Blue Ridge Country January/February 2022 - 38

WEST VIRGINIA TOURISM
The West Virginia State Capitol Building is a focal point for downtown Charleston, along the
Midland Trail in the state.
fined Pastoral East with farmlands, quaint
towns and quiet life in the Piedmont, 2)
The Recreation Center with vistas, wildlands
and " mild to wild " outdoor adventures,
and 3) Advantage Valley and The
State Capitol area of rapid growth and a
deep, vast industrial past.
Lewisburg (Greenbrier County). Plan
a stop in this destination voted one of
" America's Coolest Small Towns. " The
townscape is attractive; the locals include
artists, writers, chefs and photographers;
green and gold markers guide pedestrians
on historic walking tours through period
architecture; and citizens happily welcome
visitors to restaurants, shops and galleries.
Stop by the visitor center for a calendar of
activities, concerts, celebrations and festivals.
Taste the end result of 1,500 Sugar
Maples " on tap. " And, come meet the llamas.
(greenbrierwv.com)
HISTORY ON THE ROAD: THE COAL HERITAGE TRAIL
T
he West Virginia Coal Heritage Trail winds for nearly 200
miles, from Ansted south to Bluefield. I've driven it all-
most of it twice-and if you want to see and touch and hear
the unvarnished story of coal, there's no better way to do it
than traveling the roads that connect the Pocahontas Coalfield
mining towns, following the rivers and rail tracks.
The names of the towns are music when you say them out
loud: Sophia and Helen, Mullens and Ashland, Coalwood
and Pineville, Kimball and Bramwell. Each town has its own
story to tell, and each one is worth knowing.
What they share, most of these towns, is a Coal Heritage
Trail sign, well-used train tracks along a river, a coal miners'
memorials, American flags, century-old downtown brick
buildings, company housing in various states of repair, many
churches, a Dollar Store, friendly people who'll ask if you
have kin in town.
But don't think that these towns are all alike. Far from
it. Here are just a few of the things not to miss as you travel
south from Fayetteville on the Coal Heritage Trail:
In New Hope, " The Phoenix City, " there's a walking tour
through a century-old downtown district and past coal
baron mansions.
Itmann: a massive company store/coal office built by
Italian stonemasons with elegance that shines despite its
long-ago abandonment.
Pineville: its beautiful neoclassical " temple-style " courthouse
sits high on a hill, cut from native stone.
Coalwood, recognized as a model coal town and setting of
native son Homer Hickam's memoir " October Sky. "
Welch: Its equally impressive courthouse was the site of
Sheriff Sid Hatfield's murder by Baldwin-Felts agents; home
to American Realist painter Tom Acosta murals.
Kimball, site of the only remaining war memorial to Black
WW I soldiers.
38 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
West Virginia's Coal Heritage Trail is built around unique
towns, old rail lines and coal mines along with many other
cultural and historical discoveries.
of Art are housed in the historic Ramsey School and well
worth a stop.
I could go on...but better to go see for yourself. The Coal
Heritage Trail is a winding trip through towns whose fortunes
followed coal and railroads-living history, honest as it gets.
-JOAN VANNORSDALL
JOAN VANNORSDALL
Bramwell, site of the Coal Heritage Trail Interpretive Center
and museum and once considered the richest town per
capita: Fourteen millionaires lived there a century ago.
Bluefield, where the One Thin Dime museum and House

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Blue Ridge Country January/February 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country January/February 2022