Groups Feed

A postcard view shows the store of the Washington Coal and Coke Company in the patch town of Star Junction (founded 1893-1894), Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The postcard is unused, so the age of the photograph is uncertain. A local told me that the large building in the center of the town view, postmarked 1911, was also the company store. The two structures look quite different to me. Store buildings had the habit of burning down back then, so one structure might have been a replacement for the other? The railroad line passing by the store is the present pathway of PA State Route 51, and a gas station now occupies the site of the store. Nonetheless, many of the houses are still occupied, although only a handful of the 999 beehive coke ovens remain from the town's glory days as a coal and coke producer.

A postcard view shows the company store of the New River and Pocahontas Consolidated Coal Company in Berwind, WV. The store architecture was unique with only several like it ever constructed. The only remaining example is in Whipple, WV but in a sorry condition. N.R. & P. was a subsidiary of the Berwind White Mining Company, which was also the second operator of Kaymoor in the New River Gorge. If you look closely at the town view, you can see the company store in the background peeking over company houses next to the office building.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

I paid another visit to the beautifully preserved Buxton and Landstreet company store in Thomas, West Virginia, built by the Davis Coal and Coke Company in 1900. The building's size and architecture reflect the wealth and pride of the company from the time when Thomas and surrounding towns were feeding coal to America's industrial growth. The building now houses an arts and crafts business. I even found some original unused coupon books of Buxton and Landstreet in a local antique shop.

I believe these photos show the foundation ruins of a tipple near the abandoned town of Coketon, WV outside the town of Thomas in Tucker County. The ruins are located at the end of a long sequence of deteriorating beehive coke ovens. There were hundreds of these ovens stretched along a Western Maryland Railway line. November 14, 2025.

If anyone has Cardinal, Ky scrip, please let me know! Thanks!

Great job Charlie.

This is a great tool.

This is a test for "Groups"

Here are a few scenes from the Fall 2025 NSCA Show in Huntington, WV. It was another great time!