Curtin, Nicholas County, West Virginia

Curtin
—  Unincorporated community  —
Curtin Location within the state of West Virginia
Coordinates: 38°17′29″N 80°38′24″W / 38.29139°N 80.64°W / 38.29139; -80.64Coordinates: 38°17′29″N 80°38′24″W / 38.29139°N 80.64°W / 38.29139; -80.64
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
County	Nicholas
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes
FIPS code
GNIS feature ID

Curtin is a nearly abandoned unincorporated community in eastern Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States. The area is situated at the bottomland surrounding the mouth of the Cherry River at its confluence with the Gauley River. Curtin is also the location where West Virginia Route 55 and West Virginia Route 20 cross the Gauley.

History

Curtin was once a lumber boomtown and served a hub for the transportation of lumber in Nicholas and Webster Counties in the early part of the 1900s. It was the site of a railroad bridge across the Cherry and a ferry across the Gauley on the road between Richwood and Craigsville.

Eventually, timber harvest fell in the area, the railroad stopped operation, and a bridge replaced the ferry for motorized traffic. Now all that remains of the town are a couple of houses, some scattered foundations, the modern highway bridge, the old pillars of the since-demolished railroad bridge, and a rail trail accessible from Holcomb.