Kay Moor, New River Gorge National River, West Virginia
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29.58/3-.N 42 I Ka.. Resource Study, «lricHistoric historic resource study Clemson Universi PUBLIC DOCUMEHTfc " pEPOSITORY ITE1* 3 1604 019 472 622 OCT 1 1990 CLEMSON LH&RARY KAY MOOR NEW RIVER GORGE NATIONAL RIVER • WEST VIRGINIA historic resource study by Sharon A. Brown July 1990 KAY MOOR NEW RIVER GORGE NATIONAL RIVER • WEST VIRGINIA UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation http://archive.org/details/historicresourceOOriver CONTENTS Page PREFACE vii INTRODUCTION ix CHAPTER ONE: FAYETTE COUNTY COAL 1 Fayette County 1 Use of "Smokeless" Coal 3 Low Moor Iron Company 5 Opening the West Virginia Mines 7 New River and Pocahontas Consolidated Coal and Coke Company 10 Influence of West Virginia Coal Production 12 CHAPTER TWO: THE KAY MOOR MINE 15 Kay Moor No. 1 15 Kay Moor No. 2 17 Kay Moor Coke 18 The Miners 20 Immigrant Miners 20 Black Miners 23 Mine Safety 29 Mining Skills 33 Wages 35 World War I 36 Labor 37 CHAPTER THREE: THE TOWN OF KAY MOOR 57 Coal Towns 57 Kay Moor Demographics 62 Evolution and Layout of Kay Moor 63 Company Housing 66 Coal Town Architecture 69 Transportation 70 Sanitation 72 Lighting 73 Fences 73 Sidewalks 73 Fuel 73 Medical Care 74 Police 74 Company Store 74 Schools 79 Churches and Cemetery 80 Post Office 81 Bank 82 Recreational and Social Activities 82 Gardens and Hunting 84 Alcohol 85 Mobility 86 in Page Other Employment Opportunities 87 Abandonment of Kay Moor Top and Bottom 88 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 90 HISTORICAL BASE MAPS 91 APPENDIXES 99 Appendix 1: Shipping Statement, The Low Moor Iron Company of Virginia, April 17, 1903 101 Appendix 2: Managers of Kay Moor No. 1 102 Appendix 3: Production of Coal and Coke Kay Moor No. 1 103 Appendix 4: Kaymoor Precinct, Fayetteville District, 1910 U.S. Census 104 Appendix 5: Nationalities of Persons Employed at Kay Moor No. 1, 1907-1915 112 Appendix 6: Men Employed at Kay Moor No. 1 113 Appendix 7: Kay Moor No. 1 Employees, August 1915 114 Appendix 8: Kay Moor Mine #1, Payroll Book #13, February, 1925 117 Appendix 9: District Mine Inspector's Report Kaymoor No. 1. August 2-3, 1922 119 Appendix 10: Fatalities at Kay Moor No. 1 122 Appendix 11: Wages Paid at Kay Moor Mine, 1902-1903 124 Appendix 12: 1919 Wage Scale 125 Appendix 13: Rent Journal 1919-1920 126 Appendix 14: Distribution of Expenditures of Miners' Families in 1922 128 Appendix 15: Inventory Store #9, December 1906 129 Appendix 16: U.S. Coal Commission Schedule, Store #9, 1922-1923 135 Appendix 17: Kay Moor Postmasters 138 Appendix 18: "Herberts Greater Minstrels" Kay Moor Theatre January 19, 1917 . 139 ILLUSTRATIONS 141 PERSONS CONSULTED DURING RESEARCH 178 REPOSITORIES VISITED DURING RESEARCH 179 BIBLIOGRAPHY 181 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES REGISTRATION FORM 191 IV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page 1. Kay Moor and Vicinity c. 1933 142 2. Coke Ovens, Power House, Tipple & Headhouse Kay Moor W.Va. February 1920 . 144 3. Coke Ovens Looking West Kay Moor W.Va. January 1920 146 4. Kay Moor Mine No. 1, n.d 148 5. Kay Moor camp from Mine No. 1 January 1920 151 6. Coal Camp at Kay Moor Bottom Coke Ovens Visible 152 7. Kay Moor "Bottom" Coal Camp 154 8. New Camp at Top of Mountain, Kaymoor Mine No. 1, January 1920 156 9. C&H H-8 #1612 with Coal Drag near Kaymoor, WV 1947 158 10. C&O Mallet with Coal Drag near Kaymoor, WV 1947 160 11. The New River Gorge near Kaymoor, WV 1947 C&O Ry 162 12. Three People in Kay Moor Haulage Car 1946 164 13. Mountain Haulage Kay Moor Mine No. 1 January 1920 166 14. Mike Pashion on Kay Moor haulage, 1954 168 15. Mrs. Eades at her home located at Kay Moor Top 168 16. Clifford Ward, Nana Watkins, Mary Ward at the Kay Moor haulage 170 17. Adel Arnold Jones at Kay Moor Top 170 18. "Wash" Langhorn at Kay Moor Bottom 172 19. John Woodson at Kay Moor Bottom 172 20. Aerial Photograph of Kay Moor, 1945 174 21. Aerial Photograph of Kay Moor, 1957 176 CHRONOLOGY 1 873 - Purchase of Kay Moor property by Abiel Abbot Low of Low Moor Iron Company 1873 - Completion of Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad through the New River Gorge 1899 - Initial opening of Kay Moor No. 1 mine 1900 - First shipment of coal from Kay Moor No. 1 mine 1901 - Initial construction of employee housing at Kay Moor 1902 - Construction of employee housing 1903 - Opening of Kay Moor No. 2 mine 1905 - Construction of employee housing 1918-1919 - Construction of "New Camp" 1923 - United States Coal Commission investigation of Kay Moor 1924 - Fire destroyed tipple and other structures at Kay Moor No.l 1925 - Sale of Kay Moor complex to New