Gilliam is an unincorporated community on the North Fork River in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. It lies between Algoma and Rolfe along County Route 17.United States Geological Survey, Topographical Survey Maps, West Virginia–Virginia, Bramwell Quadrangle (1924); West Virginia, Keystone Quadrangle (1967, rev. 1976).
The community was named after one Mr. Gilliam, a coal-mining official. As of 1899, the mine for which the community was built was reported to cover 1,100 acres, and employ 344.(22 December 1899). Gilliam Coal and Coke Co., The Roanoke Times The 1924 topographical map shows more than fifty houses at Gilliam, with over thirty remaining in 1976, but only a few homes and businesses remain as of 2026. Gilliam had a post office from 1892 to at least 1971.United States Post Office Department, Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832–1971, NARA Microfilm Publication M841, West Virginia, McDowell County, vol. 72 (c. 1890–1904), p. 199; vol. 99 (c. 1904–1930), p. 463; vol. 78 (c. 1930–Sept. 30, 1971), Gilliam. The community lends its name to the nearby Gilliam Bottom Road at Rolfe.
Photographer Russell Lee took photographs of the town in 1946, and recorded that 60 percent of the mine workers at that time were Black, providing a concrete example of the Black migration that had occurred into McDowell County in preceding decades.Hall, Alex (13 September 2026). Gilliam, McDowell County: Coal Mines, Company Life, and Russell Lee’s 1946 Portrait, AppalachianHistorian.org
See also
List of ghost towns in West Virginia
References