Stotesbury, West Virginia

Stotesbury was a coal mining town in Raleigh County in the U.S. state of West Virginia that flourished during the 1930s. The community was named for Edward T. Stotesbury, then the president of Beaver Coal Company. [ [http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/westvirginia2006/westvirginia04.htm Eleven Shadows Travels: West Virginia 2006 ] ]

Stotesbury was the former home of eight-term U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd [ [http://byrd.senate.gov/speeches/2006_may/anniversary.html Senator Byrd - Senate Speeches ] ] . Currently there are only a handful of houses left from the once bustling town.

Mining

The Stotesbury mining camp is located on Winding Gulf Creek. It was originally operated by the E.E. White Coal Co. and named for Edward T. Stotesbury, who was president of Beaver Coal Co. at the time. Mining was in the Beckley seam. In the late 1930s, the Koppers Coal Company took over coal mining operations in Stotesbury, which ended in 1958. In the mid-1960s, Eastern Associated Coal rebuilt the mine and operated in Stotesbury until the mid-1980s. White Mountain LLC rebuilt the mine in 2001, but closed it down one year later, in 2002. [ [http://www.coalcampusa.com/sowv/gulf/stotesbury/stotesbury.htm Stotesbury, Wv ] ]

Other buildings

Stotesbury's high school, Mark Twain High School, is now closed. The town had two segregated churches, which are still standing today but have fallen into disrepair. [ [http://www.elevenshadows.com/travels/westvirginia2006/westvirginia04.htm Eleven Shadows Travels: West Virginia 2006 ] ]

Stotesbury's St. John's Baptist Church will hopefully undergo some changes as a grant is being written to restore the church and the area to its original condition in hopes to be used as a private academy. Permission is being sought by the academy to purchase the area from the owners. The owners of the Stotesbury Coal Camp are still affiliated with Beaver Coal Company in 2006.

This is a forlorn-looking church church in Raleigh County, West Virginia, where the inside is perhaps more interesting than the outside. The cornerstone of this church was laid in 1918 - the pastor at the time was Rev. Patterson - who is listed on the cornerstone. There is a second story above the nave. The upstairs is in better condition than the downstairs as I ventured up there in Dec. 2006. The roof is collapsed but the basic structure seems sound. This church is outside the town, on an ATV dirt trail road marked with a sign that says “Stotesbury Camp.” According to the West Virginia Department of Culture and History, they indicate that this building is one of West Virginia's most endangered historical sites. Their department states, "This two-and-a-half story church was constructed by the E.E. White Coal Company in 1918 to serve the African-American population in and around Stotesbury in Raleigh County. The construction of the church was reportedly funded by local coal companies as well as local residents. The church was reported to be in use until the early 1980s, when its congregation moved to Beckley. At present, the church is abandoned."

There is a cemetery outside the church that dates back to individuals who are buried there from 1912 until 1969. The last name on one of the headstones is "Tench".

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