Nuttallburg



The Tipple 

"where coal was sorted, stored, loaded into rail cars, or transferred to the site's coke ovens. tipple comes from the practice in some mines of tipping ore cars to unload them. The Fordson Coal Company, who leased the Nuttallburg Mine in the 1920's, built this tipple in 1923-24. This is the 3rd tipple on the site. Here in New River Gorge the mining process was complicated by the fact that the coal seam was half-way up the gorge slope. Mining here meant moving coal from the headhouse at the mine entrance down the conveyor to the tipple at the gorge bottom. The tipple was the operation's centerpiece."







"large structure that climbs the slope in front of you was a conveyor that carried coal from the mine entrance high up the gorge wall to the tipple behind you. It was an innovation and expensive device for moving coal downhill. 1,385 feet long, it was one of the longest such conveyors ever built. Completed in 1926 during the period when Henry Ford upgraded facilities here, it employed a state-of-the-art "button and rope" technology that replaced an obsolete, more dangerous, labor-intensive system."




 


"was an unincorporated community located in Fayette County, West VA, named by English pioneer John Nuttall, who discovered coal in this area. Nuttallburg had a post office until 1955, just outside of Winona."









"One of the first things John Nuttall did when he opened the Nuttallburg Mine in 1873 was build 80 coke ovens. Workers produced coke here for nearly 50 years, but changing markets and new technology made coke ovens obsolete. Historians believe Nuttallburg's ovens have been idle since about 1920."


















"All mines had a store, owned by the mining company, that carried everything the miner and his family needed. The store became the town's social center. Since the coal company literally owned the town, the company store was usually the only place to shop. 


"The stores had an excellent stock of day to day goods but failed badly at Christmas time tin having almost nothing out of the daily ordinary ... a man was driven into buying, as his wife's Christmas present, a good pocket knife, a washtub or a new axe." (I really enjoy the practical side of things, I know it might be romantic or whatnot I would must prefer someone use an item(s) that I give them rather than just allow it to sit on a self or such. just saying!!!)


"The company store was part of an economic system that often abused workers. To ensure that miners shopped only at the company store, companies paid wages with scrip, (company currency, tokens or credit) which could be spent only at the company store."



Hey there! Hope you are learning something today, what great history West Virginia has have ....such amazing beauty and great times to be had but all. We took this trip in late August 2024 ... for a week or so ...and drove our Subaru instead of our normal traveling vehicle F-150 ...it was different to put all those items in there ... kayaks and bikes were on the back of the Subaru ..so it was so different ...I think the hubs prefer after all said in done the F-150 situation ...but it was a nice change. He thinks the gas mileage was a bit better in the F-150 ...normal when you drive the Subaru is great ...but it is not loaded down with travel items. LOL!! This was a trip where we did have the chance to bike several areas, and some walking ... the kayaking we did was once we arrived back into VA with friends. What a great trip. We had any aches and pains ...but it sure was fun. What a blast. Hope you are well. Take Care. Beth ( ; 

Comments

Sandi said…
It must have taken forever to build those stone walls!
Jenn Jilks said…
You sure have adventures!!! I liked it.
Linda said…
Interesting. I can’t help thinking of the song “16 tons.”
“I owe my soul to the company store.”

Popular posts from this blog

Bar U Ranch National Historical Site, Alberta, Canada

Shady Valley, TN

Hoh Rainforest, Hall of Mosses trail