. In 1958, the Roda Colored School, which catered to black children, was sold. One house was donated to the Andover Methodist Church, while another house was dismantled and repurposed as a scout cabin.

In November 1954, plans were unveiled for the construction of Osaka No. 2 Mine, a new underground coal mine. ⁸ The mine would be situated above the former Stonega tipple and would operate in the Imboden seam. It began operations in May 1955, boasting a capacity of 45,000 tons per month. ⁷

In August 1963, the Prescott No. 1 Mine commenced its production, yielding a daily output of up to 3,000 tons of coal. ¹⁶ The mine was dedicated to the memory of E. J. Prescott, the former vice president of the Virginia Coal & Iron Company. The Prescott No. 2 mine was later opened.

In April 1964, Stonega Coke & Coal and Westmoreland Coal merged to create the 13th largest coal mining company in the nation, boasting revenues of $20 million. ¹³ Westmoreland Coal, being twice as old as Stonega, was chosen as the name for the newly formed entity. These two companies had been amalgamated since 1929. ⁶

Westmoreland Coal continued to operate the Andover Shopping Center until 1977. ¹ The Osaka No. 2 Mine was closed and later sealed in September 1980, ¹⁰ followed by the Prescott No. 1 Mine in February 1981. ¹⁷ The Osaka tipple was reported abandoned by April 1988. ¹¹ The Prescott No. 2 Mine was closed in January 1994. ¹⁸ In 1999, the vacant 1926 company store building was demolished. ²⁴

In August 2005, Osaka Mining Corporation, a subsidiary of Massey Energy, began operating its new Osaka No. 1 Mine (D-7 Osaka Mine). ^{9 14} In January 2011, Alpha Natural Resources acquired Massey Energy, creating the nation’s second-largest coal mining company. ^{14 15} As part of this acquisition, Alpha Natural Resources established the Mill Branch Coal Corporation to oversee operations at Osaka.

Unfortunately, after facing four years of financial losses, Alpha Natural Resources filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 3, 2015. As a result of the bankruptcy, the company sold its Osaka operations to Blackjewel. ⁹

In September 2019, ⁹ after Blackjewel filed for bankruptcy and sold off its assets, INMET, a subsidiary of Tennessee-based Kopper Glo Mining, took over the operations. ⁴ As part of the sale, INMET and Kopper Glo offered to pay displaced Blackjewel miners $1 million over two years as compensation for lost wages and benefits. However, due to COVID-19 concerns about close working conditions, the D-7 Osaka Mine (Osaka Deep Mine Operation) was shut down in April 2020.

In March 2021, INMET faced a legal issue when it filed a lawsuit in Harlan County, Kentucky Circuit Court to prevent Kentucky Utilities from disconnecting its electricity due to non-payment. ³ INMET argued in the suit that during the mine’s idle period because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kentucky Utilities charged excessive amounts for providing electrical capacity despite no demand at that time.

In January 2022, INMET put forth a proposal to expand its D-7 Osaka Mine (Osaka Deep Mine Operation) with a second unit. However, the situation took a turn for the worse on April 5, 2023, when INMET filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief. ² The bankruptcy sale included its Virginia and Kentucky operations, including the D-7 Osaka Mine (Osaka Deep Mine Operation).

Stonega Coke & Coal Company Electrical Shop

Roda

Stonega Coke & Coal developed Roda along a tributary of Callahan Creek, north of Appalachia, in 1903. ^{19 23} It consisted of the Roda No. 1 Mine, an underground coal mine, and an associated coal camp. These facilities were connected to the Interstate Railroad, which linked the company’s various plants to the Louisville & Nashville and the Virginia & Southwestern Railroad at Appalachia. ⁵ A post office was established on January 21, 1907. ²⁶ By 1908, the Interstate Railroad was extending its tracks by 12 miles to reach Norton, where it would establish a direct connection with the Norfolk & Western Railway. Eventually, five mines were developed along the Imboden seam at Roda.

In October 1953, Stonega Coke & Coal embarked on a demolition project in Roda with the aim of clearing out vacant buildings in areas. ²⁵

On January 28, 1954, the Andover Shopping Center opened in Andover, operated by the Stonega Coke & Coal Company, ¹² replacing many of the company stores in the coal camps. ¹ The shopping center boasted a range of modern amenities, including a self-service supermarket, a snack bar with a soda fountain, as well as departments for furniture, hardware, appliances, and ready-to-wear clothing.

The original mines at Roda lasted until 1957. ¹⁹

In the late 1960s, Westmoreland Coal initiated strip mining operations near Roda, which led to the demolition of a significant portion of the Roda coal camp. Throughout its operation, the company used the original tipple until finally shutting down the mine in September 1995. ²¹

Later, in 2002, Nally & Hamilton Enterprises developed the Roda Resources surface mine. ²⁰ This venture stirred controversy due to its burial of McHenry Fork and Lick Branch. ²² The federal Office of Surface Mining, however, asserted that this action would ultimately lead to an improvement in the watershed. Another point of concern was the mine’s close proximity, within 300 feet, to residential areas that still remained in Roda. The surface mine continued its operations until 2013. ²⁰

Sources

DellaMea, Chris. “Osaka, Virginia.” Coalcampusa.com.
“PUBLIC NOTICE OF CHAPTER 11 SALE: INMET Mining, LLC.” DailyDAC, 19 Jun. 2023.
“Inmet is bankrupt and for sale.” Mountain Eagle, 21 Jun. 2023.
“Mines shut down for now.” The Post, 2 Apr. 2020.
“360 Coke Ovens.” Roanoke Times, 8 Apr. 1908, p. 7.
“Stonega Coke and Coal Company.” SNAC.
“New Osaka Mine Opened by Stonega Company.” The Post, 5 May 1955, p. 1.
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“New Andover Shopping Center to Open.” The Post, 21 Jan. 1954, p. 1.
“Stonega to merge with Westmoreland to form $20,000,000 firm.” The Post, 2 Apr. 1964, p. 1.
“Issues persist in coal mines 5 years after W.Va. blast.” Columbus Dispatch, 5 Apr. 2015.
Erman, Michael, and Ann Saphir. “Alpha agrees to buy Massey Energy for about $7.1 billion.” Reuters, 29 Jan. 2011.
“3,000 ton per day mine to be built by Stonega Coke & Coal Co. at Osaka.” The Post, 30 May 1963, p. 1.
“4400303.” Mine Safety and Health Administration.
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DellaMea, Chris. “Roda, Virginia.” Coalcampusa.com.
“4407051.” Mine Safety and Health Administration.
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Parsons, Shireen. “Mountaintop removal is scarring Virginia’s Far Southwest.” Roanoke Times, 7 Sept. 2001.
Tolson, Edward. “Wise County, Virginia, City of Norton Historic Architectural Survey.” Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 1994.
Torok, George D. “Osaka.” A Guide to Historic Coal Towns of the Big Sandy River Valley. University of Tennessee Press, 2004, pp. 271-273.
Shifflett, Crandall A. Coal Towns: Life. University of Tennessee Press, 1991, pp. 64-65, 210.
Johnson, Charles A. “More Postoffices.” A Narrative History of Wise County, Virginia, 1938, pp. 87-89.

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[…] Virginia Coal & Iron Company. 1 3 Under this new entity, mines and operations were initiated in Osaka in 1902, Roda in 1903, and Arno in 1908. Further expansions occurred with the acquisition of […]