River and Pocahontas Consolidated Coal and Coke Company 1926 - Construction of new processing plant at Kay Moor No. 1, Kay Moor No. 2 closed 1952 - Abandonment of Kay Moor Bottom, most residents moved out 1960 - Fire destroyed most of Kay Moor Bottom 1962 - Kay Moor No. 1 closed VI PREFACE This historic resource study has been prepared to satisfy the research needs as stated in the task directive concerning New River Gorge National River under Package No. 106. Data contained in this report will be used in interpretation, preservation, and management needs at the site. This study focuses on the history of a town and mine located on the south side of the New River, at the top, mid-way, and bottom of the gorge. Opened in 1900 by the Low Moor Iron Company of Low Moor, Virginia, the mine and town site were donated to the National Park Service by the Berwind Land Company in December 1985. This study includes information concerning the town's founding, evolution, and social history; the significance of the New River coal mining industry; and a discussion of aspects of mining history, including ethnicity of miners, mine safety, and unionization issues. Most of the research was conducted during field trips to the Library of Congress and National Archives in Washington, D.C., and to West Virginia and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, in May, June, and August 1986. Several people assisted in preparing this report. The author's thanks goes to Gene Cox, formerly of the New River Gorge National River staff, for opening his history files and supplying information. Dr. Fred Armstrong and the staff at the Department of Culture and History, Archives and History, in the Cultural Center in Charleston, West Virginia, provided research leads and sources. Dr. Kenneth Sullivan, editor Goldenseal, Charleston, also provided research ideas and leads. Ruth Larison, formerly of the Rocky Mountain Region Library acquired countless secondary sources through interlibrary loan. Dr. Lou Athey of the Franklin & Marshall University, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, provided research materials as well as generous use of his Kay Moor study draft. Staff in the Manuscripts Department, Alderman Library at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, aided with research in the Low Moor Iron Company collection. Norma Camarena, Denver Service Center, drew the historical base maps and Joan E. Huff typed the draft. A final thanks goes to National Park Service Chief Historian Edwin C. Bearss for his enthusiasm for Kay Moor. VU INTRODUCTION The New River Gorge National River was authorized by Congress for inclusion in the National Park System by Title XI of P.L. 95-625 on November 10, 1978. Kay Moor is located upstream from the New River Bridge, located on Rt. 19, which is considered a cultural and engineering landmark in West Virginia. It is the second highest bridge in the United States and is also a significant symbol of state pride. The origins of the Kay Moor mine and town can be traced to the Low Moor Iron Company of Low Moor, Virginia. Founded in 1873, the company utilized in its furnaces the coal and coke mined and manufactured at Kay Moor. The town of Kay Moor, located at both the top and bottom of the New River gorge, was founded to house the mine workers. It was a company town, with all aspects of housing, supplies, and transportation supplied by the Low Moor Iron Company. The town and mine were sold in 1925 to the New River and Pocahontas Consolidated Coal Company, a subsidiary of the Berwind-White Company, later the Berwind Land Company. Mining continued until 1962; Kay Moor Bottom had been emptied of inhabitants by 1952, with only portions of Kay Moor Top surviving in any form. Located in the famous New River fields, producers of the legendary "smokeless coal," the Kay Moor mine and its supporting town were thus contributors to a larger economic scene. The remnants of mining activity still extant at Kay Moor offer a unique interpretive and visitor use challenge for the National Park Service. The story of bituminous coal mining in West Virginia can be interpreted at Kay Moor, with all of its extant structures and machinery. A word must be said about the name of the mine and community. The site was originally named Kay Moor and appeared as such on papers of its owner and founder, the Low Moor Iron Company of Low Moor, Virginia. The name, however, appeared as Kaymoor in period newspaper articles as well as in other primary sources, and the name has evolved as such through the years. The author has agreed with Jack Bergstresser, author of the historical data section, "Kay Moor Historic Structure Report," to use the original nomenclature, hence, Kay Moor.