Related Posts
Coketon’s Coke Ovens
Many of the abandoned “beehive” coke ovens of the Davis Coal & Coke Company are still visible today in the company town of Coketon, West Virginia.
East Liverpool, Ohio
East Liverpool, Ohio, once lovingly referred to as the “Crockery City” and the “Pottery Capital of the World,” is the classic definition of the Rust Belt. Much like Pittsburgh with its reliance on steel mills and Cleveland with its manufacturing plants, East Liverpool was dependent around the pottery industry because of ample natural resources, access to newly laid railroads, the Ohio River, and an untapped market.
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.
A Spectacular Sunrise at Young’s High Bridge
At sunrise, a stunning fog enshrouded the Kentucky River Palisades and the deserted Young’s High Bridge in central Kentucky.