The coal mining communities, or coal towns of Raleigh County, West Virginia were situated to exploit the area's rich coal seams. Many of these towns were located in deep ravines that afforded direct access to the coal through the hillsides, allowing mined coal to be dropped or conveyed downhill to railway lines at the valley floor. Many of these encampments were set up as coal towns, and when their mines closed, the towns vanished. Raleigh County covers portions of three coalfields: the New River Coalfield, the Winding Gulf Coalfield and the Coal River Coalfield. Below is partial listing of known coal towns. Further listings are available here
New River Coalfield
Cranberry Mabscott Oswald (abandoned) Price Hill Raleigh Royal (abandoned) Skelton Sprague Stanaford Stonewall (abandoned) Tamroy (abandoned) Terry Wickham Wright (abandoned)
Winding Gulf Coalfield
Abney Affinity Amigo Battleship (abandoned) Besoco Big Stick (abandoned) Coal City Crab Orchard East Gulf Eccles Fireco Glen White Helen Hot Coal (abandoned) Killarney (abandoned) Lego Lester Lillybrook (abandoned) Lynwinn (abandoned) McAlpin (abandoned) Mead Metalton (abandoned) Pemberton (abandoned) Pickshin (abandoned) Rhodell Royal (abandoned) Slab Fork Sophia Stonecoal Junction Stotesbury Sullivan Tams (abandoned) Terry Viacovia (abandoned) Whitby Willibet (abandoned) Winding Gulf Woodbay (abandoned)
Coal River Coalfield
Ameagle Birchton (abandoned) Dorothy Edwight (abandoned) Eunice Marfork (abandoned) Montcoal (abandoned) Stickney
References