Nuttallburg

Nuttallburg is a coal drift mine in West Virginia that was in use from 1873 to 1958. The site has been left remarkably intact, and is now owned by the National Park Service. It includes the foundations of a small, race segregated company town just above the banks of the New River. Still active railroad tracks, which the coal mine completely depended upon to transport their coal, parallel the river. A tipple reaches hundreds of feet up the hill to the drift mine entrance. As a drift mine, the mine shaft extends horizontally into the coal seam rather than descending into the earth.

Nuttallburg is a perfect place to explore. It's off the beaten path, with fascinating ruins to see, and the natural beauty of the area shines. Driving to the town site parking took us through what surely must be a small microclimate where the spring wildflowers were peaking well ahead of nearby Twin Falls Resort State Park. Walking from one end of the small community to the other, their race segregation seems particularly harsh. In a town that small, people ought to see themselves as one community. At least now Nuttallburg can be for everyone to enjoy.

The mine site.

Violets.

Wild geranium.

Violet.

Large flowered bellwort.

The Head House.

Head House.

Violet.

Black mustard.

Wild blue phlox.

Redbud tree.

Long-leaved stitchwort.

The coal tipple from the top.

Entrance to the mine.

Inside the Head House.

Bottom of the coal tipple.

Golden ragwort.

Coal tipple from the bottom.

Wild stonecrop.

One of a long row of coke furnace ruins.

Inside the company store.

Trillium.