Coal camps in Fayette County, West Virginia facts for kids

Coal towns, also known as "coal camps," were special communities built in places like Fayette County, West Virginia. These towns were created to help people get to the rich coal deep inside the ground. Many were built in deep valleys or ravines. This made it easy to reach the coal seams on the hillsides. Miners could then drop or send the mined coal down to railway lines at the bottom of the valley.

Many of these places were "company towns." This means the mining company owned everything, including the houses, stores, and schools. When the coal mines closed down, these towns often disappeared completely. However, a few, like Thurmond, West Virginia, still exist today, though they are much smaller than they used to be.

Fayette County is special because it has parts of three important coal mining areas: the New River Coalfield, the Kanawha Coalfield, and the Greenbrier Coalfield. Below is a list of some of the known coal towns in these areas. You can find more information here.

New River Coalfield

Kanawha Coalfield

Greenbrier Coalfield