Tag: Abandoned

With the end of hunting season and the fall of the leaves, I embarked on a journey through state forests and wildlife management areas near my home to uncover the remnants of old pig iron furnaces.

The Louisville & Nashville (L&N) Railroad’s Rowland Branch stands as a testament to an era when railroads were the heartbeats of American towns. Stretching across 33 miles, this line linked Stanford on the L&N’s Lebanon Branch to Richmond, passing through Lancaster.

The rise of coal in Virginia in the early 1900s was propelled by the expansion of railroads and the increasing demand from industrializing cities. This era saw the development of many new coal mines in the Appalachian region, transforming local economies and shaping the landscape of communities in southwestern Virginia.