Historic Bramwell Bulletin Board,

LOST & FOUND: -- A 1958 Bramwell High School Class Ring with initials R.M was found in Belle Haven, VA in 1964. A miracle as happened and the ring has been returned to the BHS graduate that once wore it.

There is a serious effort underway to extend the Coal Heritage Tour Train into Fayette County. The President of the Coal Heritage Board, Ken Beard is reported to be spearheading this effort. VIEW OF THE LAST TRAIN TO BRAMWELL

Statistics and Facts: Bramwell's population is 620......Approximate number of families is 299......1,552 sq. kilometers of land area.

Little Known Facts: At one time in this century Historic Bramwell had more millionaires per capita than any other town in the United States . Additionally, the Bank of Bramwell was the richest bank per capita in the U. S.

Did you know that Dwight W. McCormick attended Alderson Baptist Academy on a baseball scholorship? He earned a M.A. in School Administration from Duke University in 1935. ( STORY OF DWIGHT W. MCCORMICK )

BRAMWELL'S OLDEST HOUSE: According to relialble present sources the Dr. H.V. McNeer house is the oldest home in Bramwell. He bought it from the Bluestone Land Corp in 1889 for $1400.00, when lots were only selling for $300.00. The McGuffin home was not built in 1885 as previously reported. The center lot was not acquired until November 1887 for $300.00. It is doubted that the home was completed until 1890. The written source is the Mercer county court records. Thus, these recently noted court records show that the Historic Dr. R. M. McGuffin House was incorrectly reported to be the oldest frame house in Bramwell. Some less reliable writings have reported it to be the oldest house on Bramwell.s Main Street. This house boasted the first indoor plumbing in town and had a free standing shower. It even had a windmill to help supply water, and there was a speaking tube from the front door to the bedroom. H.V. McNeer is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. He was in his 50s when he died. He died not long after 1900. On January 30, 1899 he sold the house to his daughter, Nannie for $1.00. She sold it to Dr. Tanner on July 3, 1920. Dr. Tanner sold it to Dr. Little on Nov 15, 1924. Dr. Little sold it to my William Joe Miller's Grandmother Bess on March 9, 1946. (Information from Joe Miller of Bramwell. Joe now lives in the Historic McNeer House.)

Dr. McNeer was born in 1863 and attended public schools in that county and obtained higher education at Lebanon, Ohio Normal School. He was a graduate of the University of Virginia Medical School. He enrolled for additional study at Bellevue Medical College in New York, graduating with such distinction that he was retained by the faculty as one of the staff for the next two years. He became associated with Dr. McGuffin in the Flat-Top Field in 1887. Dr. McNeer was married in 1892 to N. M. Garver. (Information extracted from Martha Jane Williams Becker's Book..."Bramwell, The Diary of s Millionaire Coal Town.")

Futher research also verifies that Dr. H. V. McNeer's wife was Nannie M. Garver McNeer (1867 - 1929). She is burried in the Green Hills Cemetery, Stephens City, Frederick County, VA. This information is from the Virginia Cemetery Project that features a photograph of Mrs. McNeer's Tombstone..................

The first telephone line in Mercer County, WV was established in 1886 between Bramwell and Ingleside, a distance of 23 miles.

Did You Know: It has been reported that the Bramwell's bridge across the Bluestone River leading to Cooper, WV will soon be dedicated as the Dwight W. McCormick Memorial Bridge. ( VIEW BRIDGE ) The new bridge across the Bluestone River in Freeman is being dedicated to Bramwell's pioneer coal baron John Freeman. ( VIEW FREEMAN MEMORIAL BRIDGE )

Historic Bramwell now has established a hiking trail from Bramwell to Pinnacle Rock via Reservoir Hollow. Many of us remember that trail from our youth days as just a path we traveled to pick blackberrys and gather black walnuts. Recently Bramwell's Jim Bishop took folks on a hike of this trail. Those thousands of pine tree in Reservior Hollow were planted some 50 years ago by Bramwell High School students. The Reservoir is featured on this site. ( HISTORIC BRAMWELL'S RESERVOIR )